It took a couple years of failed negotiations and endless rumors, but Tomas Kaberle is finally coming to Boston.
The price was steep. The Bruins sent one of their top prospects, center Joe Colborne, and their 2011 first-round pick to Toronto for the veteran offensive defenseman. There's also a conditional second-round pick in 2012 that the Bruins will send to the Leafs if they re-sign Kaberle or reach the Stanley Cup Finals this year.
That's one case where paying more will actually make the deal a better bargain, as seeing Kaberle on the Bruins' blue line for years to come or watching the Bruins in the finals would make adding another pick to the pot pretty painless. If neither of those things comes to pass, however, this trade could haunt the Bruins for giving up so much of their future for a few months of Kaberle, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"I felt right now in the market there wasn't a player who is close to this player," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a news conference Friday afternoon at the Garden. "The market is limited. The UFA label makes the price seem high, and it is high. And the price was high for other reasons that I'm sure you guys will write about."
Those other reasons are the haul that Chiarelli took from Toronto counterpart Brian Burke the last time they made a trade. Chiarelli landed two first-round picks and a second in exchange for Phil Kessel prior to the start of last season. Tyler Seguin and Jared Knight have already been added to the Bruins' system with the first two picks, with Boston also owning what promises to be another lottery pick in this year's draft.
With Kessel struggling in Toronto, the pressure was on Burke to do a little better this time around. That combined with the lack of puck-moving defensemen on the market and the Bruins' need for that element on their blue line, likely raised the price quite a bit for what could be just a rental.
But Chiarelli felt he could afford that price and needed to make the move.
"We felt we needed a player like Tomas," Chiarelli said. "He has good vision. He's a good skater. He can quarterback a power play. He's a smart, heady player.
"We had to pay a price," Chiarelli added. "I felt the time was right with our team and with the number of assets we had. We were in a good position to make this transaction. It's a strong message to our team and our fans that we want to win."
Chiarelli mentioned watching Kaberle set up Bryan McCabe for one-timers on the power play in years past in Toronto and "could envision a 1-2 punch down the line" in Boston with Kaberle feeding Zdeno Chara in a similar fashion.
Bruins fans having been seeing that in their dreams as well. Now they'll have a chance to see it in reality, likely as soon as Friday night as Kaberle is expected to join the team in time for Friday's game in Ottawa.
How long they'll get to see Kaberle in Black and Gold is the big question remaining to truly evaluate the merits of this deal. Chiarelli said that he definitely wants to re-sign him and noted that he has a good history with Kaberle's agent, Rick Curran.
Talks have not begun between the camps, and Chiarelli stated that he didn't foresee reaching any deal with Kaberle until after the season, but did say that, "I think it will be smooth sailing to sign him."
If that proves true, this deal could be a huge boon to the Bruins. But there's also sizable risk with what the Bruins gave up if they don't get Kaberle's John Hancock on a new deal this summer or aren't skating around the Garden with a shiny silver chalice over their heads this spring.
