BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins have acquired center Chris Kelly in a trade with the Ottawa Senators.
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced the deal after Boston’s 4-3 loss at home to Toronto on Tuesday night. The Bruins are tied with Montreal atop the Northeast Division.
“It was important to get this one done. We need help in a couple of areas and this is one of the areas,” said Chiarelli, a former assistant GM with the Senators who knows Kelly well from his days in Ottawa.
The Bruins learned last week that they will play the rest of the season without center Marc Savard, who was placed on long-term injured reserve on Monday with his second concussion in less than a year.
Boston sends Ottawa its second-round pick in this year’s draft in exchange for the 30-year-old Kelly, who had 12 goals and 11 assists this season for the Senators.
“He’s a smart player and a responsible player,” Chiarelli said. “He can play up the middle and he can play the wing, but he’s a natural center.”
Kelly is under contract through the end of next season. In 462 career games, he has 75 goals and 101 assists.
Chiarelli said the Bruins, who were one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference finals last spring, are still in the market for another defenseman and hope to make another deal before the trade deadline Feb. 28.
The last-place Senators traded fan favorite Mike Fisher to Nashville last week for the Predators’ first-round pick in this year’s draft.
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