Boston Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk has been traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for two 2nd round picks and a conditional 3rd round pick .

Islanders drop out of Nick Leddy race and acquire Johnny Boychuk from the Boston Bruins for draft picks (first by @StapeNewsday) — David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) October 4, 2014

Just minutes later, Islanders GM Garth Snow made another big splash, acquiring defenseman Nick Leddy from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Official: #Isles acquire D Nick Leddy from CHI for D Ville Pokka, D T.J. Brennan and G Anders Nilsson. — Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) October 4, 2014

The 30-year-old Boychuk had a career-year with Boston last season, netting 5 goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 75 games. He played a key shut-down role for the Bruins in their 2011 Cup run and has been a possession dynamo for most of his career.

However, with the Bruins struggling through salary cap difficulties this summer, it was clear that Boston needed to make a move to free up space and Boychuk was the rumored target. His $3.36 million cap hit now comes off the books, giving them some breathing room. Boychuk is a UFA next summer.

Leddy was in a similar position in Chicago, where the Blackhawks were looking to shed some salary. The 23-year-old defenseman scored seven goals and 31 points last year. He makes $2.7 million against the cap and is likewise a UFA after this season.

They go to an Islanders squad with playoff aspirations. New York has great talent up front with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo leading the way and finally solidified their goaltending when they picked up Jaroslav Halak during the off-season. Their weakness was on defense, where Boychuk and Leddy will go a long way to stabilizing a shallow group. Both can be expected to slot into a top-four role instantly, and will likely help the Isles in their push to return to the playoffs for just the second time since 2007.

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