'Welcome Home': Bruins Trade Reilly Smith To Florida For Jimmy Hayes
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins are making a trade, and it's bringing them a local boy in return.
The Bruins on Wednesday traded winger Reilly Smith to Florida in exchange for the rights to restricted free agent forward Jimmy Hayes.
ESPN's Pierre LeBrun was first to report the deal, which was confirmed by the Panthers on Twitter.
The Bruins are also unloading the $4 million dedicated to Marc Savard's contract.
Hayes, 25, has tallied 36 goals and 30 assists in 168 NHL games for Chicago and Florida. Last year, he set career highs in goals (19) and assists (16) while averaging 15 minutes per game for Florida. The 6-foot-6, 221-pound right winger averaged 14 goals per season over the past three years.
Hayes played three seasons for Boston College from 2008-11, scoring 42 goals and registering 39 assists in 117 games for the Eagles.
Hayes entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, after making $925,000 last year.
Smith, 24, joined the Bruins in July of 2013 as part of the return package for Tyler Seguin. He's played in all but one of the Bruins' 164 games since then, scoring 33 goals and registering 58 assists over the two seasons. He signed a two-year contract extension with Boston in March, which pays him $6.85 million.
That was a contract offered by since-fired general manager Peter Chiarelli, and it's one that new GM Don Sweeney has quickly moved to eliminate.
Sweeney was a very busy man in his first day as general manager during a free-agent period.
First, Sweeney signed young center Ryan Spooner. Then, he reportedly closed in on signing unrestricted free agent Matt Beleskey. And it was capped off by this swap of young forwards.
