It is being reported by tsn that Dion Phaneuf has been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Dion Phaneuf trade to Toronto went down about 10 minutes ago, and here is the full trade Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom, and defenceman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenceman Ian White.

In addition to the Dion Phaneuf trade to the Maple Leafs, it is also being reported that Anaheim’s Giguere was traded to the Maple Leafs as well. Stay tuned to more breaking news on the Dion Phaneuf trade to Toronto and the JS Giguere trade to the Maple Leafs.

While looking around for some Calgary fans I stumbled onto a Flames Forum where I witnessed many distressed Calgary fans ponder why their team was unable to pull off the upset against the Sharks. In my opinion, the Sharks got pissed off after falling behind 2-1 and started playing with some heart. They began skating hard and drawing penalties and going hard to the front of the net scoring some dirty goals.

That is what it takes in the playoffs, is getting down and dirty in front of the net, your net and the opposition’s net. In the end, the Sharks spend a lot more time in front of the Calgary Flames’ net and they were rewarded for their efforts with a 5-3 victory and trip to the 2^nd round of the playoffs.

Iginla was drafted by the Stars, but traded to the Flames and has played every single NHL game with the Calgary Flames.  He is the franchise player and cornerstone of the Calgary Flames, and he will continue to score goals for the Flames for years to come.  Iginla should be able to easily surpass 500 goals in his career at the pace he is going at right now.  The 30 year old still has many great years ahead of him, and although 500 goals may be a mark he’d like to hit, a Stanley Cup ring is much more important to Iginla.  Currently the Flames are leading the tight NorthWest Division with 82 points.

Dion Phaneuf is only 22 years old and is already won of the most intimidating defensemen in the NHL, both offensively and defensively.  Look for Phaneuf to be a Hall of Famer one day and to win a Norris Trophy as best defensemen in the near future.

Sportsnet.ca is reporting that the deal is pretty much done, but some details need to be ironed out before the deal is officially announced.  This Dion Phaneuf deal will make a lot of people in Calgary breathe easier knowing that they have a potential Hall of Fame defenseman locked up for many years to come.  Expect the announcement of Dion Phaneuf’s signing at some point today.

The news is being reported by TSN and the deal is finalized. Joseph played last year with the Phoenix Coyotes and was an unrestricted free agent this summer but no one signed him. The Flames now have a very capable backup to Mikka Kiprusoff as they make their playoff run.