Hall: I'm 'definitely' better than playing time in Chicago suggested

Taylor Hall believes he deserved more playing time with the Chicago Blackhawks.

"(The Blackhawks) have a different timeline than my career is, right?" Hall told Chicago Tribune's Phillip Thompson on Thursday. "I get it, I understand it. I wanted to play more. I'm definitely a better player than the amount I was playing, but you also understand where they're coming from.

"They wanted to play young guys. They wanted to play guys up in the lineup. It was what it was. I still have a lot of respect for the people there. I did like being a Blackhawk a lot, and I love the city. So, it's just the way it works out."

The 33-year-old winger was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24 as part of the three-team trade that also sent Mikko Rantanen to the franchise.

Hall's averaging under 15 minutes per game this season for the first time in his NHL career, and he was a healthy scratch in November.

He recorded his first point with the Hurricanes with an assist in Tuesday's 4-0 win against the New York Rangers and played 18:18, a season high.

"My playing time in Chicago, for whatever reason, was not where I would have liked it," Hall said, according to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "So, I was happy to be traded, and I was happy to come to a really good team."

Hall tallied 11 goals and 28 points in 56 games with the Blackhawks over two seasons. He was limited to 10 contests last year due to a torn ACL.

The 2010 first overall pick indicated he would've liked to re-sign with Chicago earlier in January, but he understood a trade was the more likely outcome.

The Hurricanes take on the Blackhawks in Carolina on Thursday.