Global Series Finland between Hurricanes, Kraken perfect time for Hall’s 1,000th game

Taylor Hall will reach a major career milestone and make NHL history in the process on Thursday. 

Just two more reasons he’s not only having a blast with the Carolina Hurricanes, but having the most fun he’s had playing hockey. 

“It’s a lot of fun here,” Hall said last month. “We don’t just have fun, we work hard and we play our game really well and that allows us to smile and have fun and enjoy the process. I’d say yeah, for sure, this is the most fun I’ve had playing and I think that’s probably pretty obvious if you watch me play.”

When the Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken play the first game of the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland at Veikkaus Arena on Thursday (12 p.m. ET; HHN, Prime Video, CARNHL, KONG, NHLN, SN+, TVAS), it will be Hall’s 1,000th NHL game. He will also become the first player in NHL history to play his 1,000th game outside of North America. 

“Oh nice," Hall said Tuesday in Helsinki. "We were actually (checking) last night to see if there’s anyone else that’s played their 1,000th (outside North America). I remember playing against Cam Fowler (for his 1,000th game) in the Winter Classic. I played junior with him. So, that was cool for him."

That feat follows a 2025-26 season that saw the 34-year-old win the Stanley Cup for the first time and then spend the offseason celebrating with his wife, Rachel, and two young sons.

Hall had to wait a little extra time for the milestone. He sustained an upper-body injury against the Washington Capitals on Oct 13. He missed five games and was set to return against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 27 but sustained an unrelated upper-body injury at the morning skate that day. He then missed four more games, returning in a 5-3 win against the New York Islanders on Nov. 5.

"I would’ve loved to not miss those games because it kind of messed up everything that we had planned, but this is a nice consolation," Hall said. "We were going to have family and friends fly in and have a party after the game and all that. But that’s life and you just make different plans. But this is awesome. We’re so happy to be here and to experience the culture and just to travel with a group of guys like this is always so fun.”

But perhaps the game in Finland was meant to be his 1,000th. Consider, Hall made his NHL debut Oct. 7, 2010 for the Edmonton Oilers against the Calgary Flames. On that same exact day, Oct. 7, 2010, the Hurricanes played their first ever game outside of North America, against the Minnesota Wild in Helsinki.  

Now, Hall will be in that same arena with the Carolina, where he’s been since he was traded to the Hurricanes on Jan. 24, 2025. 

Last season, his first full one with the Hurricanes, he had 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) and then had a massive run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, getting 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 19 games to help Carolina win the Cup. 

“It was a really good time in my life to win a Cup and to become close with the guys in here,” he said. “These guys have set a culture and a standard here for a long time and I’m fortunate enough to come in and add my little piece to it. We’re a very hard team to beat when we’re on and that (Stanley Cup) Playoff run was something I’ll remember the rest of my life.” 

In addition to winning the Cup with Carolina, he seems to have found a home there after seemingly bouncing the around the NHL the past six seasons.

Selected by the Oilers with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Hall played his first six NHL seasons with Edmonton before being traded to the New Jersey Devils on June 29, 2016. 

He played three full seasons in New Jersey, but was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 16, 2019. Over the next six seasons, he would play for the Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to Carolina. 

“I’ve been a lot of places; I’ve met a lot of people," Hall said. "I think it’s made me grow up a lot as a person, going from place to place and it feels like I fit in really well here. So, I’d love to be here for a long time.”

How have the moves help Hall grow up?

“I think you just get outside of your comfort zone with new organizations, new strength coaches, new equipment staff, new training staff, new coaches, new media members in different cities,” he said. “You learn logistics and how to move your family and all of that.

“There’s just been a lot, and I credit my wife for a lot of that. She’s always game for whatever and just wants me to be happy and wants me to be on a team that values me and values really good hockey. So, that’s been a good process, but I don’t want to move around anymore. I’m set here.”

Hall is in the second season of a three-year, $9.5 million contract ($3.17 million average annual value) he signed with Carolina on April 30, 2025. There’s no doubt he’s made an impact wherever he’s gone. He has 793 points (305 goals, 488 assists) in 999 NHL games, winning the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player in the regular season with the Devils in 2017-18.

Hall has six points (three goals, three assists) in 10 games this season for the Hurricanes.

“I think early in his career, it was more about the talent. Like, obviously, everyone knew about him, and he had to come into the League with all that kind of notoriety,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I think he's just been lately, certainly since he's gotten here, he's kind of morphed into just a real good, solid, all-around player that still has that elite speed that he's always had. But now, I think, he’s adapted his game to doing whatever we kind of need him to do, and has done a real nice job of it.”

While line combinations have changed since Hall returned from injury, he has played predominantly with center Logan Stankoven and right wing Jackson Blake. That line was tantamount to the Hurricanes’ success in the postseason, when Blake led them with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) and Stankoven was fourth with 16 points (11 goals, five assists).

“I think there are certain things guys do who have been around for a long time like ‘Hallsy.’ It’s just seeing the subtle things he does out there. He’s very skilled and he's had a great career to this point,” Blake said. “It’s awesome to play with him. Game 1,000 is really cool and really special.”

Hall has also become a great mentor for younger NHL players. He had a big impact on Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks’ No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, as his teammate from 2023-25. 

“He’s someone who meant a lot to me,” Bedard said. “We were obviously in the same sort of spot: first overall pick, a lot of the spotlight. He was in a Canadian market, so it was very similar. He would tell me a lot and would always be open and honest, which is all you can ask for.

“Just to see what he’s done in his career and it’s crazy he’s already at 1,000 games. He seems young, not that he isn’t young. He’s had such an amazing career and to see him live out that dream and win the Cup is special.”

Hall is feeling great again and he’s looking for more well beyond his 1,000th game. So are the Hurricanes, who head into the Global Series with the best record in the League (14-3-2). It’s been a great place for Hall. Now to perhaps add a little more hardware.

“We’re the same team, right? We have a lot of chemistry. We’re staying healthy and that’s a big part of it and that was a big part of our run, truthfully, how we were able to stay healthy for the whole thing,” Hall said. “We’re starting off this season the same way. It kind of feels like we’re picking up where we left off, and that’s a good thing.”

NHL.com senior writer Tom Gulitti and independent correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report