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Montreal acquires Tomas Kaberle to fix their Markov problem

Carolina Hurricanes v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 21: Tomas Kaberle #51 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 21, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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The Montreal Canadiens are desperate to fix their power play. How desperate? Well, they just traded for Tomas Kaberle. So pretty desperate.

In return for the struggling puck-moving defenseman, the Habs sent defenseman Jaroslav Spacek to Carolina. The hope for Montreal is that Kaberle can spark the league’s 28th-ranked power play, one that’s converting at just 11.4 percent. The move might also signal the level of confidence Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier has in the health of his injured defensive leader, Andrei Markov.

This isn’t the first time Kaberle’s been acquired to help a pitiful power play. The Boston Bruins picked up the 33-year-old last February and he...didn’t help their power play very much at all.

Meanwhile, Spacek heads to Carolina to give the Hurricanes a contract that expires at the end of the season (worth $3.833 million against the cap), allowing GM Jim Rutherford to escape the mistake he made in signing Kaberle to a three-year, $12.75 million deal over the summer.