Bruins Acquire Kaberle, Peverely and Valabik

One would think that today was the NHL trade deadline considering the amount of deals that went down really over the last few hours. The deadline is still a week and a half away, but that did not stop the Boston Bruins from tinkering with their roster now. In two separate deals, Boston brought in defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Boris Valabik, as well as center Rich Peverely.
The Bruins acquired Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward prospect Joe Colborne, Boston's first round pick this year and a conditional second rounder. Kaberle, who has been on the block for a few years now, has previously been reluctant to waive his no-trade clause in past seasons. But he did so this year to head to Boston, which ends a 12-year run with the organization that drafted him 204th overall back in 1996.

“On behalf of our entire organization I would like to thank Tomas for all of his many outstanding contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice, and in the community," general manager Brian Burke said in a statement released by the Maple Leafs. "He has been a model citizen and it’s never easy to trade a player that has conducted himself as professionally as Tomas has for the past 13 years.”

In 58 games this season, Kaberle has posted three goals and 35 points for 38 points. He has yet to register a goal on the power play, though 22 of his helpers have come on the man advantage. The Bruins will benefit from that offensive upgrade on the blue line from the 32-year old pending unrestricted free agent.

The price tag was also relatively cheap for what will probably be a rental player. Colborne is a good prospect who was taken back in 2008 by Boston at the 16th overall position. But there's no guarantees with prospects and the Bruins still have plenty of depth in their system. Giving up the first rounder to Toronto also isn't a big deal since they still possess the Maple Leafs' first round pick this year from the Phil Kessel trade. And that selection will be high on in the draft - possibly even a lottery pick.

The Bruins also completed a separate trade with the Atlanta Thrashers that netted them Peverely and Valabik in exchange for Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart. This deal will aid both teams as they compete for vastly different positioning in the postseason.

It's hard to say which side "won" this trade, as the Bruins were able to bring in a better offensive player and center in Peverely. Yet, they gave a bit on the defensive end by dealing a good two-way player in Wheeler and a better defender in Stuart. This trade just feels like a tinkering move between two general managers and should drastically change the fortunes of either team. If anything, the Bruins were able to cut a litlte payroll.