This just in from TSN: The Calgary Flames have shipped defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom, and prospect defenceman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenceman Ian White.
The kickoff of an active and notable pre-Olympic player swap spree . . . or just the big-time shakeup of two seriously struggling Canadian franchises?
UPDATE: The Leafs continue the moves by getting Jiggy, acquiring veteran goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks for Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala.
3 Comments
I can’t figure out why they did this. You would think that they would want to hold onto the players like Stajan. Pheneuf is making 6.5 million dollars per season, which is just as much as the four players Toronto gave up.
The only thing that I can think of is to create more roster room, but I can’t believe they gave up some of their best talent to do it.
I can’t believe that Toronto is going to finish dead or near-dead last in the league and they won’t even have the 1st round pick to show for it. Luckily, this sort of trade just means that Calgary and Toronto are going to suck for the foreseeable future! More wins for DC.
On a sad note, Giguere really belongs on a team that can compete. He’s a great goaltender and would look excellent in red, white and blue.
Four decent forwards gone.I liked Mayers grit.