This season?s trade season has been far busier than last, and it has me wondering: Will there be anyone left to trade on Deadline Day (February 28th)? In a move that has been rumored to happen almost all week long, the Boston Bruins have acquired defenseman Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs. In return, the Leafs will receive prospect Joe Colborne, Boston?s 2011 first round pick (not Toronto?s pick back), and another conditional draft pick (likely conditional on playoff rounds won, or Kaberle resigning with Boston). It was first reported earlier this week that Boston would be the only team that Kaberle would waive his no-trade clause for. While Brian Burke vehemently denied this, that was still believed to be the case; after all, if Burke didn?t publicly deny it, he would lose any and all leverage when dealing with Boston GM Peter Chiarelli. Oddly enough, Boston has coveted Kaberle back to the 2009 Draft when a deal fell apart last minute between the two clubs surrounding Kaberle and Phil Kessel. Now that the deal has finally happened, it ends two-plus years of speculation and trade rumors for Kaberle. It also gives the defenseman the opportunity to play in the playoffs for the first time sine 2003-04. A finish to the season on a contending team, and a strong playoff could go a long ways toward earning the 4-time All-Star a big paycheck as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. While Boston was already a contender before this trade, and a team that boasted very strong team defense, their back-end lacked a puck moving defenseman. Kaberle now brings that element to the Bruins and will greatly help them (and Zdeno Chara) with his fine passing ability and heads up play. I can see his play improving significantly as he escapes the Toronto media circus, and also starts to play in games that mean something. Kaberle had spent all 12 NHL seasons with Toronto, the team that drafted him in the 8th round of the 1996 Draft. He has the second-most points among defensemen in franchise history, putting up 83 goals, 437 assists and 520 points in 878 regular season games. Kaberle is also a +25 for his career, which is surprising considering the Leafs? futility since the lockout. In 77 career playoff games, he has 28 points and is +8. Grade for Boston: A In return, Toronto receives Boston?s top-rated prospect not named Tyler Seguin. Colborne, 21-years-old, is a 6?5? center with playmaking ability that Toronto could desperately use in the long-term. He was selected 16th overall in the 2008 Draft, and is playing in his first professional season, scoring 26 points in 55 games in the AHL thus far. The one knock is that he has yet to learn to use his great size to his advantage, and relies more on his skill; but the general feel is that with more professional coaching he will learn to properly utilize both facets of his game. Burke is also able to get another first round pick in the upcoming draft, giving them two (they obtaining Philadelphia?s first for Kris Versteeg), and this gives him great options going forward. Both picks are likely to be in the 20?s, but he may be able to package them to move up and grab someone rated higher; or he could keep both and continue stocking the cupboard with youth; or he could dangle both between now and the deadline and see if he can get a young, impact forward. I know Burke would have preferred a roster player, but considering the lack of options Burke had to work with (as in, one option ? Boston), I applaud him for getting at least this much. Grade for Toronto: A- In a related move in order to create the cap room necessary to fit Kaberle on the roster, Boston traded away forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart to the Atlanta Thrashers for center Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik. Wheeler is only in his third NHL season and was drafted 5th overall by Phoenix in 2004; he went unsigned until 2008 when Boston signed him as a free agent. Wheeler is making $2.2M this season on a one-year deal, and the 24-year-old still has a couple of seasons of restricted free agency ahead of him, so this clearly isn?t a rental player for the Thrashers. Wheeler is extremely durable, playing in all but one game for Boston since the start of the 2008-09 season, His stats have regressed a bit after a solid 21-24-45 rookie season, as he put up 18-20-38 last season and is currently sitting at 11 goals in 58 games this year. But the Thrashers have excelled at plucking under-used players and giving them an opportunity, and perhaps this will elevate Wheeler?s game like it did Dustin Byfuglien?s, Andrew Ladd?s and last year Peverley?s. Boston also shed Stuart?s $1.675M cap hit. The 26-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, which is likely a bonus for Atlanta given a possible Wheeler extension/raise in the near future. Stuart was likely the trade tax that Atlanta had to take in order to receive Wheeler and his untapped potential. Nice job by Atlanta of getting younger. Grade for Atlanta: A- This was all about money for Boston, as they are very much in win-now mode. It seemed like Wheeler wasn?t fighting in properly, and with the addition of Chris Kelly from Ottawa he became expendable for the time being. But as was said above, he is only 24-years-old, and only in his third NHL season, so it?s far too early to cast judgement on what his prime years will hold. They are sacrificing those for an opportunity to win this year with Kaberle. But it isn?t as though they receive nothing in return for Wheeler; after finally receiving consistent playing time with Atlanta, Peverley has emerged as a solid center who can fill in on a second line, but is ideal as a third-line center on a contending team. When he came to Atlanta toward the end of the 2008-09 season, he scored 35 points in 39 games. Last season he set career highs across the board with 22-33-55 in 82 games This season, Peverley had been Atlanta?s top faceoff man, winning 55.5% of the 1,020 he had taken. He also averaged 1:34 of short-handed ice time per game, and is a quality penalty killer. Peverley will make $1.3M this season and next, providing cost-effective depth for Boston. The 28-year-old has 14-20-34 in 59 games this season. Valabik, 25-years-old, is starting to be thought of as a bit of a bust. The 6?7? defenseman was Atlanta?s 10th overall pick in 2004. He has yet to score a goal in 80 career games, and has 7 assists and 210 penalty minutes. This marks the fourth straight season that he has split time between the NHL and the AHL. While Boston was clearly needing to trim their payroll, I think they did a pretty decent job of getting some quality back that can help them this season and next. Grade for Boston: B+ Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. Email him at nick.obergan@realgm.com or following him on twitter @NickObergan