was a No. 1 pick in the draft in 2010. He was the .
Now, he is a
鈥淵ou never know. You never know what kind of turn your life鈥檚 going to take,鈥� Hall said after hoisting the trophy. “It was heavy. It was heavy, unbalanced but amazing.鈥�
No longer in the prime of his career, the 34-year-old Hall was one of the biggest reasons the Carolina Hurricanes won 16 of 19 games during this playoff run.
鈥淗e鈥檚 fast, he鈥檚 physical (and) he makes great plays with the puck,鈥� defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 selling out to block shots. And so you need that. He鈥檚 really just been a complete player this whole playoffs.鈥�
Hall took on a workmanlike role on a line alongside 23-year-old Logan Stankoven and 22-year-old Jackson Blake. That trio led the way through the first three rounds of the playoffs and in the final against Vegas. Hall was a force in every way 鈥� generating offense, hammering opponents and sacrificing himself on defense.
鈥淓very line on our team has a physical aspect, and I think it falls on me to play like that,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淔lorida last year, there wasn鈥檛 a guy on their team that didn鈥檛 hit and didn鈥檛 make it really, really hard to be on the ice against them and you watch and learn.鈥�
Hall fit in quickly with Carolina
With Chicago, Hall played Carolina on Jan. 20, 2025, and liked what he saw in a hard-fought overtime loss.
鈥淚 got a first-hand glimpse of the intensity in which we play,鈥� Hall said.
His agent had approached him about the Hurricanes’ interest in him and a few days later he joined them as part of the same that got them Mikko Rantanen. Initially, Hall was not in shape to play coach Rod Brind’Amour’s brand of hockey.
But general manager Eric Tulsky liked what he saw in Hall.
鈥淗e brings a blend of speed, skill and heaviness that really fits for us,鈥� Tulsy said. 鈥淗e has the ability to get pucks into the zone, win pucks along the way and he has the vision and creativity and skill to get pucks to the middle and create scoring chances off it. We spend a lot of time in the offensive zone, and we need players like him who can not just win the battle along the wall but get it to premium ice and create those top-tier chances and he鈥檚 been able to do that for us.鈥�
After starting in Edmonton and also playing for New Jersey, Arizona, Buffalo, Boston and Chicago, Carolina felt right.
鈥淚鈥檝e been kind of everywhere,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淚 got here and felt really at home within a couple days.鈥�
He settled in the Raleigh area, and before the end of April worth just over $3 million annually. A lot went into it, including a bad experience as a free agent during the pandemic and being able to drive his dog to his offseason home.
鈥淚 was happy here, and I love the way we play and ultimately I saw this as a place that I think we could be here,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I envisioned, and everything else seemed like it made a lot of sense.鈥�
No MVP ego
Brind’Amour as a player was a grinder, a defense-first center who made a living out of stopping players like Hall. As a coach, he knew all about Hall’s skill as a winger, his 93-point season in 2017-18 with New Jersey that got him the Hart Trophy and the kind of offensive talent the Hurricanes were getting.
The player who arrived was nothing like that.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 bring any of that, 鈥業鈥檓 an MVP鈥� and I鈥檓 going to do it this way.’ It was, 鈥榃hat do I have to do?鈥欌�� Brind’Amour said. 鈥淲hen he first got with us, he was playing like 12 minutes a night. It didn鈥檛 matter. It was whatever he has to do to win. That鈥檚 refreshing, and that鈥檚 good on him.鈥�
Hall helped Carolina reach the 2025 Eastern Conference Final, then he and the team faltered against the defending-champion Panthers. That turned out to be an important lesson for a guy in his 30s thirsty for a title.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 play well in that conference final at all, and I think just the way that Florida played and the way that I played, it was a learning experience for me even at 33,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淚t was just different way to play in the playoffs. There鈥檚 a way to play, and there鈥檚 a way that the really good teams do it. I took it over the summer and tried to just get better and better.鈥�
Putting that into practice allowed Hall to set a record. His 18 seasons between getting drafted by Edmonton are the most before hoisting the Stanley Cup in league history for a No. 1 pick.
All because Hall made a conscious decision to fit exactly what the Hurricanes needed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great for the role that we need him to play,鈥� Slavin said. 鈥淚 think he still has all the talent in the world, and you witness it night in and night out. He鈥檚 been great. And, yeah, has he adapted a little bit to how we play here? I think so. But that just speaks to the player that he is.鈥�
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