"The Carolina Hurricanes have traded defenseman Tomas Kaberle, and general manager Jim Rutherford said he made a mistake in signing him.

The Canes on Friday sent Kaberle to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. The move came about five months after Kaberle became Carolina's biggest offseason addition, accepting a three-year, $12.75 million free-agent contract.

Kaberle, a longtime fixture in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup and a former NHL All-Star, was traded by the Leafs to the Boston Bruins last season and was a part of the Bruins' Stanley Cup championship run. Rutherford signed him in hopes of improving the Canes' struggling power play and to add a veteran presence to the blue line.

"I should have known better," Rutherford said in an interview Friday. "Tomas is a player who has had a very good career, but I should have known better in the sense of where he was in his career. He won the Stanley Cup, he had a short summer and at the start of training camp and the start of the season he was not where he needed to be (physically).

"He has not done as well as expected, just as the team has not done as well as expected. He has played better the last couple of weeks. But to have flexibility next year without his contract is important for us.""