Confused Taylor Hall Questioned Blackhawks After Healthy Scratch

Early reactions to Hall’s comments were met by shock among the Blackhawks fan base. One commenter on social media wrote, “They never showed him video and/or told him to fix this or that? What a joke. No trust or accountability in that locker room right now.” Another said, “Richardson has lost the locker room…”

Hall was asked if he told the Blackhawks they needed to be more upfront. “We communicated. It wasn’t anything argumentative. He thought it was best for me to just reset, so that’s what I’m going to do.” He added he’s not immune to coaching or being held accountable.

Richardson Comments on Communication with Hall and Healthy Scratch Mistake

Some say that Hall is in the wrong here, with one fan noting that the forward has a bit of a reputation for being selfish. Hall did move around a lot in his NHL career and injuries have been a concern. Still, if the team didn’t talk to him about their disappointment in his play or sit down and go over what they were concerned by, it demonstrates a lack of communication.

Richardson admitted that Hall was upset about being pulled, but also said it was a decision he was comfortable with, believing the veteran forward needed more practice time. Hall said he chatted with the coach and they are now on the same page. He’s excited to get back into the game and confirmed he’ll be playing tomorrow.

When Richardson was asked about communication, Richardson did admit that he could have done better in communicating and said he probably should have given a veteran a bit more of a grace period. “I need to get to know the player more and see how they like to handle that.” He said they talked a lot during and after the decisions, but maybe talking more before might have been the better way to handle things.