Acquisition of veteran forwards should give Chicago proven skill and character without a long-term commitment.
Primed to select Connor Bedard as the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson made a deal with the Boston Bruins on Monday, June 26 to give his team two veteran players who should make an immediate impact.
The Blackhawks acquired forwards Taylor Hall and the first rights to negotiate with pending unrestricted free agent Nick Foligno from Boston Bruins for defensemen Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula.
Main photo at top: Taylor Hall. Below: Nick Foligno in action versus Florida in the playoffs.Davidson never ruled out acquiring a veteran or two to help with his team's rebuild. What he doesn't want are long, burdensome contracts.
The NHL's youngest GM avoided that, while picking up two of the NHL's solid citizens who should fortify his team on and off the ice. Both Hall and Foligno have produced, while helping top younger players transition to the NHL.
“We are thrilled to be adding players of Nick’s and Taylor’s caliber to our organization,” Davidson said in a news release. “The two bring a wealth of experience and leadership that will strengthen not only our forward group, but aid in the development of our entire roster.”
Hall's 2023-24 cap hit of $6 million makes him the highest-paid forward on Chicago (for now), but the 31-year-old's four-year contract is set to expire after 2024-25. That's a season before Bedard's NHL-standard three-year entry-level contract ($925,000 base plus bonuses that bring total compensation to $4.45 million) will run out and "hockey's next generational talent," presumably, will be in line for a big-money, long-term deal.
Davidson signed Foligno, a 35-year-old who was set to become a UFA, to a one-year $4 million deal on Tuesday. Now a high-character second- or third-line forward who has played all three positions up front, Foligno will be entering his 17th NHL season. That's two more than his dad, Mike, played in the NHL.
Foligno earned $3.8 million last season as he finished out a two-year agreement with Boston.
Taking on Hall's contract and signing Foligno boosts the Blackhawks team cap hit to just under $56 million, according to CapFriendly. The 2023-24 salary cap is $83.5 million and the floor is just over $62 million.
Taylor Hall will enter his 14th NHL season.Hall was No. 1 draft pick in 2010.
Edmonton made Hall the NHL's No. 1 draft pick in 2010. He went on to play five seasons with the Oilers before moving to New Jersey, Arizona, Buffalo and then Boston in April 2021 -- in the skewed and pandemic shortened 2020-21 season.
Hall was highly touted as a top draft selection, albeit not quite with the expectations surrounding Bedard.
He won the Calder Trophy as a 19-year-old rookie with the Oilers in 2010-11 and had his best season in 2017-18 with New Jersey when he put up 39 goals and 54 assists en route to winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He also helped mentor young Devils stars' Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, both of whom were No. 1 overall picks, a role he will now assume with Bedard.
With Boston last season, Hall had 16 goals and 20 assists in 61 regular seasons, then five goals and three assists in the first round of the playoffs as Bruins were stunned by Florida in seven games in the first round.
Hall has slowed from the pace that's given him 264 goals and 693 points in 822 career games. His 15:56 average minutes of ice time in 2022-23 was the lowest of his career. Still, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Calgary native should still be no worse than a solid second-line forward as he enters his 14th season.
Foligno had 10 goals and 16 assists in 60 regular-season games for Boston in 2022-23 while averaging 12:22 of ice time. He added one goal and two assists in the playoffs.
Nick Foligno will enter his 17th NHL season, two more than his dad, Mike, played.Both Mitchell and Regula entered the summer as restricted free agents.
Mitchell, 24, never lived up to the billing former GM Stan Bowman dished out when he drafted the defenseman in the second round, 57th overall, in 2017. The former University of Denver star was just short of the offensive skill -- and well short of physical involvement -- to make a consistent impact in the NHL.
The 6-foot-4 Regula, who's 22, has more upside. He played just four games in Chicago last season,but was solid at AHL Rockford where had five goals and 16 assists in 51 games.