The past two days were big for the NHL with three big trades, something that does not always happen at either the trade deadline or offseason. With the Olympic roster freeze approaching, three general managers decided their struggling teams could wait no longer and made a splash in hopes of jump-starting their respective teams.

Calgary Flames trade Dion Phaneuf (D), Fredrik Sjostrom (F) and Keith Aulie (D) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matt Stajan (F), Niklas Hagman (F), Jamal Mayers (F) and Ian White (D)

I have to admit I am shocked that Calgary let go of Phaneuf. Even though rumors had surfaced recently, I just did not think they would trade him. When he first entered the league, Phaneuf was a beast both offensively and defensively, hitting everything in sight. He has struggled the past two years with his mental game deteriorating, believing the hype that surrounded him. Only twenty-four there is a lot of room for him to improve and a trade may be enough to open his eyes and shake him from his mental funk.

                With defense their strength and the summer signing of Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary could afford to depart with Phaneuf and in return received scoring depth they have been missing for years. The streaky Hagman is a bit overpriced and at twenty-five Stajan still has room to improve. Regardless of their shortcomings, they bring with them the potential of forty or more goals a year that Calgary desperately needs.

                Sjostrom is an effective lower line player while Mayers like to play a physical game. Mayers had recently demanded a trade over lack of playing time. White is somewhat overlooked in all this. Twenty-five years old, he has a decent two way game, having nine goals and seventeen assists this year. He has nowhere near the physical game Phaneuf provided nor does he have the same upper limits of potential, but he can make up for the offense lost from his departure.

                This leaves a big question for the Leafs though: who is going to score? Phil Kessel and Alex Ponikarovsky (just call him Poni if you cannot pronounce that) are the only two steady scorers left on the team, and Ponikarovsky appears destined to be dealt at the trade deadline. Do not expect to see the problem corrected this year. Burke will find what he needs in free agency now that he has cleared some additional cap space.

                This is a deal that helps both teams. Calgary traded a strength to fix a weakness and Toronto gets an anchor for their defense with tremendous upside. I think the potential Phaneuf possesses is going to make Toronto the winners in the long term.

Anaheim Ducks trade Jean-Sebastian Giguere (G) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Vesa Toskala (G) and Jason Blake (F)

                Shoring up a major problem, the Maple Leafs acquired goaltender JS Giguere from the Ducks in exchange for two struggling and overpaid players in goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake.

                I am still at a loss as to why Anaheim did this. With the recent signing of Jonas Hiller, it was clear Giguere’s days in Anaheim were numbered, unhappy being forced into the backup role. I understand they took Toskala because the Leafs were looking for a salary dump. His contract expiring after this season Anaheim will not make an effort to retain him. I cannot fathom why Anaheim took one of Toronto’s worst contracts in Blake.

Blake has had one good year (a contract year of course), is not a particularly good locker room guy and is not a leader. His contract has two years remaining with a $4mm cap hit per year, actual salary less due his contract being front-loaded. However, he cannot put up the numbers the contract calls for and at thirty-five; there is a slim chance of him improving. What Anaheim got in return for a legitimate starting goaltender was an albatross. Not to say he will not help in some way, Blake can still get twenty goals a year, but there are cheaper alternatives to what he brings. That Toronto was so eager to rid themselves of Blake should be a sign of what the Ducks are getting in return.

                Toronto meanwhile will be laughing for at least the next year. Passing off two players that earned hefty salaries and provided little return, GM Brian Burke somehow finagled a starting goaltender out of his Anaheim counterpart Bob Murray. Why Murray would do this deal other than if Burke had a gun to his head (literally) I cannot understand.

                Giguere is thirty-three and has a single year remaining on his contract, but he will provide stability in net for the Leafs that has been missing in recent years. Whether or not the Leafs retain Giguere beyond next year is anyone’s guess, but it is not as if they wasted any assets in obtaining him. Giguere is not the all star he once was, but he is a definite upgrade. Why Anaheim would not wait until the deadline is miffing to me. Any borderline teams desperate for a goalie would have been willing to pay a high price for Giguere. Instead, all they end up with is an overpaid twenty-goal scorer. They would have been better off taking a pick and spending the cap space on a free agent.  

Toronto wins this one by a mile.

Calgary Flames trade Olli Jokinen (F) and Brandon Prust (F) to the New York Rangers for Chris Higgins (F) and Ales Kotalik (F)

                Continuing their desperate attempt to acquire secondary scoring, the Flames dealt the underachieving Jokinen for the equally underachieving pair of Higgins and Kotalik. Jokinen had a decent performance last year but this year has had little impact, netting only ten goals.

Higgins, scoring twenty or more goals in three seasons came to the Rangers in the Scott Gomez deal this summer, but has netted a paltry eight goals and is on pace for a mere twelve. This form has disappeared over the last two seasons as each year his goal totals have dropped by around fifty percent (assuming he nets around the twelve goals). Calgary is hoping he finds his scoring touch once more. If not, he is an unrestricted free agent and they can cut him loose.

Kotalik has had a dreadful year, highlighted by a plus/minus rating of -18, a team worst. He has been criticized publicly, quickly finding the doghouse of coach John Tortorella, who has benched him more than a dozen games this year including eight of the last nine. He has two years remaining on his contract at $3mm per year.

I am surprised Calgary went for this. Jokinen’s deal expires at the end of the season and they could have easily let him test the market, freeing up over $5mm in cap space. Instead, over half of that will be taken by Kotalik’s salary who the Flames must hope regains some of his play. Otherwise, he will be dead weight on their cap. Because Higgins is a UFA, there is little risk in his acquisition.

The Rangers are hoping the trade will shake things up in their locker room after lackluster play in recent weeks. Jokinen may be able to regain his form alongside Marian Gaborik, if not the Rangers merely let him walk.

                If the players continue to struggle, I would have to say the Rangers come out on top with this deal if for the sole reason they can clear Jokinen’s cap space easy while the Flames must retain Kotalik and his salary.

Final Thoughts

                What is most surprising about these deals is when they happened. In the cap world when moving hefty salaries, teams normally wait until the deadline when they have more cap room to spare. For those unfamiliar with the workings of the NHL cap, a player’s salary is counted in days, so if they are on injured reserve or miss days for other reasons (game days or practices), their salaries will not count against the cap. These leave additional wiggle room at the end of the year for teams to make a deal.

                However, the deadline is not for another month (March 3^rd this year), but the Olympic roster freeze is from February 12^th-20^th. This did not give the involved teams as much cap room as they would have in a month, but all of them deemed changes were needed immediately.

                The high profiles of the players moved caught everyone more off guard, Phaneuf in particular because of his age and skills. Most thought Calgary would never give up on him (myself included), especially since he was the kind of player GM Darryl Sutter loves to employ. Since the deal there seems to be more talk revolving around his attitude and negative locker room presence, which can be a major contributing factor in any deal. Giguere, while it was known he was unhappy relegated to backup, waiving his no movement clause to head to a non-playoff team was as surprising as his being dealt at this point. Noteworthy is that Burke was the GM in Anaheim before Toronto where he and Giguere won the team’s lone Stanley Cup.

                I feel Toronto comes out of these deals the clear winner, receiving a starting goaltender and obtaining a young defenseman capable of playing at an elite level. The Flames got the scoring depth they sought, but I do not think Anaheim made themselves better at all.

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