Enough was enough. Brian Burke couldn't take losing anymore.
After watching the Maple Leafs lose a sixth straight game on Saturday against the Canucks, the Toronto general manager went to work while the rest of the hockey world went to bed. The results were two trades on Sunday that stunned the NHL.
Burke overhauled the Maple Leafs roster by pulling in two premier names in defenseman Dion Phaneuf and goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Burke landed Phaneuf, who was thought to be untradeable, forward Fredrik Sjostrom and defenseman prospect Keith Aulie in a trade with Calgary for forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White. He then parted ways with goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake in a trade that brought Giguere from Anaheim.
The most shocking deal was for Phaneuf since Calgary denied for weeks all the trade rumors surrounding the former All-Star blueliner. Phaneuf, who was caught off guard by the trade, had a hard time fighting back tears on Sunday.
"It was definitely a shock," Phaneuf told NHL.com. "The toughest part is saying bye to your buddies and the relationships that you've made."
After the shock wore off, Phaneuf had a conversation with Burke and his sorrow quickly turned to excitement about tackling a new challenge.
The Phaneuf and Giguere deals are just the first of many we expect to see leading up to the March 3 trade deadline.
Which marquee player is in the better situation -- Phaneuf or Giguere?
Both players go from playoff-contending teams to one of the worst squads in the NHL, so nothing really changes there. Giguere gets the nod here since not much is going to be different for Phaneuf. He will still log heavy ice time and be asked to use his shot on the power play, while Giguere will see a significant increase in playing time.
Giguere began the season battling Jonas Hiller in net in Anaheim, but once it became clear Hiller was the better option, Giguere was relegated to backup duties. He then became expendable after Hiller inked a four-year extension on Saturday.
Toronto had to modify its plans after it became clear Jonas Gustavsson and Vesa Toskala were doing more damage than good. This is really bad news for Gustavsson, who was named the Maple Leafs' starting goalie last week. However, he struggled mightily since earning the distinction, and Burke finally realized "The Monster" needed more time to develop.
Toronto head coach Ron Wilson announced Monday that Giguere would see the lion's share of starts down the stretch with Gustavsson starting about once a week.
Giguere goes from being an afterthought in Fantasy to a potential low-end No. 2/high-end No. 3 Fantasy netminder. Phaneuf doesn't really gain any Fantasy value since he was already a high-end option. He actually has more to lose since his plus-minus could suffer in Toronto.
Who has the most Fantasy value to gain?
I really am eager to see how Blake will fit in with the Ducks. He might be a little old (36) but there is still plenty left in the tank. He just never fit in since signing with Toronto prior to the 2007-08 season.
Blake got a pretty raw deal after signing with the Maple Leafs as he had to battle a treatable form of leukemia, and it put a damper on the beginning to his Toronto days. Even Ducks general manager Bob Murray admitted after Sunday's trade that getting out of Toronto "maybe a good thing" for Blake, who found himself in Wilson's doghouse at times.
What Blake brings to Anaheim is speed and a willingness to shoot. He could also be a replacement among the top-six forwards for Joffrey Lupul, who could miss the rest of the season following back surgery.
The move to Anaheim is an immediate upgrade since Blake is going to be surrounded by high-end talent. He could play on a line with either Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry or Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne.
Blake is just a few seasons removed from being a 40-goal scorer and is a consistent 20-goal player. Even if he isn't racking up the goals in Anaheim, the chance to pick up assists and post a favorable plus-minus will be more prevalent.
Who has the most Fantasy value to lose?
My top choice is Hagman, who was Toronto's leading scorer with 20 goals.
The biggest drawback for Hagman is that he was one of the Maple Leafs' top wingers and now joins a crowded group in Calgary, albeit a core that has underperformed despite plenty of talent.
Also, Hagman plays the same position as Jarome Iginla, who is one of the best-scoring right wingers in the NHL.
It's hard to believe that Hagman was one of the centerpieces to the deal for Calgary, but sources say he was the first person the Flames coveted when the Phaneuf deal arose. He will be a welcomed addition for the Flames, but he will likely not be the answer to the team's scoring woes or a great steal off waivers for Fantasy owners.
Is there a Fantasy sleeper among the traded parties?
Without a doubt Fantasy owners need to keep tabs on Stajan. Considering all the criticism he faced from his coach and the Toronto faithful, he was still able to produce. Stajan had 16 goals and 41 points in 55 games with the Maple Leafs. He had 10 or more points in each month since November.
The biggest advantage for Stajan is that he gets to play on a line with Iginla. Neither Daymond Langkow nor recently-traded Olli Jokinen had a ton of success centering the team's top line with Iginla, so Calgary needed to make a change.
It's not like this is new territory for Stajan. He centered a line in Toronto with a similar talent to Iginla in Phil Kessel. Stajan might just be the fresh face up front Calgary needs to jump start its offense.
Is Aulie a good long-term Fantasy keeper?
Burke was elated to land a presence like Phaneuf for Toronto's defense, but he worked especially hard to get Aulie included in the deal. The 6-6, 208-pound prospect is the hulking presence Burke looks for in his blueliners.
"Excellent skater for a big man," Burke said of the 20-year-old Aulie, who was a fourth-round pick in 2007. "This is a guy we coveted. We think he's going to be a real good NHL player down the road for a long time."
While Aulie is a gold-medal winner from his junior days with Team Canada, he is definitely one of those players that could be far more important to Toronto's cause than Fantasy owners.
There is no denying Aulie's strengths are on the defensive end. He never had more than 33 points as a junior player and had only six points (two goals) in 43 games for Abbotsford (AHL) before Sunday's trade.
Aulie seems to be more in the mold of Toronto's 2008 first-round pick Luke Schenn -- a defensive presence that needs to mature on the offensive end.
While the move to Toronto gives Aulie a better chance at making it to the NHL faster, there are much better long-term defensemen keepers, like Ottawa's Erik Karlsson, John Carlson of the Capitals, Nashville's Jonathon Blum or Thomas Hickey of the Kings.
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