3 reasons why the Chicago Blackhawks did not get fleeced in the blockbuster three-team trade involving Taylor Hall

They get a higher third-round pick back, and Hall was expected to fetch that anyway.

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2) The Hawks still have a spot to retain a cap hit, and that can help in possibly moving Seth Jones.

Jones would have to approve a deal since he has a full no-movement clause. Come on, if he gets a chance to join a contender, you got to think he will waive it considering he has not been a fan of playing on a rebuilding team.

With all the promising young defensemen the Hawks have, Jones is just getting in the way.

The Hawks still have a way to get out from Jones' deal if the team can find a taker and Jones agrees to go. That is huge for the Hawks long-term since they have the depth to replace Jones. Well, at least, in the long run.

The hope is last year's No. 2 overall pick Artyom Levshunov and 2022 first-round pick Sam Rinzel pair up to be like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on the next great Hawks team (just using that as example, not saying they will be Hall of Famers). The Hawks also have Alex Vlasic continuing to rise. Plus, Louis Creiver is showing he can be a solid sixth defenseman. Let's not forget about the promise of Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski, and Ethan Del Mastro.

You can see how the Hawks actually do not need Jones blocking ice time for the promise the Hawks have on the way.

Maybe, the Hawks could have improved their draft pick return had they retained some of Hall's cap hit in addition to Rantanen's, but then the franchise would not be able to retain any salary cap hits since they still have Jake McCabe's portion on the books. Teams can only retain three players.

What the Hawks did essentially was get the speculated return for Hall--a third-round pick--but take on the extra million difference between Rantanen's salary and Hall's to get a better third-round choice.

They still have a slot to possibly move Jones at half of his over $9 million AAV which makes trading him possible. What he is producing at his current cap hit means no team is touching him. At a discounted rate, he can still be a viable second-pair defenseman for a contender.

The Hawks also could help facilitate another deal like this since they have that open spot and still plenty of cap space.

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