The Boston Bruins continue to be a busy team this week, making their second trade in three days, this time to bolster their roster. 

Having dealt away Chuck Kobasew on Sunday to Minnesota the Bruins today acquired left wing Daniel Paille from the Buffalo Sabres in return for two draft picks, a third rounder and a conditional fourth rounder in 2010. 

According to NESN.com Paille was brought in as a short-term replacement for the injured Milan Lucic, currently sidelined for six weeks with a broken finger. 

Paille until now had played his entire NHL career (since 2005-06) with the Sabres. His best season was 2007-08 with 19 goals and 35 points in 77 games, but his playing time was reduced in 2008-09, and this season he'd only appeared in two games for the Sabres. 

It remains to be seen if the 25-year-old Paille can regain his form with his new club and it could be a stretch to expect him to fully replace Lucic's physical presence on the Bruins roster.  

The Columbus Blue Jackets added some depth to their defense corps today which they hope might blossom into a valuable addition. 

On Monday the Jackets acquired defenseman Anton Stralman from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a third round pick in 2010. 

Stralman, 23, was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs this past summer in a multi-player deal which shipped veteran forward Wayne Primeau to the Leafs. 

The Flames wanted to move Stralman for a return rather than risk losing him for nothing via waivers. 

He has some promise as a puck-moving defenseman and is a right-handed shot, which the Jackets were lacking last season from the point, especially on the power-play. 

They'll hope Stralman can blossom into a decent two-way blueliner. 

This trade also spells the end of veteran defenseman Martin Skoula's tryout with the Jackets. He was released once the trade was completed and it's unlikely he'll land with another NHL club this season. 

The summer long contract standoff between the Boston Bruins and forward Phil Kessel ended tonight when the Bruins shipped the 21-year-old forward to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for the Leafs first and second round picks in 2010 and their first round pick in 2011. 

Kessel also agreed to a five-year, $27 million contract with his new club, which will count as $5.4 million per season againt the Leafs salary cap. 

This news doesn't come as a surprise for most NHL fans, particularly those in Toronto and Boston. Leafs general manager Brian Burke tried unsuccessfully back at the June entry draft in Montreal to land Kessel via trade, offering up defenseman Tomas Kaberle at the time but the deal fell through over a disagreement of the draft picks to be included. 

Burke's interest perked up again over the past two weeks following his reacquisition of his club's second round pick in the 2010 entry, which gave him enough for the compensation required (his own first, second and third round picks in 2010) were he to sign Kessel to an offer sheet.

Burke obviously preferred to trade rather than go the offer sheet route but it was clear by this move he was sending a not-so-subtle warning to Bruins GM Peter Chiareeli an offer sheet wasn't out of the question if a trade couldn't be worked out. 

The Nashville Predators also had serious interest in Kessel but according to reports the forward was more interested in going to Toronto. 

Burke is giving up some considerable value for Kessel, the 2007 Masterton Award winner for perseverance in overcoming testicular cancer and returning to action. Last season was a breakout performance for him, potting 36 goals and 60 points in 70 games with the Bruins. 

Kessel has obvious offensive skills, including speed and a quick shot, but the knock on him is he's a one-dimensional forward whose defensive game leaves much to be desired. 

Burke however needed to provide a boost to this offense heading into this season and in young Kessel he's got a proven 36-goal scorer who has the ability to do more and is still young enough that he has enough time to round out his game and become a more complete performer, something he should be able to do under Leafs coach Ron Wilson. 

The Bruins would've preferred to retain Kessel but had limited cap space going into this summer to do so. Chiarelli had set the bar for Kessel around $3.75 million, which was the amount teammate David Krejci re-signed for earlier this year. 

Kessel and his agent obviously believed he was worth more, and as we can see from what he got from the Leafs, it was considerably more than the Bruins could comfortably afford to pay. 

With only two weeks remaining until the start of the season the Bruins were running out of time to get Kessel under contract as it was quite possible the Leafs or another club might've pitched him an offer sheet that would've forced them to either match and then be forced to dump salary by moving other players to get under the cap in time for the start of the season or lose him and receive compensatory picks. 

With only $1.7 million in available cap space, receiving another player as part of the return wasn't an affordable option for Chiarelli, thus it was best to get the kind of return in draft picks he wanted, rather than the league-mandated return for not matching a Kessel offer sheet. 

In the short term this deal favors the Leafs as they get a young player who should prove to be a talented sniper over the next five years, although as more than a few Bruins fans have noted, he might find the goals a little tougher to come by this season without Marc Savard setting him up as he did in Boston. 

Still, Kessel is talented enough to develop into a reliable offensive talent for the Leafs. 

As for the Bruins, time will tell if those draft picks can turn into future stars. 

The Dany Heatley trade saga is finally over. 

After months of speculation since news Heatley requested a trade from the Ottawa Senators broke in mid-June, including a failed early July deal with the Edmonton Oilers, the Senators dealt the disgruntled winger along with a fifth round pick to the San Jose Sharks. 

Heading to the Senators are forwards Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo plus a second round pick.

The Sharks were long rumored as the potential destination for Heatley, having been listed among the eight teams on his "wish list" of preferred destinations, but were the only club seen as having any real interest in getting a deal done over the course of the summer.

It took weeks however due in part to Heatley's large salary ($7.5 million per season) and the asking price (believed to be a top forward, puckmoving defenseman and first round pick) of Senators general manager Bryan Murray.

Rumor had it Murray initially sought centers Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau as part of the deal but neither player was available.

The return for the Senators isn't bad but one has to believe Murray settled instead of getting what he really wanted.

Not that he had much choice since Murray didn't want Heatley trade request to hang over the club in the upcoming season becoming an unnecessary distraction.

With this deal the Senators get two veteran forwards who could provide additional scoring depth but neither will sufficiently replace Heatley's scoring punch on the first line.

Cheechoo is a former 56-goal scorer and winner of the Richard Trophy as the league's leading goalscorer in 2005-06 but since that high-water mark his statistics steadily declined to his 12 goal, 27 point performance in 66 games in 2008-09.

Injuries played a role in the deterioration of the 29-year-old Cheechoo's offensive game and it's possible a change of scenery might help him regain some of his scoring touch but Senators fans shouldn't expect any more 50 goal performances from him. At best he might provide some second line scoring depth.

Michalek has been a consistent 20-plus goal-scorer over the past three seasons and netted a career-best 26 goals and 66 points in 2006-07.

At 24 Michalek has yet to hit his playing prime and might have the opportunity to shine playing on the first line with center Jason Spezza.

The dollars were a good fit for both clubs, with the Sharks sending nearly $8 million in salary back to the Senators whilst sending Heatley's $7.5 million to San Jose.

The move provides the Sharks with the potential for one of the most lethal offensive one-two punches in the NHL as Heatley, a former two-time 50 goal scorer, will be teamed up with Thornton, one of the top playmakers.

Sharks GM Doug Wilson promised fans changes would be in the offing following the club's disappointing early exit from the 2009 playoffs after winning the President's Trophy finishing first overall in the standings.

Taking on Heatley not only is a significant roster change but is a clear indication Wilson is loading up for a run at the Stanley Cup in 2010.

It remains to be seen if this move pays off in a championship but it should make the Sharks the favorite to dominate the Western Conference standings once again.  

Rumored for weeks to be in the market for one or two defensemen,Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis found what he was looking for with the San Jose Sharks. 

On Friday Gillis acquired veteran blueliners Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich from the Sharks in exchange for defenseman Daniel Rahimi and forward Patrick White. 

The 27-year-old Ehrhoff, who had 42 points in 77 game with the Sharks last season should fill Gillis' need for another puck-moving defenseman. 

Lukowich, 33, is a physical defensive blueliner who has plenty of playoff experience having won Stanley Cups with Dallas and Tampa Bay. 

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson had been sitting just over the salary cap (at roughly $58.3 million) prior to making this move.

In shipping out Ehrhoff and Lukowich for a minor leaguer in Rahimi and a prospect in White (who was selected 25th overall by the Canucks in 2007) Wilson was able to move over $4.6 million in salaries, giving him some much-needed breathing room, perhaps to add another forward. 

It's been oft-rumored Wilson was interested in landing winger Dany Heatley from the Ottawa Senators but by giving up two veteran blueliners it doesn't leave him much to offer up. It's quite possible Wilson could look toward the UFA market for perhaps another scoring winger.