A deeper dive into Athanasiou, Hall who are predicted to have comeback seasons
By Rob Rubio (@MidWstOpeSports) IceInsider.com Lead Blackhawks Analyst/Writer
CHICAGO--In the days leading up to the new season, we've gathered up Blackhawks players would could have a comeback year. Two players come to mind when it comes to mind Andreas Athanasiou and Taylor Hall.
Both will make their returns to the regular season tonight as Chicago faces off against Utah in the season opener, at 9:00 PM CDT.
Andreas Athanasiou:
Andreas will be coming off a disappointing injury filled season. He could be set up to have a great comeback season if he remains healthy. Athanasiou's 23-24 season will be one to forget, due to the 53 games he missed (spanning four months from Nov. 9 to March 12) due to a groin and hip-related injury on his right side.
Only playing 28 games last season, Andreas posted 9 points total (2 goals, 7 assists). The veteran forward can skate with anyone; he has speed to burn. However, that speed has not translated into a lot of goals in the NHL.
He is the type of player who can tease a team with his speed and talent, but needs to find more consistency to turn them into production.
Taylor Hall:
Taylor Hall, what can I say? The Blackhawks picked up Hall from the Bruins taking on the rest of a 4-year contract (2 years) two summers ago. Unfortunately, last year Halls's season came to a halt after getting injured back in November 2023 which resulted in needing right knee ACL surgery.
Before Taylor went out for the season he played 10 games with 2 goals and 2 assists. Hall was paired with Connor Bedard and Tyler Johnson before going down. The Hall-Bedard-Johnson line was tearing it up for those games and was the best line on the Blackhawks. An explosive skater and superb playmaker, he makes others around him better and opposing defensemen miserable.
He has battled injuries and inconsistency throughout his career, but at his best, he remains one of the NHL’s most dangerous wingers as he is now in his 30s. As long as Hall stays healthy it's safe to predict him having 24 goals and 30 assists.
Single-game tickets for the Blackhawks home opener against the San Jose Sharks on October 17th and all other 2024-25 home games at the United Center, are now available at Ticketmaster.com.
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