The Brad Stuart trade watch is finally over.

The Bruins Saturday night shipped Stuart, along with forward Wayne Primeau and a conditional draft pick to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Andrew Ference and forward Chuck Kobesaw.

The Bruins were expected to deal Stuart to a Western Conference team but many believed that team to be the Flames rivals, the Edmonton Oilers.

By acquiring these two, the Flames have bolstered their defensive depth in what can be seen as a serious move for another run at the Stanley Cup.

Stuart joins an already impressive Flames blueline corps, and his two-way play should help take some of the load off Dion Phaneuf and Roman Hamrlik. Primeau is an experienced checking line forward whose grit should be invaluable down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Both Stuart and Primeau are unrestricted free agents this summer and weren’t in the Bruins future plans. One or both could end up as merely playoff rentals for the Flames this season, depending on their performance in the upcoming post-season.

Like Stuart, Hamrlik is an unrestricted free agent this summer, so it’s possible GM Darryl Sutter was thinking beyond this spring’s playoffs with this move. If Hamrlik opts to move on, Sutter could replace him with Stuart.

In return, the Bruins are receiving two good, young and affordable players, who could still blossom into stars in their own right. Kobesaw has good speed and shows a promising scoring touch whilst Ference plays a very good physical style.

Their combined salaries are worth less than Stuart’s was for this season and both are signed for next season, giving Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli the cap space to either make more additions at the trade deadline, or to go shopping for more depth in this summer’s free agent market.

As for the Oilers, their search for a puckmoving defenseman, or any player who can bolster their sagging playoff hopes, goes on.