Bruins trade Taylor Hall to Blackhawks for salary cap relief

BOSTON -- The Bruins are in an extremely uncomfortable spot this offseason in terms of salary cap space. Don Sweeney has under $5 million to fill some voids on the roster, which will likely lead to some disappointing, cap-clearing moves in the coming weeks.

One such move was agreed upon Monday afternoon, as the Bruins traded Taylor Hall -- and his $6 million cap hit -- to the Chicago Blackhawks.

In addition to sending Hall to The Windy City, the Bruins are also sending the negotiating rights of unrestricted free agent Nick Foligno. In return, the Bruins get the rights to restricted free agents Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula from Chicago.

But shaving Hall's salary for next season was Boston's main motivation for trading the veteran, and they accomplished that with the move.

It makes sense for Chicago, which has the first pick in Thursday's NHL Draft after a 26-49-7 season in 2022-23. They'll use that pick on 17-year-old centerman Connor Bedard.

With a real lack of talent up and down the Chicago roster, Bedard could use a solid vet on his side in Hall, 31, who was the first overall pick himself back in 2010.