Projo Bruins Blog

In need of defensive help, the Boston Bruins acquired David Tanabe from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for center Dave Scatchard. The deal was finalized late Friday night.

Tanabe will be in the lineup tonight against the Buffalo Sabres.

"I'm really excited to be here," he said. "I'm definitely excited about playing with the guys in this locker room."

"On my flight (here)I had a lot of time to think about what happend," Tanabe said. "You can tell when things are not perfect and in Phoenix some things were not perfect, so I welcome this change. It's nice to go some place where you feel wanted."

"Our team is deep at the center position and we felt we had to take this opportunity to strengthen our defense," said GM Mike O'Connell. "David [Tanabe] is a good young defensemen with NHL experience. He is a strong skater and he will help our team."

Tanabe, 25, was drafted by Carolina as their first pick, 16th overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft in Boston. He played one season of college hockey at the University of Wisconsin, leading team defensemen in scoring that season with 10-12=22 totals in 35 games and earning 1999 WCHA All-Rookie Team honors.

The 6'1", 212 lb. native of White Bear Lake, Minnesota left Wisconsin after his freshman year and turned professional with the Hurricanes. He split his first pro season between Carolina and their IHL affiliate in Cincinnati and broke into the NHL to stay in 2000-01. He played four seasons with the Hurricanes and enjoyed his best offensive season in Carolina in 2000-01, when he had seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points in 74 games. He played in the Stanley Cup Finals with the Hurricanes in 2000-01, with two goals and 12 penalty minutes in six post-season games.

He was traded to Phoenix with Igor Knyazev for Danny Markov and a 2004 third round draft pick on June 21, 2003 and has played for the Coyotes since the 2003-04 season. In his last full NHL season in 2003-04, he was second on that team in plus/minus and also had the second-highest average time on ice on the team. In 21 games with the Coyotes this season, he has four assists and eight penalty minutes. His career NHL totals are 20 goals and 58 assists for 78 points with 145 PIM in 317 career NHL games.

Scatchard, 29, was in his first season with the Bruins, having signed with the team as a free agent on August 2, 2005. He played 16 games in Boston this season with four goals and six assists for ten points, and was third on the team with 28 penalty minutes. He missed four games earlier this season with a groin injury.

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