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Connor Bedard Comments on Losing Mentor Taylor Hall in Blockbuster Trade Yesterday

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Tom Banks
January 25, 2025  (7:27 PM)
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Taylor Hall was traded in the Mikko Rantanen blockbuster, and now, Connor Bedard has opened up on losing a major mentor in Chicago.

Friday's blockbuster trade involving Mikko Rantanen was a wild one, and involved in that was Taylor Hall, who decided to waive his no-trade clause to join the Carolina Hurricanes in their chase for a Stanley Cup.

While it was a no-brainer for Hall to make that move, as he was stuck on the fourth-line in Chicago, there's someone there who won't be happy to see him go, with a fellow former No. 1 overall pick in Connor Bedard growing close to Hall.

«He was really good for me, obviously being in a similar situation to him coming into our careers. He was always giving me advice or there for questions or whatever. I ended up becoming pretty close to him.»

So how did Bedard react to the trade? Unsurprisingly, he wasn't happy that he was losing one of his best teammates and someone he'd grown close too, but ultimately, he knows it's the best opportunity for Hall at this stage of his career.

«It (stinks) he's gone, but obviously it's pretty exciting for him -- new opportunity and everything. But we're going to miss him.»

At 19-years of age, Bedard still has so much to learn about the league, and having a veteran like Hall around was perfect for his development, with a staggering lack of talent on the Blackhawks roster holding them back from competing in 2024/25 and likely a few years to come.

Now, the Blackhawks will be hoping that people like Nick Foligno, Tyler Bertuzzi and Alec Martinez can mentor him moving forward, and ultimately, it's safe to say that they made the best move by utilizing their cap space to get a future asset back for Hall.

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Connor Bedard Comments on Losing Mentor Taylor Hall in Blockbuster Trade Yesterday

Was this a good trade for the Chicago Blackhawks?