NHL Trade Rumors: Canadiens Foolish to Acquire Tomas Kaberle from Hurricanes

The Montreal Canadiens traded for defenseman Tomas Kaberle Friday in a foolish move that will hurt their team now and in the near future.

The Sporting News is reporting that Kaberle was acquired from Carolina for defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.

Kaberle has really struggled in Carolina this season after a disappointing run with the Boston Bruins last year when the defending champs acquired him near the trading deadline from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"He hasn't played up to what we hoped he would have played," Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford told NHL Center Ice last month. "He came into camp and didn't prepare himself properly. He came in like the Boston Bruins did after winning the Stanley Cup and enjoyed his summer, and he hasn't caught up."

Apparently the Hurricanes had seen enough of Kaberle this season, and found a team stupid enough to acquire him.

This is not the first time the Canadiens have taken a bad contract off a team's hands. A few years ago they took Scott Gomez's contract (the worst deal in the NHL currently) off the New York Rangers' hands.

Kaberle has a salary cap hit of $4.25 million for the next two seasons as part of his current three-year deal.

The Canadiens still have to sign young star defenseman P.K. Subban to a new contract in the summer, as he is a restricted free agent at year's end.

Subban will get a massive raise because he is a top defenseman and a quality offensive player. Montreal also must extend the contract of goaltender Carey Price this summer who is also a restricted free agent.

The Canadiens have been hit by injuries this season but that still doesn't mean a fix for the present, and the next two years, is good for the club long term.

Spacek had an expiring contract of over $3 million, but now the Canadiens have acquired a bigger contract and will be responsible for two more years of it.

Kaberle has just nine points this season and is a minus-12. He is not effective on the power play anymore and is not physical enough defensively.

This was a poor move by the Canadiens, and one that doesn't help them much now or in the future. 

Follow Nicholas Goss on Twitter. Follow @NicholasGoss35.

Nicholas Goss is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.