TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs sent their longest-tenured player packing, dealing defenceman Tomas Kaberle to the Boston Bruins for a prospect and two draft picks on Friday.
The Bruins parted with centre Joe Colborne, a first-rounder in 2008, their first-round selection in the 2011 NHL draft and a conditional second-round pick.
Colborne was assigned to the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies after the trade.
The 32-year-old Kaberle had spent his entire career with the Maple Leafs and was the only player remaining from the team's last playoff season in 2004.
Kaberle's name was repeatedly mentioned in trade rumours in recent years. General manager Brian Burke finally pulled the trigger a little over a week before the league's Feb. 28 trade deadline.
It was the third deal for the Maple Leafs in a little over a week. Francois Beauchemin was dealt to Anaheim on Feb. 9 for Joffrey Lupul and a prospect and Kris Versteeg was sent to Philadelphia on Feb. 14 for a first- and third-round pick in 2011.
The smooth-skating Kaberle appeared in 878 career games for the Maple Leafs -- stretching all the way back to when the team still skated at Maple Leaf Gardens.
His departure completes the massive overhaul of the roster that was started by Cliff Fletcher and continued by Burke, who has been manning the controls since November 2008.
"It's bizarre," said 21-year-old defenceman Luke Schenn. "Three years in and just the turnover that's been here ever since I've been here. You're getting new teammates in all the time -- new players, you're meeting new people. It feels like just yesterday I was just breaking in here and trying to figure things out for myself.
"It's definitely a bit of a weird feeling knowing that you're one of the last guys standing here since three years ago."
Kaberle was a quiet leader in Toronto, serving as an alternate captain in recent years but often letting his play on the ice speak for itself.
"(First thing I noticed was) how professional he is," said forward Colby Armstrong. "He gets along well with everyone. He's probably one of the nicest guys ever, always got a smile on his face. He's here first guy in the morning all the time and he's ready to go.
"You can't say enough about him as a teammate and obviously his play on the ice ... (he's) a real good player."
His most productive season came directly after the NHL lockout, when a rules crackdown helped open up the game for skilled players. Kaberle finished with 67 points in 2005-06 -- a total that included 58 assists.
He led all Leafs defencemen in scoring this season with 38 points in 58 games.
"He's consistent every night at what he does," said Schenn. "He establishes the setup on the power play, makes that great breakout pass, logs big minutes for our team every night. There's no question that he is one of the top defencemen in the league and has been for the last 10 years or so."
Kaberle is in the final year of a contract that pays him US$4.25 million and will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Selected in the eighth round of the 1996 draft by Toronto, he appeared in just two AHL games before making the jump to the NHL. He's represented the Czech Republic in three Olympics -- winning bronze in 2006 -- and leaves Toronto as the franchise's second-highest scoring defenceman in history.
His 520 points (83-437) trail only the 762 registered by Borje Salming.
