Everybody in the world knew that the Bruins had to clear some cap space this summer, and Don Sweeney and the Bruins have made their first move a big one, with Taylor Hall sent to Chicago.

The trade, which will come with no salary retention on the part of the Bruins, comes with two years at $6 million remaining on Hall’s contract with the club.

• A Bruin for over two years, Hall’s departure from the club comes after a 2022-23 campaign that included 16 goals and 36 points in 61 games. The dip in production was almost certainly a result in a change in Hall’s role, as the Bruins moved him out of a top-six scoring role and more into a third-line checking role with Charlie Coyle.

  Hall embraced that challenge throughout the season (he would always note that he wasn’t the only person sacrificing something for the betterment of the team), and his willingness to buy in on that certainly made the B’s a better club.

  But Hall’s scoring game returned in the postseason, as the No. 1 overall pick from the 2010 NHL Draft looked as explosive as ever, and finished with five goals (tied for the team lead) and eight points in seven games.

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  Jan 28, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Taylor Hall (71) skates with the puck during the first period against the Boston Bruins at FLA Live Arena. (Jason Mowry/USA TODAY Sports)

• Acquired from the Sabres in 2021 in exchange for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick, Hall put up 44 goals and 111 points in 158 games over three seasons with the Bruins. Hall’s best year in the Bruins came back in 2021-22, with 20 goals and 61 points, primarily in a second-line role with Erik Haula and David Pastrnak.

  The move did not require Hall’s blessing, as the Blackhawks were not on his no-trade list.

  In addition to Hall, the Bruins also included the exclusive negotiating rights to forward and pending unrestricted free agent Nick Foligno in their package sent to the Blackhawks. Foligno, who was wrapping up a two-year, $7.6 million contract with the Bruins, put up 10 goals and 26 points this past season.

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  Feb 16, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Nick Foligno (17) waits for a face off during the first period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. (Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports)

• In exchange for Hall and the rights to Foligno, the Bruins will receive defensemen Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell.

  A 6-foot-4 right-shot defenseman, Regula put up five goals and 21 points, along with a plus-1 rating, in 51 games for AHL Rockford in 2022-23. Regula also appeared in four games for Chicago, and has scored one goal and in 22 NHL appearances since the start of the pandemic-delayed 2021 season.

  Mitchell, meanwhile, is a 5-foot-11 right-shot defenseman who scored one goal and eight points in 35 games for the Blackhawks this past season. The 24-year-old Mitchell, who was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks back in 2017, has recorded four goals and 16 points in 82 career NHL games. It’s also worth noting that Mitchell has experience playing for Jim Montgomery, as he was on Montgomery’s team at the University of Denver.

  Both Regula and Mitchell are pending restricted free agents, with Mitchell being arbitration-eligible.

  And with the trade, the Bruins now have just under $11 million in projected cap space for the 2023 offseason.

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  MONTREAL, QUEBEC – JULY 07: President Cam Neely and General Manager Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins look on during Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 07, 2022. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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