Maple Leafs get defensive with trades
Brian Burke is cleaning house in Toronto in an effort to turn the troubled Maple Leafs around. That's good news for their backers who have dropped over 28 units at the window following the club this season. Defense is first on Burke's mind, and the addition of Dion Phaneuf will bring a more physical style to the Toronto ice. Burke also brought in an old pal of his by swapping for Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Only two months to go until the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hard to believe, but it’s already time for NHL general managers to get on the phone and start wheeling and dealing.
Teams that were instant fade candidates will be magically transformed into breadwinners. Others will go from the penthouse to the outhouse. Three of the league’s most recognizable GMs have already put their reputations on the line; only one of them has any real job security at this point.
Getting Jiggy
The Toronto Maple Leafs (18-28-11, -28.30 units) are one of the very worst teams in the NHL. They’re easily the worst against the betting odds.
But GM Brian Burke was hired to turn this moribund franchise around, and he appears to have made a giant leap in that direction with last week’s big trades. Here’s the skinny:
From Calgary: D Dion Phaneuf, F Fredrik Sjostrom, D Keith Aulie
To Calgary: C Matt Stajan, LW Niklas Hagman, RW Jamal Mayers, D Ian White
From Anaheim: G Jean-Sebastien Giguere
To Anaheim: LW Jason Blake, G Vesa Toskala
This is a relatively small move for the Ducks, who already have Jonas Hiller (.918 save percentage) in goal and were able to swap Giguere (.900 SV%) for a crack at getting some production out of Blake (10 goals in 57 games).
Burke is likewise hoping for Giguere to return to the form he showed when the two were Stanley Cup winners in Anaheim. Giguere blanked the New Jersey Devils (-135 road faves) 3-0 on Tuesday, while Phaneuf (10 goals in 55 games) was a plus-1 and played 24:21 of physical hockey.
The 'under' cashed in on the total of 5½ goals; we could see a lot more of that with the Leafs improving their defense and goaltending at the expense of scoring.
Alberta Bound
The mood in Calgary isn’t so rosy after the slumping Flames (27-21-8, 7.93 units) dealt the very popular Phaneuf to the very unpopular Maple Leafs. But that’s not the only deal GM Darryl Sutter had cooking last week:
From N.Y. Rangers: LW Chris Higgins, RW Ales Kotalik
To N.Y. Rangers: C Olli Jokinen, RW Brandon Prust
This one isn’t likely to set Cowtown ablaze, either. These two trades together represent a roll of the dice for Sutter, whose team is currently in ninth place in the Western Division and in need of a quick fix up front. The Flames are No. 27 in the league with 2.50 goals per game and the 'under' at a marvellous 32-20.
That should change with the arrival of Stajan (16 goals in 56 games) and Hagman (20 goals in 56 games) from Calgary, but both Kotalik (eight goals in 45 games) and Higgins (six goals in 55 games) are glorified depth players at this point. The Flames may be a little better after these trades; the 'over' is certainly worth a look after this offensive makeover.
Summarizing Prust
That leaves the Rangers, where long-time GM Glen Sather has pulled off a minor steal by acquiring Jokinen (11 goals in 56 games) and the bruising Prust (plus-6, 98 PIM in 43 games) in exchange for little of consequence.
Some fans in the Big Apple have been calling for Sather’s head; the Rangers have lost seven of their last 10 games to slip into 10th place in the East at 25-25-7 (8.09 units), but this deal should keep the dogs at bay. The Blueshirts are now more talented and also free of Kotalik’s $3-million annual salary.
The cash aspect of this deal suggests Sather might not be done dealing. He’s one of the many GMs hoping to add Atlanta Thrashers sniper Ilya Kovalchuk (31 goals in 48 games), and Sather needs the cash to sign Kovalchuk after he becomes a free agent in the offseason. He’s making $7.5 million this year. Jokinen ($5.5 million) and Prust ($525,000) both come off the books when the season ends. Kotalik gets paid until 2012.
Let’s see what else Sather has up his sleeve between now and the March 3 trade deadline.
Brian Burke is cleaning house in Toronto in an effort to turn the troubled Maple Leafs around. That's good news for their backers who have dropped over 28 units at the window following the club this season. Defense is first on Burke's mind, and the addition of Dion Phaneuf will bring a more physical style to the Toronto ice. Burke also brought in an old pal of his by swapping for Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Only two months to go until the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hard to believe, but it’s already time for NHL general managers to get on the phone and start wheeling and dealing.
Teams that were instant fade candidates will be magically transformed into breadwinners. Others will go from the penthouse to the outhouse. Three of the league’s most recognizable GMs have already put their reputations on the line; only one of them has any real job security at this point.
Getting Jiggy
The Toronto Maple Leafs (18-28-11, -28.30 units) are one of the very worst teams in the NHL. They’re easily the worst against the betting odds.
But GM Brian Burke was hired to turn this moribund franchise around, and he appears to have made a giant leap in that direction with last week’s big trades. Here’s the skinny:
From Calgary: D Dion Phaneuf, F Fredrik Sjostrom, D Keith Aulie
To Calgary: C Matt Stajan, LW Niklas Hagman, RW Jamal Mayers, D Ian White
From Anaheim: G Jean-Sebastien Giguere
To Anaheim: LW Jason Blake, G Vesa Toskala
This is a relatively small move for the Ducks, who already have Jonas Hiller (.918 save percentage) in goal and were able to swap Giguere (.900 SV%) for a crack at getting some production out of Blake (10 goals in 57 games).
Burke is likewise hoping for Giguere to return to the form he showed when the two were Stanley Cup winners in Anaheim. Giguere blanked the New Jersey Devils (-135 road faves) 3-0 on Tuesday, while Phaneuf (10 goals in 55 games) was a plus-1 and played 24:21 of physical hockey.
The 'under' cashed in on the total of 5½ goals; we could see a lot more of that with the Leafs improving their defense and goaltending at the expense of scoring.
Alberta Bound
The mood in Calgary isn’t so rosy after the slumping Flames (27-21-8, 7.93 units) dealt the very popular Phaneuf to the very unpopular Maple Leafs. But that’s not the only deal GM Darryl Sutter had cooking last week:
From N.Y. Rangers: LW Chris Higgins, RW Ales Kotalik
To N.Y. Rangers: C Olli Jokinen, RW Brandon Prust
This one isn’t likely to set Cowtown ablaze, either. These two trades together represent a roll of the dice for Sutter, whose team is currently in ninth place in the Western Division and in need of a quick fix up front. The Flames are No. 27 in the league with 2.50 goals per game and the 'under' at a marvellous 32-20.
That should change with the arrival of Stajan (16 goals in 56 games) and Hagman (20 goals in 56 games) from Calgary, but both Kotalik (eight goals in 45 games) and Higgins (six goals in 55 games) are glorified depth players at this point. The Flames may be a little better after these trades; the 'over' is certainly worth a look after this offensive makeover.
Summarizing Prust
That leaves the Rangers, where long-time GM Glen Sather has pulled off a minor steal by acquiring Jokinen (11 goals in 56 games) and the bruising Prust (plus-6, 98 PIM in 43 games) in exchange for little of consequence.
Some fans in the Big Apple have been calling for Sather’s head; the Rangers have lost seven of their last 10 games to slip into 10th place in the East at 25-25-7 (8.09 units), but this deal should keep the dogs at bay. The Blueshirts are now more talented and also free of Kotalik’s $3-million annual salary.
The cash aspect of this deal suggests Sather might not be done dealing. He’s one of the many GMs hoping to add Atlanta Thrashers sniper Ilya Kovalchuk (31 goals in 48 games), and Sather needs the cash to sign Kovalchuk after he becomes a free agent in the offseason. He’s making $7.5 million this year. Jokinen ($5.5 million) and Prust ($525,000) both come off the books when the season ends. Kotalik gets paid until 2012.
Let’s see what else Sather has up his sleeve between now and the March 3 trade deadline.