Sens Sell Kelly to Boston

			2011 Season				2011	Remaining
To Boston	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Chris Kelly	Forward	30	57	12	11	23	$2.1 million	1	Same
--------------------------
To Ottawa	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
2011 2nd Round Draft Pick

The Boston Bruins ended up adding some depth to the centre position late on Tuesday night, as they acquired Chris Kelly from the Ottawa Senators for a 2nd round draft pick.

With Marc Savard on the shelf for the rest of the year, the uncertainty of Tyler Seguin and some wingers filling in down the middle from time to time, the Bruins needed to give some much needed help to their roster players by adding a guy like Kelly.

The Bruins had to be in the market for some more forward depth and the Senators were selling, so this deal really does make sense on the surface.  Digging a little bit deeper, the quality of talent may not be as great as we near the trade deadline in a couple weeks, so jumping on a second-line (capable) centre early on, should give the Bruins some more time to develop some much needed chemistry.

The Senators come away with a pretty good pick from the Bruins, which will be the Bruins' actual pick in the Entry Draft this Summer, instead of the Minnesota Wild's pick, which the Bruins acquired in 2009 in a deal foro Chuck Kobasew.  The Bruins pick should be a late one in the round, unless they falter early in the playoffs, then it would work out a little closer to the middle.

In terms of the salary cap, the Senators are just dumping, likely making some more room for an audition for some younger players to come in and get some quality NHL time down the stretch.  The Senators will also open up some more space for next season, as Kelly is signed on for the 2012 season as well, which now comes off their books.

The Bruins, on the other hand, are playing with quite a bit of LTIR discounts, with Savard on the shelf, which gives them ample room to take on the remainder of Kelly's deal, taking up half of what CapGeek.com calls the Max Acquisition Space, talking in terms of annual contracts.  This deal is a nice fit and still keeps some space around for another deal down the road.

As of Tuesday night, I have the Bruins going into the Summer (if the season ended right away) with 16 players and one buyout on the books for the 2012 season for a cap cost of $49.8 million.  This also includes a healthy Marc Savard, which isn't necessarily a guarantee today, but it at least gives you an idea of where they are.  Nine forwards, five defense and their current goaltending duo comprise the roster numbers, as of right now.

In the selection sheet pool, Kelly is a member of Box 22, but I don't think he was at all popular enough to have selections to his name.  I really wish I did the pick count this year, but I never really got around to it.  Nevertheless, moving to Boston may make Kelly a bit more appealing, being as though he is only 11 points back of the box leader, Erik Cole.