Hurricanes' Taylor Hall Reaching New Heights with Team

It turns out the big NHL Trade Deadline acquisition for the Carolina Hurricanes was veteran winger Taylor Hall. Even though the organization swung for the fences and acquired Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche, the experiment ended with the Canes shipping him to the Dallas Stars for a return centered around Logan Stankoven.

Hall has already played 24 games with the Hurricanes, and he's reached new heights since joining the organization. It took a few games to find the right spot, but it seems Rod Brind'Amour has found a role that suits him. As a result, he's scored a point in nine of the last 10 games and has recorded 15 points in 24 contests with Carolina.

One way he's excelling is on the power play. Over the last 10 contests, he's recorded a power play point in six, four goals and two assists. Working on the first unit, he's been able to utilize his quick release. He's fired 22 shots on goal over the last 10 games, which ranks fourth on the team. He's also finding the back of the net with much more success.

Hall's settling in is coming at the perfect time. He's providing a consistency in the lineup that they were lacking. He can play on either top-six line or give their third line a scoring punch. The team is dealing with nagging injuries to two top forwards, Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov, and are being cautious with their return. That means there's significantly less fire power in the lineup, but significantly more opportunity for Hall.

He's taking advantage, as evidenced by his performance over the past 10 games. Hall is reaching new heights. The former league MVP is no longer a leading scorer in the NHL, but he's still a valuable top-six forward. Not only that, he's possibly the missing piece for the Canes as they try to reach the next level in the postseason and possibly the Stanley Cup.