The Blackhawks are acquiring five-time NHL All-Star and former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall from the Boston Bruins, according to multiple reports. They are also trading for the rights to Nick Foligno, who is a pending unrestricted free agent.
In return, the Blackhawks are sending Boston the rights to pending restricted free-agent defensemen Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff.
The acquisition checks multiple boxes for the Blackhawks, who were probably looking for a top-nine scoring winger to play with some of their younger prospects like Lukas Reichel and Connor Bedard, who is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick. It also helps the Blackhawks get to the salary floor.
Hall has two years left on his contract that carries a cap hit of $6 million. The Blackhawks want to maintain their long-term financial flexibility, so it’s a perfect short-term option for them to bridge the gap. They likely would have had to overpay in term for a similar player on the open market.
While still an impactful player, the Bruins were in a cap crunch and clearing Hall’s contract gives them financial breathing room. Hall has a 16-team no-trade clause that becomes a 10-team no-trade list on July 1, but Chicago was not on the list.
Hall, 31, registered 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 61 games last season. He also added eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven postseason contests.
This will be updated…
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