There is no doubt that Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was dumping salary Friday when he shipped Aaron Ward, 36, and his $2.5-million pay check to Carolina in exchange for winger Patrick Eaves and a fourth-round draft pick next year.

But the GM said that he was not just clearing room for restricted free agent Phil Kessel, the Bruins’ leading goal scorer last season with 36.

In a conference call with the media, Chiarelli said Friday’s move was made because he’s “looking at another defenseman” either through trade or free agency.

The Bruins immediately placed Eaves, 25, on waivers for the purpose of buying him out.

Eaves, a Boston College alum who had 6 goals in 74 games last season, is slated to be paid $1.4 million this season and $1.7 million next season. If Eaves goes unclaimed, the Bruins can buy him out for one-third of the value of the contract.

The moves are expected to leave Chiarelli with about $4.7 million in cap space under the ceiling of $56.8 million.

Chiarelli clearly has options now that he didn’t have before the trade. The question is how will Chiarelli use that cap room?

He could sign an older free agent, puck-moving defensemen such as Sergei Zubov or Mathieu Schneider. If the price was low enough –– and Zubov and Schneider are both in their late 30s and won’t command big money –– he might still have enough left to sign Kessel.

Derek Morris, 30, would be a younger, more expensive option.

Or Chiarelli could trade the 21-year-old Kessel for a top offensive defenseman such as Toronto’s Tomas Kaberle, 31, who is under contract for the next two seasons at $4.25 million a year.

Chiarelli and Leafs GM Brian Burke reportedly discussed a deal centered on Kessel and Kaberle prior to the NHL draft last month.

Kaberle scored four goals and 31 points in 57 games last season. His best offensive season was in 2005-06 when he recorded nine goals and 67 points in 82 games.

Chiarelli said that Kessel would be “hard to pry from us” and that the Bruins would match any free-agent offer sheet from another team.

Friday, Chiarelli praised Ward for his time in Boston.

“He’s been a tremendous soldier here,” Chiarelli said, “bringing experience, bringing size and strength, bringing a stabilizing presence to our defense and, frankly, I wouldn’t have traded him anywhere else but Carolina. That’s where his home is and I really do appreciate the time and service and personality Aaron has brought to our organization.”

Ward returns to the team where he won his third Stanley Cup and where he will team with the player who “sucker punched” him during the 2009 playoffs.

The move makes teammates of Ward and Scott Walker, the player who infamously punched him two months ago. Walker decked Ward late during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal won by Carolina.

Bruins coach Claude Julien called the blow a “sucker punch,” but two months later, the quick-witted Ward laughed about the incident while attempting to defuse the situation.

“Tell him I still have practice — I’ll get him back at practice,” Ward said with a smile. “It’s water under the bridge. I’m on his team now. ... There’s a lot of emotion in the playoffs, both in the media and playing the game. ... I’ll see Scott Walker when he comes in, shake his hand, tell him how grateful I am to be here, how excited I am to play with him, and it’ll be past.”

Ward lives in Raleigh during the offseason and spent the past three weeks skating with Carolina captain Rod Brind’Amour at a local rink.

He signed a free agent deal with the New York Rangers in 2006 after the Hurricanes won the Cup, then was traded to Boston on Feb. 27, 2007, for defenseman Paul Mara and had nine goals and 17 assists in 150 regular-season games with the Bruins.

Ward said Chiarelli called to notify him of the trade while he was playing golf at a Raleigh-area country club with two members of Kid Rock’s band.

He becomes the latest key player from the 2006 championship team to be reacquired by the Hurricanes. Center Matt Cullen was traded back to Carolina in 2007 after one season with the Rangers, and the club dealt forward Erik Cole to Edmonton before last season before bringing him back in a pivotal deal at the trading deadline.

Ward said Cole sent him a text message: “We’re getting the band back together.”

“You never burn bridges. You embrace all the opportunities that you have with teams,” Ward said. “It’s always easy to bring a player back when you’ve had a successful situation. We won a Stanley Cup.”