The Boston Bruins, parent club of the AHL’s Providence Bruins, announced today that the club has acquired center Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik from the Atlanta Thrashers, parent club of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, in exchange for Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler.
The 25-year-old Valabik has 0-9-9 totals and 165 PIM in 49 games this season with the Wolves. He has appeared in 80 career NHL games, all with Atlanta, with 0-7-7 totals and 210 PIM.
The 6’7”, 255-lb defenseman was originally drafted by the Thrashers in the first round (10th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and won the 2008 Calder Cup title with the Wolves.
A native of Nitra, Slovakia, Valabik played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League for the Kitchener Rangers. In three seasons in Kitchener, Valabik played in 163 games and racked up 725 PIM.
Peverley has 14-20-34 totals in 59 games for the Thrashers this season, along with 35 PIM. He also led the Thrashers in faceoff percentage, winning 55.5% of his draws to date (566 faceoff wins to 464 faceoff losses).
In 253 career NHL games, with the Predators from 2007-2009 and Thrashers from 2008-2011, Peverley has 56-88-144 totals with 112 PIM. His best statistical season came in 2009-2010, when he registered 22 goals and 33 assists for 55 points.
Peverley, 28, broke into the NHL when Nashville signed him as a free agent on January 18, 2007, and he had a 30-goal, 68-point season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals in 2006-07.
