Done Deal Canada: Leafs and Flames Make Seven-Player Trade

It is a done deal Canada, as the two struggling franchises in Toronto and Calgary completed a seven-player swap that may turn out to favour Leafs Nation in the long run.

Toronto sent soon to be free agent Matt Stajan, along with Jamal Mayers, Niklas Hagman, and defenseman Ian White to the Calgary Flames for Dion Phaneuf, Frederik Sjostrom, and prospect Keith Aulie.

The writing is on the wall in Calgary, as they look like they are going to go the rebuild route, while Toronto just got a pretty good young defenseman in Phaneuf. At 24-years-old, he is only two years removed from being a Norris Trophy candidate and his best years are ahead of him.

Meanwhile, if Calgary can't resign the 25-year-old Matt Stajan or the 34-year-old Jamal Mayers this trade is clearly salary dumping in order to take a run at one of the high profile free agents coming up on July 1. Though the possibility of Stajan and Jarome Iginla clicking isn't out of the question.

As a Flames fan, I hope this deal doesn't go down like the one infamous Gilmour trade, but Darryl Sutter I'm sure has a plan. At least I hope he has a plan.

In the end, Dion Phaneuf get's the trade he demanded...oops I mean he didn't demand. While Calgary gets three bona fide NHL forwards along with a pretty good defenseman and character guy in Ian White.

In a perfect world, Toronto and Calgary will both come away happy from this deal, just like the Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens did when they swapped Benoit Pouliot for Guillaume Latendresse, though that is more rare than a Biggest Loser contestant not losing weight.

We will have to wait and see who comes out the winner in this deal, at first glance I think it may be Burke, but only time will tell.

And with the way these two teams have been playing of late, time is something they're running out of.