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NHL Trade Rumors: Boston Bruins May Be Busy As 2011 Deadline Approaches

The 2011 NHL trade deadline is Feb. 28, and the Boston Bruins have already entered into the fray. On Tuesday, the Bruins swapped a 2011 second round draft pick with the Ottawa Senators for center Chris Kelly.

Kelly, who has 23 points in 56 games with the last-place Senators, has one year remaining on a four year contract he signed in 2008. According to WEEI's DJ Bean, he has a salary cap hit of $2.125 million.

Depth and experience at the center position was needed after Marc Savard was lost for the season due to a second severe concussion in as many seasons. Kelly has seven seasons of NHL experience and 36 games of playoff experience.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli has a familiarity with the 30 year old, given that he worked in the Senators front office while Kelly was a prospect and as he began his career with the team. In a Tuesday night press conference about the move, Chiarelli was excited about bringing Kelly on board:

"He’s got an element of energy to his game and hockey sense, so he combines both those things well in his game. You know what and there’s an element of accountability. I mean he’s been to the Stanley Cup final, he’s played a lot of playoff games, he’s played a lot of years in the league and he’s had success. So it’s the fact that he has that veteran presence too. That’s going to help out the team"