Former Maple Leafs GM Burke on how Dion Phaneuf trade came together

[Ciao]

I admit Raycroft was bad, however you never saw him give up this type of goal that Toskala once allowed.

I hadn't seen this until now.

Whoops.

No wonder Burke couldn't stand to watch Toskola play anymore. That was brutal.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I can't believe that a decade later, people are still whining about losing Stajan and White.

Stajan played on Toronto's top line because they literally had no one else to play there. He went to Calgary and reverted back to being a ~25 point player as he couldn't stay in the lineup.

Ian White was useless defensively, which is why the Leafs tried to make him a forward. He spent three more seasons in the NHL, aying with 4 different teams after the Leafs, and then his career was basically done.

The biggest loss in that trade was Hagman, and he wasn't much of a loss at all.

The Leafs, meanwhile, got a top four defenseman who was largely healthy, played a physical game and actually had the balls to face the media each and every night unlike the rest of the team he was playing with.

Nobody is whining. Someone said that we got him for nothing, and I just corrected it.

Yes, Stajan wasn't a great player, but as you said, he was on the top line, which supports my comment that he was one of our better players. Sure he was a second or third line center in Calgary, but I don't see why you say he couldn't stay in the lineup. In eight full seasons there, despite a few minor injuries, he averaged almost 70 games per season.

White was traded three times, each time for a former first-round pick, and was blacklisted when he publicly insulted Bettman during the lockout.

Hagman was nothing much.

What about Fredrik Sjostrom, who Burke said was the real key to the trade?

I'm not being critical of Phaneuf, who I agree was a decent player, who I feel got misvalued and misused here: not his fault that Burke overpraised him to us, and made him captain.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Nobody is whining. Someone said that we got him for nothing, and I just corrected it.

Yes, Stajan wasn't a great player, but as you said, he was on the top line, which supports my comment that he was one of our better players. Sure he was a second or third line center in Calgary, but I don't see why you say he couldn't stay in the lineup. In eight full seasons there, despite a few minor injuries, he averaged almost 70 games per season.

White was traded three times, each time for a former first-round pick, and was blacklisted when he publicly insulted Bettman during the lockout. If you don't think he was better defensively than Phaneuf, I don't know what to say.

Hagman was nothing much.

What about Fredrik Sjostrom, who Burke said was the real key to the trade?

I'm not being critical of Phaneuf, who I agree was a decent player, who I feel got misvalued and misused here: not his fault that Burke overpraised him to us, and made him captain.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Nobody is whining. Someone said that we got him for nothing, and I just corrected it.

Yes, Stajan wasn't a great player, but as you said, he was on the top line, which supports my comment that he was one of our better players. Sure he was a second or third line center in Calgary, but I don't see why you say he couldn't stay in the lineup. In eight full seasons there, despite a few minor injuries, he averaged almost 70 games per season.

White was traded three times, each time for a former first-round pick, and was blacklisted when he publicly insulted Bettman during the lockout.

Hagman was nothing much.

What about Fredrik Sjostrom, who Burke said was the real key to the trade?

I'm not being critical of Phaneuf, who I agree was a decent player, who I feel got misvalued and misused here: not his fault that Burke overpraised him to us, and made him captain.

I remember Burke said the key to the trade was getting Keith Aulie and if was not included than it never happens.

 

[Gabriel426]

During the same segment on the Fan590 Burke mentioned he thought the team he inherited had "too many euros."

That statement alone tells me all I need to know about the depth of this man's analysis of the game.

Wait a sec, did he really said that?
Bc if Cherry got fired by saying you people, this is very close to that and he got away with it.

 

[Gabriel426]

Bozak was an undrafted college player, and a very good pickup, but Phaneuf wasn't free. He cost us both Stajan, one of our better forwards, and White, who was almost as good offensively, and much better defensively.

Considering Dion at that time and the assets that Flames received. That was a really good deal. At that time, in a way Dion is like Parayko, big physical and can score. I know Dion never came close to being a No.1 Dman but at the time of the trade, he was a lot closer to being a No.1 Dman than a No.4 Dman. To give up White and Stajan is like Leafs giving up Ceci and AJ for Hamilton or something similar.

 

[francis246]

Ehhhh... no. Not here to defend Burke, but the organization was farther ahead when he left than when he arrived.

When he got here, our only assets of any value were Stajan, Antropov and Ponikarovsky. When he left, we had Rielly, JVR, Kadri, and probably some other guys I'm forgetting that were better than the first 3 names.

I mean, he should have done a rebuild as soon as he got here, so everything after that was dumb in terms of the big picture, but we were basically in the same spot, but with more assets, by the time he was done.

I agree. Burke made some fantastic trades. The only trade he lost during his time in Toronto was the Kessel trade.

And the 2011 draft was an absolute debacle in the first round. But other than that he did turn things around

 

[notDatsyuk]

I remember Burke said the key to the trade was getting Keith Aulie and if was not included than it never happens.

Was it Aulie rather than Sjostrom? I don't think so, but that's marginally better, I suppose.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Considering Dion at that time and the assets that Flames received. That was a really good deal. At that time, in a way Dion is like Parayko, big physical and can score. I know Dion never came close to being a No.1 Dman but at the time of the trade, he was a lot closer to being a No.1 Dman than a No.4 Dman. To give up White and Stajan is like Leafs giving up Ceci and AJ for Hamilton or something similar.

I don't think it was a bad deal, but I wouldn't call it 'really good', and I certainly wouldn't say we gave up nothing, as someone else suggested.

Phaneuf had one season maybe close to Parayko, playing on the second pairing with, if I recall correctly, Regher, a very steady defenceman, as his partner. One really good season, never duplicated.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Was it Aulie rather than Sjostrom? I don't think so, but that's marginally better, I suppose.

I'm 100% sure it was Keith Aulie who Burke said needed to be included in the trade.

 

[Ciao]

It wasn't only Jenner who they passed on. Two other players that were selected in the 2nd round who were available at 22nd overall and 25th overall in the 1st round during the Leafs selections was Brandon Saad and Nikita Kucherov.

Probably twenty other teams passed over those guys too.

I'm just guessing here.