BOSTON (Reuters) - The Boston Bruins boosted their roster for a Stanley Cup run Friday by acquiring defenseman Tomas Kaberle in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs and center Rich Peverley in a deal with the Atlanta Thrashers.
For Kaberle, the Bruins sent their first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, forward Joe Colborne and a conditional second-round pick in 2012 pegged to whether or not Boston gets to the Cup finals or re-signs Kaberle after the season.
The Bruins, whose 32-19-7 record is third-best in the Eastern Conference, added defenseman Boris Valabik along with Peverley in the deal with Atlanta for promising forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart.
Kaberle of the Czech Republic has three goals and 35 assists in 58 games this season and waived his no-trade clause to join the Bruins. In 878 career games, all with Toronto, Kaberle has 83 goals and 437 assists for 520 points.
The 32-year-old Kaberle, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, has represented the Czech Republic in the Olympics three times (2002, 2006, 2010), claiming a bronze medal at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.
Colborne, 21, a highly-regarded first-round pick in 2008, has yet to make his NHL debut.
Peverley, a six-year NHL veteran, has 14 goals and 34 points for the Thrashers this season, while Valabik has shuttled between Atlanta and the American Hockey League the past couple of seasons.
Wheeler, 24, had 21 goals as a rookie in 2008-09 for the Bruins, but slipped to 18 last season and has 11 in 58 games in 2010-11.
Stuart, 26, has one goal and five points in 31 games for Boston this season.
The deal with Atlanta saved Boston enough room under the salary cap to allow them to complete the trade for Kaberle.
(Writing by Larry Fine in New York, Editing by Steve Ginsburg)
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