Phaneuf

The Calgary Flames have dealt defenseman Dion Phaneuf, baggage Fredrik Sjostrom, prospect defenseman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matthew Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White.

Toronto gets: a monster defenseman. A young star known for his hard hits and 65-point ability. He is having a bad season, and this change of scenery will do him good. Sjostrom is just baggage – he teases, but never pleases. Aulie is a huge 6-6 defenseman who will add size and strength to the blue line in several years.

Calgary gets: the perfect second-line pivot in Matt Stajan. He’s like a younger Daymond Langkow in that he is underrated and should eventually become a 70-point player who will have at least one season in that 75 to 80 range. I had stated here in the ramblings that both Stajan and Ponikarovsky were “buy low”. A commenter disagreed that a new team would do them good, but I responded – in the comments – that Calgary would be a great fit for Stajan. That has now come to pass (so will Pittsburgh be where Ponikarovsky goes? It would be nice to go two for two in my speculating). Ian White is possibly the most underrated defenseman in the NHL today. The Flames just injected a lot of offense into their lineup. Hagman is a streaky and skilled winger who will inject 30 goals into the Calgary lineup. His presense will hurt the likes of Curtis Glencross and Dustin Boyd, who was starting to come around. It may also impact Rene Bourque.

Fantasy Players Impacted: More offense will be good for everybody on Calgary. But Langkow will slip to the second line. Stajan will audition right away with Jarome Iginla. Olli Jokinen will be on the second line. Mark Giordano’s PP time will slip, especially if White makes an early impact.

In Toronto, the moving of Stajan will mean that Tyler Bozak is on the team for the season. He should be good for a point every two games. I don’t think lesser scorers such as John Mitchell will get a bump because of this. Phaneuf will spark the power play and should – especially early – make a large impact. It will also help the team defensively, so look for better numbers from Jonas Gustavsson.

Players this helps, in order:

1. Stajan

2. Phaneuf

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3. Kaberle

4. White

5. Iginla

6. Gustavsson

7. Bozak

Players this hurts, in order:

1. Giordano

2. Langkow