Excuse us for the headache we caused last week with the Jarome Iginla fiasco, but the Boston Bruins have made a trade this afternoon

While the majority of New Englanders dealt with confusion and heartbreak when Jarome Iginla spurned the Bruins at the last-minute, General Manager Peter Chiarelli turned to plan B. Yes, the Pittsburgh Penguins are without a doubt, the odds-on-favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals, with or without Iginla in the lineup. It’s not often a future Hall of Famer is available for a trade and either way you dissect it; the biggest blow to the Bruins was Iginla going directly to the team that’s a little bit better than you in your conference.

But on Tuesday afternoon, Chiarelli struck back by acquiring future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr from the Dallas Stars in exchange for AHL tough guy Lane MacDermid, forward prospect Cody Payne and a conditional second round draft pick, which could turn into a first rounder if the Bruins make a deep, playoff run.

Like the proposed Iginla trade, this is an absolute steal for Chiarelli and company. MacDermid was pretty much a lost cause in Boston as long as Shawn Thornton is around and Payne’s not even ranked in the top 10 of Bruins prospects. You’d be lucky to find an NHL GM that would accept a trade of MacDermid and Payne for prospect, Alexander Khokhlachev, who was part of the package (plus Matt Bartkowski and a first round pick) for Iginla.

In Jagr, the Bruins are obtaining a 41-year-old winger who surely is winding down to his final days in the NHL, but like Temmu Selanne in Anaheim, continues to laugh in the face of Father Time. Over his 19 NHL seasons, Jagr is as decorated as an athlete as you can find on the planet but last drank from the Cup in 1992 with the Penguins. In his 34 games with the Stars, Jagr has collected 14 goals and 12 assists, with nine points (six goals, three assists) coming on the power play.

Once again, Chiarelli is holding true to his notion that the Bruins are “all in” this season and by not including Kokhlachev, Bartkowski or a player on the current roster in the trade, the Bruins still have the cap flexibility to acquire more help before tomorrow’s NHL Trade Deadline.

Jagr is a great starting point, but it’s not going to be “the move” that nets the Bruins the Cup. He’ll certainly help, but to make a deep run this summer, the Bruins still need to add another solid defenseman before tomorrow.

Here’s video of Chiarelli speaking with the media on the Jagr trade prior to Tuesday’s game with the Ottawa Senators (courtesy of Chris Chirichiello)