RALEIGH, N.C. — In the weeks leading up to his trade to Carolina, Taylor Hall repeatedly said he wanted to stay in Chicago, that he wanted to be a part of what the Blackhawks were building, that he wanted to settle down in one city in the twilight of his peripatetic career.

Hall broke down the timeline of the blockbuster trade from his perspective Thursday. He claimed he's "definitely a better player than the amount I was playing" during his final weeks in Chicago.

He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Colorado Avalanche. The Chicago Blackhawks received their third-round pick back from the Hurricanes, didn't retain any of Hall's $6 million cap hit, but did retain $4.625 million of Mikko Rantanen's contract.