Kaberle solidifies a Well-Rounded Boston Defense

We can finally put all of these Kaberle rumors to rest.

The Boston Bruins officially announced on Friday morning that the club has acquired defenseman Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for prospect center Joe Colborne, the Bruins first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional second-round pick.  Toronto takes control of the Bruins own second round pick in 2012 if the Bruins can reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011 or if they re-sign Kaberle this summer (Kaberle is an unrestricted free-agent at the end of the season).

Kaberle has three goals and 35 assists for 38 points on the season, while posting a -3 rating on a Maple Leaf team that has seen 29 more pucks go in their net than on opposing teams’ nets.

Kaberle has been the subject of trade talks for about a year now, dating back to last season’s trade deadline.  He was a long-time member of the Maple Leafs and his now-former teammates only had positive things to say about the 32-year old defenseman.

"He's consistent every night at what he does," defenseman Luke Schenn said. "He establishes the setup on the power-play, makes that great breakout pass, logs big minutes for our team every night. There's no question that he is one of the top defensemen in the league and has been for the last 10 years or so."

A one-time 60-point scorer and two-time 50-point scorer, Kaberle moves the puck as well as anyone in the league.  His stretch-passes and ability to jump in the play can only benefit the gritty Bruins defense.

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara may have even more of an opportunity to send out bombs from the blue line, as Kaberle has been the Leafs’ power-play specialist since the lockout.  The Bruins have experimented sending out defenseman Dennis Seidenberg with Chara to play the opposite point, but some more tuning is needed.  Winger Mark Recchi has also spent time opposite Chara, but the Bruins just needed someone else who knows the ropes of the point on the power-play.  The Bruins are currently ranked 14th in power-play conversions, but want to improve that number.

The Bruins have not had a steady two-way defenseman since the departure of Dennis Wideman over the summer.  Sure, all of the Bruins defenseman can move the puck, but Bruins fans are about to see one of the smoothest skaters in the NHL join their last line of defense.

The Bruins also traded defenseman Mark Stuart and forward Blake Wheeler to the Atlanta Thrashers for forward Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik today.  Valabik will be most likely be used as a seventh-defenseman, allowing much more ice-time to head Kaberle’s way.

Kaberle is yet to see Stanley Cup action.  This trade may allow him to finally have a shot at Hockey’s Holy Grail.