As well here is mendola's view on the whole trades
MENDOLA: Leafs awake, but Sabres weren't sleeping
Nick Mendola
[email protected](WGR 550) -- If you're on any sort of message board or radio talk box today, chances are you're reading/hearing a lot about how Brian Burke acquired two key pieces to the Maple Leafs' rebuilding puzzle, and he did. Dion Phaneuf and J.S. Giguere are massive stabilizing blocks in the wobbly Jenga-like tower that is Toronto.
But if you're one of those thinking that the Sabres and other teams were sleeping, you're simply incorrect.
It pains me to say this, because Phaneuf is one of my favorite players in the entire league and Buffalo needs to make a move or two before the deadline. They need a veteran presence and another scorer or power play point man (Read my thoughts on that here). But the ransom Flames general manager Darryl Sutter got from the Leafs is top-notch. He gets a goal scorer locked up through and at the apex of his career as well as three other players who will fill nice roles for him.
In Niklas Hagman, the Leafs have offloaded their top goal scorer. By dealing Ian White, they've sent away one of their only consistent five-on-five players (White's one of only three plus players on the Leafs). Matt Stajan is Toronto's second-leading scorer. Hagman's signed through 2012 at a remarkably reasonable $3 million, while White will be a restricted free agent and Stajan will be a UFA after this season.
The Leafs get Phaneuf, struggling through a brutal season in which he'll need a minor miracle to match his career average in points. He'll find his way back, but Phaneuf has really shown a drop-off since signing a massive $6.5 million deal as a 23-year-old.
To make as close a Buffalo comparison as possible, general manager Darcy Regier would've had to send Jason Pominville (locked up), Drew Stafford (RFA), Henrik Tallinder (UFA) and Nathan Paetsch or Adam Mair to Calgary to pick up Phaneuf. That's not a move that helps a division-leader become a powerhouse. It's a step backwards to build for the future. A third-place team doesn't do that to their locker room, fans or bottom line (especially when you consider that before Phaneuf's deal is done, Tyler Myers will likely be making Phaneuf money or better).
As for Toronto's acquisition of J.S. Giguere, it's an ingenious move, but why would Darcy Regier do it? He has his goaltender locked up for years. "Giggy" is reunited with his old goalie coach, and the Leafs have off-loaded Jason Blake's contract -- which was a foolish one to start with for a player his size and his age. Yes, it's retrospect, but it's no surprise his numbers have slipped. I argued last week for the Flyers to scoop up Giguere and a No. 2 for Briere and Boucher. This is essentially the same deal, only the Flyers are a contender.
To put it simply, the Leafs are digging out of a hole bigger than the one the Sabres were in when they failed to re-sign Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, and some of that unearthing was done by Burke (Mike Komisarek is not -- as I said at the time -- a 4.5 million dollar blueliner). Phaneuf and Giguere are terrific acquisitions, but as Pat Malacaro wrote in greater detail, they are long-term solutions with short-term struggles to even return to their top form.
The only shame in the whole matter is that the Sabres didn't have a tradeable piece that could land them Stajan, White and Hagman. The package that Calgary received for Phaneuf ends any debate as to whether the Sabres could've picked up the bruising offensive defenseman.
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