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Bruins stay busy, acquire Devils’ leading scorer Stempniak

Just when it looked like Boston was going to stand pat at the trade deadline, GM Don Sweeney flipped the script.

Shortly after getting veteran d-man John-Michael Liles out of Carolina, Sweeney acquired New Jersey’s leading point-getter, Lee Stempiak, per TSN.

Update: Per Sportsnet, 2nd- and 4th-round picks are going back to New Jersey.

Stempniak, 33, is enjoying a terrific campaign with the Devils and has emerged as one of the league’s best bargains. After going to New Jersey’s training camp on a PTO, the veteran winger scored a one-year, $850,000 deal and has since gone on to rack up 16 goals and 41 points in 63 games played.

That Boston was interested in Stempniak is no surprise. Prior to landing with the Devils, there were rumblings he would instead attend Bruins camp on a professional tryout.

As for the Bruins, today’s moves give a pretty clear indication of where Sweeney thinks the team is at, at least in terms of being a playoff contender. He didn’t move pending UFA forward Loui Eriksson, as many expected, and instead acquired two veteran rentals to help with postseason play.

Stempniak has been to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons -- in ’13-14 with Pittsburgh, and ’14-15 with Winnipeg.