Kaberle, Corvo switch teams in separate moves

Tomas Kaberle, who spent over a dozen seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is changing jerseys for the second time in five months.

The unrestricted free agent has signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. The defenceman will earn a reported $4.25 million US, the same amount he earned at the end of his previous contract.

Boston, meanwhile, traded with Carolina for 34-year-old defenceman Joe Corvo, getting a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in exchange.

Kaberle finished with four goals and 43 assists in 82 games split between the Leafs and Boston the past season.

He finished with a goal and 19 assists in 49 regular season and playoff games with the Stanley Cup champion Bruins after coming over in February in the long-rumoured trade, but was heavily criticized for his play.

The 33-year-old was brought in to improve the Bruins' ability getting the puck up ice as well as for their power play. While he largely succeeded on the first count, the team's power-play percentage actually went down after his arrival.

Kaberle did lead all Bruins with five power-play points in the playoffs, however.

He picked up his play in the Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup finals, but was playing greatly reduced minutes compared with when he arrived in Boston. He admitted that the adjustment to a new environment after several years in Toronto hadn't been easy, and that the criticism from media and fans stung.

For his career, he has scored 84 goals with 445 assists in 902 regular season games. He has also been durable, playing 82 games on seven occasions.

Kaberle's older brother, Frantisek, played with the Hurricanes for a number of seasons.

The transaction reunites Kaberle with Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice, who was behind Toronto's bench for two seasons beginning in 2006. The Hurricanes in the past week acquired or re-signed Alexei Ponikarovsky, Tim Brent and Jiri Tlusty, all former Leafs.

Corvo appeared in all 82 games for the Hurricanes last season and tied career highs with 29 assists in 40 points. He has scored 79 goals and added 179 assists in 568 career NHL games spent with Washington, Ottawa and Los Angeles.

The Oak Park, Ill., native earns $2.5 million US next season in the final year of his contract.