The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired former all-star defenceman Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames in a seven player deal and, in return, sent forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenceman Ian White to Cowtown. The Leafs also received serviceable forward Fredrik Sjostrom and defense prospect and former Canadian world junior Keith Aulie.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke began his long-anticipated roster overhaul at last year's trading deadline and continued it in the summer by dumping several key Leafs along the way. This move only adds another chapter to Burke's lengthy resume.
A popular expression in sports is, "Don't make a move just for the sake of making a move" but that's exactly what Burke has done. There certainly is some substantial long-term gain here for Toronto if Phaneuf turns into the player Calgary was hoping for when they drafted him ninth overall in 2003.
Phaneuf Adds to Burke's Revamped Defensive Core
Phaneuf, who is set to earn $6.5 million per year through 2013-14, adds to the last-place Maple Leafs (17-28-11, 45 points) influx of players earning expensive, long-term salaries while the team has few high draft picks on the horizon, thanks in part to the Phil Kessel trade, where Burke dealt Toronto's first round draft picks in 2010 and 2011 and their 2010 second rounder to Boston for Kessel.
Calgary's former first round pick, Phaneuf, once projected to be the Flames defenceman of the future and even a possible Norris Trophy candidate, has been on an up-and-down spiral, plagued by poor decision making. Phaneuf is a player that should garner some comparisons to former Leaf Bryan McCabe due to his large stature, physical play, a tendency to take himself out of the play going for the big hit and of course, poor decision making. You just never know what you're going to get.
That said, the 6-foot-3 Phaneuf is still only 24, possesses excellent size, an exceptional shot and rugged physical play that Burke covets. And he's still a lot better than McCabe is or ever was.
Trade speculation has followed Phaneuf through the years and his play, in return, has suffered. Some of that could be attributed to Sean Avery's ill-advised "sloppy seconds" comment in 2008 about Phaneuf's girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert, who had been linked to Avery in the past.
As inconsistent as Phaneuf is, he's still an uber talent, capable of being a game changer on defense. Phaneuf and Tomas Kaberle have the makings of a potent power play tandem, reminiscent of the McCabe days in Toronto. Phaneuf was that guy in Calgary and he'll have every opportunity to be that guy in Toronto.
Phaneuf scored 20 goals and added 29 assists in his rookie year with Calgary in 2005, very impressive for a defenceman. His inconsistency does not lie in points earned or games missed but rather in, awful decisions. Phaneuf has proven to be extremely durable despite his rambunctious play, having never played in fewer than 79 games a year. Also productive, he's never scored fewer than 17 goals or recorded less than 47 points in a season, pretty remarkable for Calgary's popular whipping boy among Flames fans. However, he's on pace for career lows in goals (14), assists (17, and points (31) this season despite being a minute muncher, playing over 20 minutes a night on one of the Western's Conference's better teams.
It's certainly an intriguing deal from the Leafs perspective but whether or not, Phaneuf develops further into a star remains to be seen.
Winner: Calgary, in the short-term. Toronto, long-term.
Phaneuf is just 24 years old, Sjostrom, 26, and Aulie, 20, so Toronto got significantly younger without sacrificing anything other than marginal players on a good team (aside from maybe White).
None of those players had a future playing in the blue and white. Calgary dumps a big contract and receives several looming free agents while enhancing their forward and defensive depth by a large margin. The Flames added all the right pieces in hopes for another long Stanley Cup run.
If Phaneuf blossoms and Aulie turns into a decent defenceman, Toronto will easily come away the winner. If not, the Leafs still managed to shake up their roster and become a more Burke-nized team in the process.
Toskala, Blake for Giguere, A Swap a Deal of Overpaid and Underachieving Former Stars
It was a busy day for Burke and the Leafs, who also acquired former Conn Smythe winner and 2007 Stanley Cup champion Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake.
Winner: Toronto.
Any time you can get something for both Toskala and Blake, let alone a former star who won the Cup just three seasons ago, you take it. A salary dump for both teams, Giguere was playing second fiddle to Jonas Hiller in Anaheim while set to earn $7 million next season. Toskala and Blake had both played well-below expectations since arriving in Toronto.
Who's Going to Score for the Maple Leafs Now?
Does Burke expect Toronto to score from the blueline? It sure looks like it.
One glaring problem for the Leafs entering this season, was their ability to put the puck in the net and that certainly didn't get any easier with this deal. The Leafs traded away four of their top eight scorers, including 20-goal man and leading goal getter in Hagman.
Perhaps a call to the Toronto Marlies is in order with the Leafs depleted forward lines, the mostly likely candidate being AHL All-Star Christian Hanson next in line.
Thomas Cranston - Thomas Cranston is a graduate of the Journalism (Print) program at Durham College (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada). He is passionate about a wide ...
