The Boston Bruins have traded former Hart Trophy Award winner Taylor Hall to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Hall, along with the rights to pending unrestricted free agent forward Nick Foligno, were sent to the Blackhawks on Monday in exchange for the rights to defensemen Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula, who are both pending restricted free agents.

It's a move that gives the Blackhawks a top-line winger they would pair with Connor Bedard, the long-presumed No. 1 pick who the Blackhawks are expected to take Wednesday during the NHL Draft. Getting Foligno also gives the Blackhawks an opportunity to sign the veteran winger before free agency starts Saturday.

As for the Bruins, the decision to move on from Hall means they have now created some much-needed cap space. CapFriendly, a website specializing in the NHL salary cap, projected the Bruins, entering Monday, with less than $5 million in available space, while having eight unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents. It's a group that includes captain Patrice Bergeron, who said he was undecided on his future after the Bruins were eliminated in the first round by the Florida Panthers.

Clearing Hall's contract while trading Foligno's rights means the Bruins now have nearly $11 million in available cap space.

Although draft week has largely been centered around them officially drafting Bedard, the Blackhawks entered the week with $37.5 million in available cap space. Only the Anaheim Ducks had more available room to add players.

Having that sort of flexibility allowed the Blackhawks to land Hall ahead of a tight window in which the draft and free agency are within days of each.

Especially when the expectation is more teams are expected to pursue trades in lieu of what is considered to be a weaker free agent market compared to previous years.

Getting Hall, who scored 16 goals and 36 points in 61 games this season, does more than give Bedard a veteran top-line winger. It gives him a teammate who knows the expectations of what it means to be the No. 1 pick with Hall going first in 2010 to the Edmonton Oilers.

The 31-year-old Hall is a seven-time 20-goal scorer who won the Hart Trophy for the league's most valuable player when he guided the New Jersey Devils to the playoffs after scoring 39 goals and 93 points during the 2017-18 season.

Hall, who has also played for the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres, was traded during the 2020-21 season to the Bruins. He scored 111 points in 158 regular-season games with the Bruins, including 17 points in 25 playoff games.

Even though Hall was a productive top-six forward, the Bruins were expected to make a move to alleviate their cap problems with the belief that Hall could be one of the players that exits.

Foligno, who scored 10 goals and 26 points, is coming off his 11th season in which he finished with more than 10 goals. He was also in the final season of a two-year contract that saw him earn $3.8 million annually. Should the Blackhawks re-sign Foligno, he would give them another option on the power-play who could possibly play on the penalty kill which he did before going to the Bruins.

As for the Bruins, their newfound cap space will allow them to address their needs knowing they must make contract decisions on those pending UFAs such as Tyler Bertuzzi, David Krejci and Dmitry Orlov, among others.

Mitchell and Regula now add to the Bruins' pending RFA class that features Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman, both of whom provided significant contributions as two of the youngest players on the Bruins roster.

It's possible the same could hold true for Mitchell and Regula. The 24-year-old Mitchell, who was coached by Bruins coach Jim Montgomery at the University of Denver, was a second-round pick in 2017 who has split time between the AHL and NHL since leaving after his junior season. Mitchell had eight points in 35 games with the Blackhawks and 16 points over 82 career NHL games.

Regula, 22, was a 2018 third-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings who was sent to the Blackhawks in the Brendan Perlini trade. The 6-foot-4 Regula scored five goals and 21 points in the AHL last season while having a four-game cameo with the Blackhawks.