Taking Candy from a baby...I mean Darryl Sutter

I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up around 11 am Sunday morning to a ton of texts saying, "Dion Phaneuf to Toronto." I really didn't believe it. I went running to my TV like a little kid on Christmas morning and saw TSN reporting the deal as completed.

Slowly the details came in, and my excitement turned to sheer pleasure. That's it? Darryl Sutter must have been drugged.



I thought the deal was a steal then, and two years later, I still believe this.

Lets do a breakdown of this trade:

The Leafs get Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie.

Dion Phaneuf was so-so last year, but he excelled the last 40 games showing why he deserves to be Captain - and that play has continued into this year. He is a first pairing defensman who can play against all first lines and he has become quite underrated, but that tends to happens to players when they are traded to the Leafs.

Fredrik Sjostrom was a non-factor in this deal. He played a decent role as a PKer for just over a year. He became a free agent this summer and still remains unsigned.

Keith Aulie is the steal of the deal. A big stay-at-home defensman who played with Phaneuf last year on the top pairing for thirty or so games. Although he did not make the team out of camp this year, he is still only 20, and most certainly will be back with the Leafs. He has great potential; and although I don't see him as a first pairing defensman, he is most certainly a great second pairing defensman.

The Flames receive Ian White, Matt Stajan, Nik Hagman and Jamal Mayers.

Well, the Flames basically got hosed. Ian White and Jamal Mayers made little impact for the Flames and are not on their roster anymore.

Matt Stajan has been a colossal failure. Before being traded to Calgary, he recorded 15 goals in 55 games that season for Toronto. Since the trade, Stajan has scored ten goals in over 100 games as a Flame. The worst part of this deal is that Calgary signed Stajan to a multi-year deal at 3.5 million per year. Essentially, they are paying their fourth line centre 3.5 million. Not smart cap management by former GM, Darryl Sutter.

The same can be said for Nik Hagman who was considered a 20 goal scorer. Since being traded to Calgary, Hagman has 15 goals in just over 100 games played.

It is clear Brian Burke won this deal. It is one of the Leafs most lopsided trades since the Sundin or Gilmour deals of the 90's.

Thanks Darryl!