How David Pastrnak Reacted To Bruins Trading Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno

In a blink, Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno went from teammates of Boston Bruins star forward David Pastrnak to opponents.

The Bruins made their first big move of the offseason Monday, trading away Hall and Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks for defensemen Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell, who has a previous connection to head coach Jim Montgomery. Boston also made another trade after dealing the two forwards.

Pastrnak understood the trade is part of the nature of the NHL, but it’s always tough to say goodbye to the close bond he cultivated with Hall and Foligno.

“It’s definitely tough to see, just (when) friends go away,” Pastrnak told reporters prior to the NHL Awards ceremony, per The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride. “It is hard, they’ve been close friends, but, you know, we all know what kind of business this is. This stuff happens in hockey and it’s unfortunate for the friendship relationship, but we all understand, and we all know this is the business. But we’re going to stay friends, so hopefully they do good.”

A big part of the trade for the Bruins was getting cap relief. Hall, who battled through injuries this past season and tallied 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points, has a base salary of $6.3 million for this upcoming season, according to Spotrac, and his four-year, $24 million deal he signed with Boston in 2021 doesn’t expire until 2025.

Montgomery, who won the Jack Adams Award on Monday, had a similar reaction to the trade that Pastrnak had.

“My reaction is it’s time to move forward,” Montgomery told reporters, per McBride. “It’s time to start focusing on next year. And, you know, we lost two really good players. But we knew that if it wasn’t them, it was going to be some other players because it’s just the way the business and the world works, right, in hockey? So, now we’re looking forward.”