For the Boston Bruins, this offseason was a cap nightmare. Don Sweeney’s biggest priority was to get the Bruins some flexibility to fill out their roster after carrying over $4.5m in dead cap space from the Bergeron and Krejci overages. The difficulty in the Flat Cap Era is that most teams don’t have any cap space they will lend you for free.
Blackhawks: B+
Starting with the Blackhawks, they added Taylor Hall, who has two years remaining, and the negotiating rights to pending UFA Nick Foligno. At the time of the trade, Hall is carrying a 6m AAV, and Foligno has since been signed to a one-year $4m AAV contract with the Hawks. They are overall adding 10m to their cap for next season.
The Blackhawks add a former #1 Overall Pick that can come in and help guide Connor Bedard as he begins his NHL career. Having a player to bond with over the expectations/struggles of a top overall pick is invaluable, in my opinion. Taylor Hall is also a very offensively talented forward, and if allowed to play with Bedard, he will likely pot a lot of goals next year.
While the Nick Foligno aspect of this trade may seem like a “throw-in,” Chicago is going to get a veteran forward with a load of leadership experience and someone who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves or get nasty to defend his teammates. Foligno will be a very important locker-room presence for a young Blackhawks team.
Blackhawks Conclusion
With the Blackhawks in full rebuild mode, adding two veteran players to put around the young core that they could also flip for assets over the next season or two, this was a no-brainer. The only drawback is that they didn’t get an asset for the cap dump. The Hawks got rid of two prospects in the deal as a roster-clearing maneuver but weren’t able to get a Draft Pick for taking on the full $6m cap hit of Taylor Hall.
Boston Bruins: B
While Boston is in full cap dump mode, there were plenty of rumors that Taylor Hall could be on the trading block. While many fans wanted to move Hall to sign Bertuzzi, it doesn’t look like that right out of the gate. While moving the entirety of Taylor Hall’s contract without having to retain or attach a pick to the deal was a massive win for Don Sweeney. The Boston cupboard is completely dry at this point, the prospect pool is very slim, and the Draft picks that were spent over the last year have the Bruins bored at the Draft tabe.
So what did the Bruins get in return? As part of the return, the Bruins acquired Ian Mitchell, who is a RD that is formerly a second round draft pick of the Hawks in 2017. He has played in 82 games with the Blackhawks over three seasons, totaling 16 points and a -21(full stats above). Mitchell is a promising defensive prospect that could likely give the Bruins some organizational depth if they choose to start trading players off the backend. However, the Bruins could also decide to not qualify Mitchell and let him walk for nothing. Time will tell, Friday(tomorrow) is the last day for buyouts, and I expect to see some more moves throughout the second round and before the buyout window closing.
Alec Regula is another RD prospect coming over from the Hawks who is a pending RFA and, like Mitchell, will either get a league-minimum contract to play in Providence or will not be qualified and allowed to walk. Regula is a former third-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2018 who has only played 22 NHL games.
Bruins Conclusion
The Bruins were in a tough spot, and they needed to clear cap to do business for next season. Ultimately they did what was required. They just weren’t able to get any tangible assets back for a Taylor Hall, who many would say is NOT on an overpaid contract. Likely the only reason the Bruins didn’t have to pay to move the deal. The Unfortunate part for Sweeney is that he couldn’t add the pieces he needed. The Bruins need center prospects; adding two defensemen is not ideal.
