Veterans Taylor Hall, Connor Murphy Back On Ice For Blackhawks

Injured Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall and defenseman Connor Murphy were back on the ice before the team's practice Monday in Chicago.

Both veterans are key stabilizers in the team's rebuilding process. Hall won't play again until next season. Murphy's timeline is unknown.

Hall has been skating for a couple of weeks, making steady progress following right anterior cruciate ligament surgery in November to stabilize his knee. The 32-year-old former Hart Trophy winner last played in a game on Nov. 19 versus Buffalo.

Hall was sidelined six weeks late season with a "lower-body injury" while with Boston. He returned on April 8 for three regular-season games and the Bruins seven-game upset loss to Florida in the opening round of the playoffs.

Hall crumpled to the ice late in a game on Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay after taking an awkward hit. He missed the next two games, then tried to play in two more before shutting down.

A week ago, coach Luke Richardson praised Hall's recovery effort and said the forward was looking like an "Adonis" in terms of his conditioning.  

Hall, acquired last June to support Connor Bedard and other Chicago youngsters, will enter the fourth year of a four-year $24 million contract when he returns to action in the fall. He'll be out to not only help the Blackhawks improve, but prove he has plenty left in the tank as an NHLer.

Murphy, who turns 31 on Tuesday, has been out since Jan 13 with a core injury that Richardson has characterized as soft-tissue related. Initially, the team called it a "groin" injury.

Although NHL teams rarely provide details, these kinds of conditions can be debilitating and impair the function of skaters — you can't play through them and be effective on the ice. They can happen due to traumatic injury or muscle overuse and imbalances. The conditions can be tricky, and frustrating to diagnose and correct.

Murphy had been paired with rookie Kevin Korchinski for much of the season. He's currently in the second year of a four-year $17.6 million contract extension he signed with the Blackhawks in August 2021.

Energy forward Reese Johnson, who's been in concussion protocol, joined Hall and Murphy on the ice Monday. Johnson was punched in the head in a game against Anaheim on March 12