The Phaneuf and Giguere Trade: A Second Look

If by chance you haven’t heard and are hearing about it here on The Doctors first, the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames and net-minder John Sebastian Giguere from Anaheim. It’s a major development that needs a little extra analyzing.

I’m rather intrigued by the two acquisitions by Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke. He sacrificed over 100 points in scoring offense to get one of the premiere defensemen in the National Hockey League with Phaneuf. From NHL.com:

“We are in buying and selling mode,” Burke said during his morning press conference to announce a deal for Phaneuf, who come aboard with two other players from the Calgary Flames in exchange for four players.

The complete deal was Phaneuf, right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.”

If it was possible to be a buyer AND seller at this point in the season, Burke has it perfected. They didn’t exactly acquire Phanuef for his scoring prowess, but more for his aggressive, hard hitting style of play that makes many an NHL rookie nervous (ask Kyle Okposo, even though he’s not a rookie anymore). Phaneuf has the ability to score, especially on the power play, but he will in no way compensate for the offense heading to Calgary. Stajan and Hagman should get plenty of playing time with the Flames and should provide a much needed boost in offense that the Flames have been missing for the last few weeks. Burke was definitely a buyer in this trade, but no doubt at a steep cost.

I like the Giguere deal. He is a proven winner with experience. Vesa Toskala has been shaky at best this season, but it has been enough to keep the Leafs in contention in a floundering Eastern Conference. Though they’re 11 points out at the time of the trade, nothing is impossible. But again, it goes back to the scoring. After everything the Leafs just lost in offense, do they still have enough time to chip away at 8th place? At this point, it looks iffy for them to climb the ladder, but if Burke “bought” Phaneuf and Giguere to “sell” for next year, then the2010-11 Leafs already look like a solid club ready to contend for the postseason again.

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