Bruins Move Cap Space to Atlanta

			2011 Season				2011	Remaining
To Atlanta	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Blake Wheeler	Forward	24	58	11	16	27	$2.2 million	0	RFA
Mark Stuart	Defense	29	31	1	4	5	$1.7 million	0	UFA
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To Boston	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Rich Peverley	Forward	28	59	14	20	34	$1.3 million	1	Same
Boris Valabik	Defense	25	0	0	0	0	$763,000	0	RFA

A busy Friday to say the least. Technically, this is the first deal for the Bruins, although you may have heard it much differently. The Bruins got some cap relief with a deal involving the Thrashers, sending Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to Atlanta for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik, saving in the neighbourhood of $1.8 million in annual cap space.

Wheeler and Stuart were the two names that have been floating around the rumour mills coming out of Boston, Wheeler quickly becoming the odd-man out and Stuart a healthy scratch over the past few games for the Bruins.  The Thrashers do get some decent talent out of this deal, especially in a guy like Wheeler, who has arguably been stifled offensively in Boston or just seemingly unhappy with his situation.  In Atlanta, he should be able to make some waves and some in roads with some of the existing talent, which could be some good news for them.  Stuart will definitely add some depth to their immediate roster, possibly ending up as the 6th or 7th defenseman again.

The Bruins managed to sneak out some veteran talent through this deal, as Peverley has been quite a good player at a very reasonable cost, saving the Bruins some valuable space for another upcoming deal.  Frankly, the Bruins do a great job with this deal, especially for a forward and a defenseman going either way.  Valabik, a monster-sized player has been in the minors for the better part of this season, will be more like an add-in to the deal, since he wasn't fitting in with the Thrashers.

Cap-wise, the Thrashers were a good team to dump nearly $2 million in annual space on, as they had plenty of room for it and they will also get some negotiating rights to Wheeler, who may be a good fit down South.  The Bruins have their space now to make the next move in their master plan and they'll now be able to make the worst-kept secret in the league, a move to get Tomas Kaberle out of Toronto.

In the draft, only one of the four players has been taken and that's Peverley, who belongs to Dale C. in the draft, the 20th place team.  Peverley may get a few more points with a more potent team, but it likely won't save Dale's season to this point.