In a bid to shake up his slumping club, Toronto GM Brian Burke has picked up former all-star defenceman Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames in a seven-player deal.
The Leafs also acquired six-foot-six defenceman Keith Aulie and winger Fredrik Sjostrom.
In exchange, Toronto gave up defenceman Ian White and forwards Matt Stajan, Nick Hagman and Jamal Mayers.
There are also reports that the Leafs are swapping goalies with Anaheim, sending Vesa Toskala to Anaheim in exchange for J.S. Giguere.
The six-foot-three, 214-pound Phaneuf has appeared in 55 games this season with Calgary, registering 10 goals and 12 assists with 49 penalty minutes. The Edmonton native is in his fifth NHL season – all with Calgary – after being selected ninth overall in 2003.
Burke called Phaneuf an elite player whom he tried to acquire earlier in the season.
“This guy’s a warrior. He’s got a cannon for a shot. He plays the game hard .. I want players who play the game hard because they’re hard to play against,” he said.
Phaneuf, 24, made the NHL all-rookie team in 2005-’06 and has twice played in the league’s all-star game (2006-’07 and 2007-’08).
The move comes after Toronto lost a 5-3 decision Saturday night to the Vancouver Canucks to extend its winless streak to six games. The Leafs (17-28-11, 45 points) are tied with Carolina for last overall in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Leafs blew a 3-0 lead Saturday night, a loss Burke said had soured him but had not prompted the shakeup.
“These pieces were in place prior to yesterday,” he said.
