Phaneuf to the Maple Leafs

[GM Office Q]

For Hagman, Stajan, Mayers and White.

Not too sure what Calgary's doing.

[Bruins]

For Hagman, Stajan, Mayers and White.

Not too sure what Calgary's doing.

Salary cap.

[NashvilleGM]

Great move for Calgary man,

Ian White is pretty good, Stajan is a good 2nd liner, Phaneuf is overated and overpaid,

imo, good trade for both teams.

but arent the leafs close to the cap with those trades ?!?

[Bruins]

Great move for Calgary man,

Ian White is pretty good, Stajan is a good 2nd liner, Phaneuf is overated and overpaid,

imo, good trade for both teams.

but arent the leafs close to the cap with those trades ?!?

Rumour mill says Giguere is heading their way too.

[NashvilleGM]

Great move for Calgary man,

Ian White is pretty good, Stajan is a good 2nd liner, Phaneuf is overated and overpaid,

imo, good trade for both teams.

but arent the leafs close to the cap with those trades ?!?

Rumour mill says Giguere is heading their way too.

yeah for Toskala, Giguere is paid 2M more than Toskala...

i aint no accountant but the Leafs are close to the cap for sure

[BSBullies]

Hearing Blake is going the other way too and TO nets a 1st rounder, if it's true Burke had a pretty good day.

[GM Office Q]

Yep. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4874486

[Oilers_GM]

Giguere to Toronto for Toskala and Jason Blake

[Bruins]

Giguere to Toronto for Toskala and Jason Blake

Wow, good on Burkey.

[Virtual Jarmo]

Wow. What a day for the Leafs. If you want to call Phaneuf "overrated", that's fine, but I'd take him on my team any day. He's one mean son of a bitch.

The thing that sticks out to me is that Calgary did not get back an impact player for Phaneuf. A couple 2nd liners and a 2nd pair defenseman, which is fine. But, I still think that an impact prospect should have been demanded in this trade.

Love the Giguere deal for Toronto. Blake's nearing the end of the line and Toskala is terrible.

[Bruins]

Wow. What a day for the Leafs. If you want to call Phaneuf "overrated", that's fine, but I'd take him on my team any day. He's one mean son of a bitch.

The thing that sticks out to me is that Calgary did not get back an impact player for Phaneuf. A couple 2nd liners and a 2nd pair defenseman, which is fine. But, I still think that an impact prospect should have been demanded in this trade.

Love the Giguere deal for Toronto. Blake's nearing the end of the line and Toskala is terrible.

Exactly. Phaneuf and Giguere certainly have their falls but they are still stars in this league. At the end of the day Toronto received the best player in both deals.

[BSBullies]

So much for the 1st rounder

[NashvilleGM]

So much for the 1st rounder

Are the Leafs THAT much better tho, im not that sure... good deals for Burke but still... maybe it will shake things up

[Virtual Jarmo]

So much for the 1st rounder

Are the Leafs THAT much better tho, im not that sure... good deals for Burke but still... maybe it will shake things up

They absolutely are better. How many games can you win 6-4?

[BSBullies]

They at least (hopefully) allow less goals now which may keep them in more games til the end, unfortunately there's not many guys left to put the puck in the net. Assuming Burke is just going to go out and bring in his own guys during FA.

[NashvilleGM]

They at least (hopefully) allow less goals now which may keep them in more games til the end, unfortunately there's not many guys left to put the puck in the net. Assuming Burke is just going to go out and bring in his own guys during FA.

i thought they were one of the best d in the league with schenn komi kaberle and beauchemin... and it did not work out... at all.

ok phaneuf will help them but that mcuh ? i dont think so

[Bruins]

They at least (hopefully) allow less goals now which may keep them in more games til the end, unfortunately there's not many guys left to put the puck in the net. Assuming Burke is just going to go out and bring in his own guys during FA.

i thought they were one of the best d in the league with schenn komi kaberle and beauchemin... and it did not work out... at all.

ok phaneuf will help them but that mcuh ? i dont think so

Remember how well McCabe played with Kaberle on the PP? That's Phaneuf.

[Virtual Jarmo]

They at least (hopefully) allow less goals now which may keep them in more games til the end, unfortunately there's not many guys left to put the puck in the net. Assuming Burke is just going to go out and bring in his own guys during FA.

Personally, I think Brian Burke is going to use his situation to prey on teams who have cap issues. Namely, the Chicago Blackhawks. I fully expect Burke to go after guys like Versteeg, Sharp, etc. in trades before the draft. I don't think he'll allow himself to do the offer sheet RFA thing, but I could see him trying to trade 3rd rounders and minor leaguers to offer teams cap relief.

If you look at Brian Burke teams in the past, he's always built from the net out and drafted/developed scorers or made some pretty savvy moves to acquire them. He's doing the same thing now. He's got a very good, physical D core in place, and he has two very capable goaltenders.

For what it's worth, acquiring Phaneuf is also a precursor to when he deals Kaberle before the deadline to get back a 1st and a decent young forward.

[NashvilleGM]

I love Burke as a GM, Leafs are lucky to have him.

I'm stuck with Gainey aka the sleeper.... never been the same since his girl died in that boat accident

[Penguin]

Talked about it all day with Seb..

I'd take Phaneuf over Hagman/Stajan/White, but I heard he's not mobile and he has no hockey sense.

As for the Giguère deal, advantage Burke again. Blake + Toskala = pure shit.

[Jungle Cats]

Calgary addresses their two main problems
- Dion Phaneuf
- Scoring Depth

Toronto gets a big name defenseman with the on-ice intelligence of a bonobos monkey, but he's a marquee player and that's enough to sate the fans.

[NashvilleGM]

Calgary addresses their two main problems
- Dion Phaneuf
- Scoring Depth

Toronto gets a big name defenseman with the on-ice intelligence of a bonobos monkey, but he's a marquee player and that's enough to sate the fans.

amen

[TorontoGM]

Never liked phaneuf, I think he runs around too much and is too much of a distraction. He wanted out of Calgary and to demand a trade during the season is the most seflish thing you can do. Forcing your team to deal you for less than your worth and possibly putting your team in a hole. I think he's overpaid, overrated and just isn't smart in general. But then again, the perfect player for toronto.

I think the giggy trade was a great deal. You dump two stupid contracts and get what I believe to be true starter.

[NashvilleGM]

what was anaheim gm thinking !??!

[TorontoGM]

Well I knew it was coming especially after they signed Hiller yesterday. Blake adds speed and a little scoring touch to what I think is an underachieving team.

[Virtual Jarmo]

what was anaheim gm thinking !??!

I wish I had Bryzgalov back.

[SharksGM]

White is like a smaller version of Phaneuf who can't hit. He's been absolutely terrible the last 10 games or so, though he was pretty good before then.

All I care about is that Blake and Toskala are gone, I can't believe Anaheim accepted that awful deal.

[GM Office Q]

To NYR: Jokinen, Prust
To CGY: Kotalik, Higgins

Calgary getting rid of their problems.

[SharksGM]

To NYR: Jokinen, Prust
To CGY: Kotalik, Higgins

Calgary getting rid of their problems.

Kotalik and Higgins are both terrible so I don't see what purpose this could serve.

[Jungle Cats]

Sutter's plan is to acquire every 2nd/3rd line forward in the east.

[GM Office Q]

To NYR: Jokinen, Prust
To CGY: Kotalik, Higgins

Calgary getting rid of their problems.

Kotalik and Higgins are both terrible so I don't see what purpose this could serve.

Easy. Jokinen is a locker room cancer. So I've heard, at least, and must be true based on this move.

[Jets GM]

Unless dion phaneuf changes his view on things, i think (and obv am hoping) Burke could go down as the worst GM in Leafs history. The Kessel/Dion trades and signing Komisarek (u could include Beachemin (sp) but i think he's signed short term) could stink for years to come. They would of had a shot at Hall/Seguin/Fowler.....now you have d-men who told Brent/Darryl Sutter that he doesn't need there advice on how to play the game of hockey. Plus, there going to probably suck again next year (im not just talking shit, i had 3 different bets on them sucking this year) and they dont even have there 1st then either! White is there most consistent/intelligent d-men (kaberle is sick off, but brain farts in own end so much), Stajan has puts up points and Hagman has scored the most for them this year last time I checked. Obv if PK was healthy the whole year he prob would of had more, but still....and before you say "Hagman just got a bunch of PP time on a shitty team!!!!!" 4 of the 20 so far this season were on the PP.

I know Brian Burke probably isn't that dumb, but imo people really underestimate the amount of pressure the daily grind of playing in the city of Toronto puts on you. His decisions are just starting to look erratic, panicky and not really smart. The blood sucking idiots that report here, plus the idiots that own/run the team along with a large chunk of your fanbase that either thinks your playoff contenders/or overpaid bums/sieves and will change there views on a weekly basis (any real/true hockey fan should love there team every second of every day no matter how bad it is). It's because of that, the Leafs are so bad they don't even know how to lose properly let alone win. Burke cant handle the heat imo, and other NHL gm's are smelling blood.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

Sutter's plan is to acquire every 2nd/3rd line forward in the east.

Excellent! Then Ray Whitney to CGY for Jarome Iginla. (e5)

I dunno, this could be a good deal for Toronto. Burke's just trying to bring in his own "type" of player, which I guess he believes means Dion. But that's an awful lot of money tied up in the blueline. Maybe he'll be able to convince Chicago to take Finger for Versteeg and Byfuglien...

[Virtual Jarmo]

As somebody who gone through numerous rebuilds of their hometown sports team, I have to disagree with you Justin. Sure, getting Hall/Fowler/Seguin would be awesome, but you've got an already proven player in Kessel, and now two proven players in Phaneuf and Giguere.

Did he panic? Maybe. Was the panic induced by himself? I don't think so. You've got a city that has the Blue Jays who are dicked over by being in the AL East and really haven't had success since the early 90s. The Raptors were a bottom feeder for a while and are a perenially mediocre team. The media, by sports standards, are brutal, and the fans are just as desperate. Brian Burke knows that most sports front office positions are short-term. He has to do what he has to do to bring immediate success to the team.

Phaneuf was obviously disgruntled. A change of scenery might be what he needs. Obviously, Ian White's the centerpiece of the deal, and the best player going to Calgary, but you have to give to get. Phaneuf is only 24 still. The regression of Luke Schenn helped mandate this deal, and that should be more of a concern than what Brian Burke is doing. Schenn was being counted on as a cornerstone of that team, and he simply has not played well this season.

It's a "what have you done for me lately?" business. Burke is being proactive. He took a shot at getting Kessel because the team needed an offensive powerhouse to play with Grabovski. I can't imagine Burke looked at the team at the start of the year with Schenn, Komisarek, Kaberle, Beauchemin and two capable goaltenders and expected to be one of the league's worst defensive teams. Sometimes, things just don't pan out as they look on paper.

Phaneuf still has the potential to be an impact player and he has done it before. The package that Toronto got, as I said earlier in the thread, features zero impact players. Some good players, no great players. Phaneuf still can return to being a great player.

Again, wait for the big picture to develop before fully judging. If Brian Burke knew that his draft pick would be top 5, he doesn't acquire Kessel. As I said, you look at the top 4 on D and what you have in net and assume that pick falls 10-15. At the lowest, maybe 8th.

If he moves Kaberle, as I expect, and picks up something like Drew Stafford and a 1st or a forward of equal potential, the Leafs still look better that day than they did back in October.

[Jets GM]

Everyone says this word "proven" when discussing the Kessel deal, the Leafs get a "proven" player/goalscorer in exchange for two "high risk" first round draft picks......and a 2nd. TSN projected them finishing as high as 9th in the East, and many others (including myself) said they finish much lower. So, you have everyone telling you based of your current roster finishing in the bottom 10 is most likely. Maybe they could of ran like durrrr and finished top 15 overall in the league and squeak into the playoffs, but anyone who thought that I lol at (and if I knew you personally I made sure you backed up your talk monetarily :p).

Grabovski is a weirdo, Montreal couldn't make room for him and they have a hard on for smallish forwards with offensive talent. From what I have seen of him (30-40 games combined last 2 yrs irrc)..I dunno, I don't see him as a top 6 forward on a good playoff hockey team. The Komisarek and Beauchemin deals are horrid, I might be a hater but I said BEFORE the season started to people at work that they were horrid deals. Anaheim didn't even bother calling Beauchemin once after the 08-09 season which was injury plagued, and he had 2 goals in 82 games the year before. When your former employer doesn't even bothering giving you a call when your contract is up, to me thats huge red flags about his health, play and value. So thats half of your big defensive core makeover, then the other is a immobile (albeit a big physical presence, with a huge heart) d-men who on a offensive stacked Montreal team couldn't eclipse 20 points, a +10 rating or the 5 goal plateau any season. People were saying he was going to add offense and anchor the blueline (at the start of the season) and he doesn't even have a goal yet. Both are wayyyyy overpaid.

So, were banking on that and a 2nd year d-men to stop pucks from going in the net. It just seemed really dumb to me before the season started, and them being tied for last currently doesn't help Burke's decision making. So then they do the Kessel deal before seeing there new roster play 1 regular season game, PK is a dirty mofo who breaks ankles of players on a regular basis and probably has one of the quickest releases I have ever seen. However, is he a complete hockey player that plays hard at both ends of the ice night in and night out? Does he make the players around him better, or did playing in Boston with better centers help his production more then Burke thought? Is he a player that could be groomed to be a leader, and wear a letter on his jersey? As of now, I would say no. Now your going to say "your not going to find a player like that in the draft in the top 5 and Burke didn't know it might be top 3"....

2002 - Nash, Lehtonen, Bouwmeester, Pitkanen, Whitney
2003 - Fleury, Staal, Horton, Zherdev, Vanek
2004 - O8, Gino, Barker, Ladd, Wheeler
2005 - Crosby, Ryan, Johnson, Pouliot, Price
2006 - E. Johnson, J. Staal, Toews, Backstrom, Kessel

I wont bother doing 07/08/09....but you get the idea, aside from all the incredible players that went after the top 5 in there respective draft years there is a very high change that a top 5 pick is a player you could build a hockey team around. Maybe one of the Leafs 1st's end up flopping, but Burke traded two 1sts lol....so I would think at least 1 of the 2 turns out to be an franchise player/captain material. If you think you can finish in the top 15 if things go well, top 10 if things go OK....where on earth do you think your going to finish if shit hits the fan?

Getting Dion is nice, and is a big name to land but why was he on the market to begin with? Obv CGY had been shitting the bed, but does anyone remember Sutter bear hugging Dion at the 2003 Entry Draft when he got up on stage? He loves Dion and wanted him to be a Flame forever, or at least did. For him to go from that, to trading him to another team is a big slide in what his opinion of him as a hockey player is, and maybe as a person as well. Dion is only 24, White is only 25 though and was Toronto's most consistent/reliable d-men. The things Dion needs to do to get better havn't changed since he came into the NHL. Make a better first pass, be more reliable in your own zone and don't be caught out of position/flat footed in the offensive/neutral zone. If he hasn't figured it out in 5 seasons, what makes people believe he suddenly will have a change of heart and simplify his game? Maybe getting shit talked by Ron Wilson will........

We'll see what they get for Kaberle, or if they even move him. By declaring "were open for business" he's let everyone know in the NHL he wants to trade, and obv Kaberle is the exact opposite of what Burke looks for in a hockey player so everyone will know he's looking to move him. Lowball offers and GM's trying to take advantage of what seems is a very trigger happy GM could lead to them getting way less then what Kaberle is worth. I wont make fun of the Giguere deal, since any deal getting rid of Blake is incredible but people expecting Giggy to turn back the clock is far from certain. Just because he's re-united with Burke and his old goaltending coach, doesn't change the fact he hasn't had a GAA under 3 since 06-07 and has been injury plagued since.

Like you said, we have to wait and see. I'm saying Burke will be run out of Toronto by the end of 2012.

[Montreal Canadiens]

I don't ever see how it was proven Phaneuf asked for a trade.

Phaneuf's LOWEST point totals before this year was 47. Some d-men don't even hit 47 as a career high, nevermind a career low.

Phaneuf is definitely an elite defensemen, you can't argue otherwise, since he entered the league, Phaneuf has scored the most goals, and most PPG, out of any defensemen. We're talking more than Mike Green, more than Lidstrom, more than Boyle, etc.

I think Toronto definitely wins this trade, Keith Aulie is a beast as well, Phaneuf is the best player in this trade, Ian White is unproven in my mind. White doesn't even compare to Phaneuf. Stajan is a decent forward, but he's 2nd line at best. Perhaps he finds some chemistry with Iginla, but Calgary didn't fix anything yet, Stajan is a shooter, same with Iginla, same with Jokinen, it's why Iginla-Jokinen didn't pan out. Calgary needs a big playmaking center for Iggy, and until then, may still have scoring problems. They definitely added a lot more depth, but I don't think they will make the playoffs.

Calgary obviously panicked here, and I don't think they had to. They still were in 8th, 1 point out of 7th. The Canucks had the same problem last year, they dropped about 9 in a row, but never did anything drastic, and went on a tear.

If the Jokinen-Prust for Kotalik-Higgins trade occurs, that is horrible for the Flames. Jokinen can be a gamebreaking forward, he has the skills to do so, in return you're getting two players that have been terrible for years and years after a couple of fluke seasons for Kotalik and Higgins had a decent rookie year and sophmore year.

As a Canuck fan, I'm thanking Darryl Sutter, definitely weakened the Flames overall skill wise. Instead of having Phaneuf play against Kesler and Regehr against the Sedins, now we only have to do deal with Regehr, and obviously he's the weaker d-man and has struggled this year.

Keep it up Flames. 8 points up with a game in hand.