It’s been a long old hockey season for those that like their trades … Until today. I was sitting watching TV this morning when someone pointed out to me the names of some Leafs players on the news ticker and that it looked like there had been a trade. I turned on the net and was indeed informed of the blockbuster deal that had taken place between Toronto and Calgary and later Toronto and Anaheim.

The trades:

Toronto acquire defensemen Dion Phaneuf and Keith Aulie along with forward Fredrik Sjostrom from the Calgary Flames in return for forwards Jason Blake, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.

Toronto acquire goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from Anaheim Ducks in return for goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake.

Thoughts:

Well the Toronto media have proclaimed their city the winner of this deal before a shot is fired in anger by any of these players at their new teams simply because Phaneuf is the biggest name in the deal. They have a point to a degree, the Leafs gave up some players on big salaries who were not producing as much as they might have liked and with the team sitting at the bottom end of the standings and losing on a nightly basis, it makes sense to make changes going forward. Losing a bunch of forwards frees up space for the Leafs to give young players a shot to prove their worth for the rest of the season and getting back a young star like Phaneuf never hurts.

Perhaps the only two players that Leafs fans may miss in the future are Nik Hagman and Ian White. Hagman is a 25-30 goal scorer and will fit in nicely playing with Jarome Iginla while Ian White was, for me, the Leafs best player this season by a long shot, he was so reliable for them in every game and, as we like to joke at home, their best goalie as well - forever clearing pucks off the line after they have gotten by the Leafs goaltender. Stajan is gone also and with his playmaking skills might be someone the Flames can look at beside Iginla while Blake going to Anaheim is certainly no great loss but who might enjoy a fresh start in a less media-hyper market playing with the likes of Getzlaf and Perry, but for the Leafs they will be able to replace them.

But no doubt about it, Phaneuf is the boy everyone is talking about. He was visably upset about getting traded yesterday when the media swarmed him and whether it was about being traded away from Calgary or about finding out he had to go to Toronto were it is often said great players go to die, remains to be seen. Phaneuf said the right things though, even rolling out that classic quote about if Gretzky can get traded then anyone can get traded. Phaneuf has had a poor season to date and it played him off the Team Canada Olympic team which at one point twelve months or so ago he seemed a lock to be on. He is 24-years old though and will improve. He hits like a train and he has a bullet of a shot so that instantly makes him worth watching and appealing to the fans. The technical elements of his game will come with age though in Toronto the pressure will be on him from the get-go to be the main man on defence alonside Kaberle.

When Phaneuf first went to Calgary and started running players over and even challenged Crosby and Ovechkin in the race for rookie of the year as well as getting some consideration for the Norris trophy it seemed like he was on his way to being the next Scott Stevens or Chris Pronger and you could never have imagined him getting traded so soon. The fresh start may help him.

Then you have the Leafs penaty kill - another area that needed addressed by Burke. It’s the worst in the league and one of the worst of all-time but getting in Fredrik Sjostrom will address this problem as penalty killing is one of Sjostrom’s fortes.

And finally to the swap of the two goalies. Aneheim got Toskala and forward Jason Blake while gaving up J.S. Giguere. Ridding themselves of Toskala’s and Blake’s contracts is an excellent move by Burke and one many thought to be impossible just a few days, weeks or months ago as both players were not bringing much to the Leafs team. Getting someone like Giguere in will make for a very good mentor for Leafs goalie of the future, Jonas Gustavsson taking a lot of the pressure that has been mounting off of the young man. Giguere won a cup under Burke in Anaheim and his goaltending coach from them days is also in Toronto now so it’ll be a nice fit for the veteran tender. His play may not have been great this year and he lost his starting roll in Anaheim but like Phaneuf the change of scenery might do him good. Likewise with Toskala … he never lived up to the media hype around him when he arrived and struggled thereafter, but he is a good backup goalie and will do that roll well in Anaheim.

All in all it is hard to see were any team really lost in the trade yet though you can see why some Calgary fans were upset at the big name of Phaneuf being traded out. Sutter had to do something though with his slumping team and while making so many moves almost seems like a mid-season re-build he will hope that the added depth it brings will stable the Calgary ship.

The Leafslost more players than they gained, though overall they definitely got younger and freed up cap space for more moves which Burke proclaimed to the media would happen. They are open for business and adding something at centre to help out Kessel might be the next move.

In two trades between these two clubs spanning 18-years there have been an incredable 17 players moved. In 1992 The Leaf and Flames traded 10-players in total in a move that seen Doug Gilmour arrive in Toronto and become a hero. Eighteen years on seven players have moved and Toronto fans will hope that Phaneuf can capture fan imagination in the same way Gilmour did.

On the subject: Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Dion Phaneuf, Fredrick Sjostrom, Ian White, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Maple Leafs, NHL, NHL Trade, Toronto Sports, Vesa Toskala | ALL SUBJECTS |

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