Trades and Rising Teams
For a team that is still trying to make the playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs seem to be going about in a very odd way. Last week, Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke reiterated his goal of making the playoffs this season. Then on Sunday, the team made two deals which brought in four players, but shipped out six, four of the Maple Leafs were among their top eight scorers.
The first deal saw Toronto send forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayer and defenseman Ian White to the Calgary Flames for former all-star defenseman Dion Phaneuf, veteran forward Fredrick Sjorstrom and prospect Keith Aulie. For a team looking to rebuild quickly, receiving a player as physical and with as much potential as Phaneuf is a great move. However, the price seems steep for a team that has struggled to win games. Stajan and Hagman combined for 36 goals and 74 points overall this season and have been a big part of Toronto's offense. Of course that means that Calgary might get the needed scoring they need to keep their playoff hopes alive, and hopefully help end their recent struggles. Toronto, meanwhile, received a struggling player in Phaneuf, who has the potential to be a great player, but has not shown that level of commitment this year.
The second deal might be an attempt to offset the goal scoring they gave up, as the Leafs acquired disgruntled goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks for forward Jason Blake and goaltender Vesa Toskala. Both Toskala and Blake garnered heat from Toronto fans for their inefficiency on the ice the past few seasons. Toskala will back-up Hiller in Anaheim, while Blake should see the same amount of playing time he did in Toronto. Giguere, meanwhile, will jump right into a starter's role with the Leafs, allowing rookie Jonas Gustavsson to adapt to the league. Toronto also hopes that Giguere will be able to put a stop to their goal tending woes that have been evident ever since Ed Belfour left town.
Of course, Toronto is not done dealing, and still has several players on their roster that could see new homes by the trade deadline. Regardless, the team will have to hope they can scrape the waiver wire to find some nice fill-ins, or else their hopes of making the playoffs have been thrown out the window. They may only be eight points back while sitting twenty-eighth in the league, but that is still a big hill to climb for a team trading away offensive leaders.
While the Maple Leafs and Flames try to claw their way into the playoffs, two teams in the West are beginning to find themselves a seat in the post-season. Not only are the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings looking to fill a playoff seat this year, but also in the future.
The Blackhawks currently sit second in the West behind the San Jose Sharks, and will challenge the Sharks for the top spot for the rest of this year, and years to come. After signing Marian Hossa and Brian Campbell to long term deals, the team also wrapped up their young core of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith with long term contracts. The latter three are already showing signs of greatness, and will only get better as they log more time in the NHL. Add in Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg, and the team has numerous scoring options to burn opponents. Some skeptics have pointed to the Hawks goaltending situation as their Achilles heel, but Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi are highly capable of making saves when it matters most, and will work in tandem to carry this team towards the Western conference crown. After all, they are the reason the Blackhawks let Nikolai Khabibulin walk in this past off-season.
As for the Kings, they are a young team playing with fire and energy right now. Led by players such as Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick, the team is set for future seasons. Add in select veterans like Ryan Smyth and Michael Handzus, and it equals a recipe for success. They currently sit fifth in the West, and should be seeing playoff action for the first time in awhile at the season's end. With the way the Kings have been playing, this team has a bright future ahead of them, and their current fifth seed is only the beginning of good things to come. They are definitely a team to watch out for down the stretch.
- Mark McLean - RotoKingdom Staff Writer