Hall will help Bedard on the ice and with the pressure of being a 1st overall pick. If Foligno stays he will have great veterans presence and a captain like guy in the locker room during another rough seasons. Hawks Win.
That capspace will go a long way for Boston, but Chicago got a genuinely good player for next to nothing. I do like Ian Mitchell, but he's not a game changer, and Chicago moving him doesn't hurt them. Atleast Bedard will have a decent finisher on his line
Chicago obviously gets the better end of this deal…but hard to assess Boston side until we see what they do with the cap space. Krug? Bertuzzi? Bringing back both goalies?
Honestly this is a win-win trade for both teams. Bruins shed 6 mil and hawks get 6 mil closer to the cap floor for 2 young defenseman they didn't see as part of the future and at the same time get a solid veteran winger to play with Bedard.
Why did Chicago give back anything when it is clear as day Boston needs to move a big contract?
I think it's reasonable to give good value to other GM's you'll be working with in the future. They still got a great deal, and there are a few (very few) other teams that might have had the space to eat the entire contract and may have been willing to move a midrange asset to do it.
Clear Chicago win. They didn't have to completely emasculate Sweeney to get a great deal. They add a piece to play with Bedard which is good for them.
On players replacement level or worse with bad contracts that there is near-zero desire to acquire, then you can and probably should embarrass the other guy and take him to the cleaners.
Why did Chicago give back anything when it is clear as day Boston needs to move a big contract?
Edit: I'm floored that so little people are calling this a win for Boston. Chicago gave back assets they didn't have to.
This is true. However, Mitchell and Regula are likely very good AHL Dmen and fringe NHL players. They're both young and might turn things around (a la Forsling) but Mitchell is an undersized, overhyped player. There's also the fact of contract limits. I didn't look but Hawks may need the contract space so they tossed in some freebies.