A veteran of 12 NHL seasons and 876 career games, all in Toronto, Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle could soon find a new home.

It’s been widely reported around the blogosphere that the 32-year-old mobile blue-liner has granted Leafs’ general manager Brian Burke permission to speak to one club, and one club only, sportsnet.ca reports:

“It appears as if it’s Boston or bust when it comes to a potential Tomas Kaberle trade.

The Maple Leafs defenceman has granted the club permission to speak to only one team, the Boston Bruins, regarding a potential trade, sources tell Sportsnet.”

Burke has already made a couple of moves this week(end), and told reporters earlier this today at the TD Garden that he’s not done trading yet, and prefers to get the deals done in advance of the NHL trade deadline (Feb. 28).

It’s no secret that the Bruins are in need of an agile puck-moving defenseman; Kaberle would be the ideal addition to this team.

If history has proven one thing with this Bruins club, and preached many times on this blog, is that in order for the Black and Gold to make a deep run in the post season, and to have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup, then adding more experienced depth on the back-end is absolutely crucial. Banged-up blue-liners heading into the post season — Andrew Ference and Matt Hunwick in ’08-9; Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Stuart in ’09-10 — have really been the B’s achilles for the past few seasons.

Kaberle, who has over 500 career points, has also appeared in 77 career playoff games, posting 6-22-28 scoring totals. Aside from a few untouchables — Chara, Bergeron, Thomas — the Bruins can’t afford to miss out on a potential deal of this magnitude. The Bruins have two first- and second-round picks in this upcoming NHL Entry Draft; all but Toronto’s first-round pick should be fair game at this point. Kaberle would not only be the north-south defenseman that the B’s have been yearning for, but also the No. 1 quarterback for their average power play.

For those questioning his “softness”, this Bruins club certainly does not lack grit or players unwilling to drop the mitts — they’re ranked second in the NHL with 55 major penalties this season — therefor they need not acquire another hard-nosed

We’re about 35 minutes away from puck-drop here at the TD Garden, as the B’s ironically host Kaberle and the Leafs at 7:00 p.m. Keep a close eye on No. 15 in Blue and White tonight, because he may just be the next member of the Black and Gold very soon.