Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 5 Trades Since the Lockout

The Toronto Maple Leafs post-millennium trades haven't been great. During the Pat Quinn and John Ferguson Jr., eras, fans watched as prospects and picks were traded for over-the-hill veterans.

However, since the lockout ended, Toronto has made many great trades. 

In no particular order, here are the Maple Leafs' five best trades since the lockout. 

Francois Beauchemin for Jake Gardiner and Joffrey Lupul

It has been less than a full year since the Maple Leafs traded Francois Beauchemin back to the Anaheim Ducks for Jake Gardiner and Joffrey Lupul, but the results have been astoundingly in favour of the Maple Leafs.

Gardiner was originally thought to be the key piece to the trade, as he was tearing up the NCAA at the time of the trade, while Lupul was coming off a long-term back injury, and was thought of as a salary dump.

However, since joining the Maple Leafs, Lupul has proved he is worth his cap hit. He has developed chemistry with winger Phil Kessel, and that is seen as both are leading the NHL in points at the moment.

With Gardiner playing great hockey, the deal is an absolute steal for the Maple Leafs.

Beauchemin has been playing well for the Ducks, as he has been paired with youngster Cam Fowler. With that said, the price tag the Ducks paid to re-acquire Beauchemin was too much.

This trade has been Brian Burke's best as Maple Leafs GM. 

Mikhail Grabovski for Greg Pateyrn and a 2nd-Round Pick

Cliff Fletcher struck gold by trading Greg Pateryn (a fifth-round pick of Toronto) and a 2010 second rounder for Mikhail Grabovski in 2008, who was described as a locker room cancer for the Montreal Canadiens. 

Since the trade, Grabovski has established himself as an above average second line centre, who could also play the top line if needed. 

His defensive game has improved greatly since his rookie season, as have his passing skills. Last year, Grabovski centred one of the most productive lines in the NHL, as it finished in the top five in goals scored.

Pateryn is currently playing for the University of Michigan. The second-round pick the Canadiens acquired went towards a trade that allowed them to land Robert Lang, who only played 59 games for them.

Although Fletcher made some questionable moves as the interim Maple Leafs' GM, this was not one of them.

The Dion Phaneuf Blockbuster

Brian Burke's most well-known trade. 

Waking up Sunday morning to a flurry of "Phaneuf to Toronto!" texts was shocking. I did not see this trade coming at all.

As all of you know already, last season the Maple Leafs sent Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan, Nik Hagman and Ian White to the Calgary Flames for Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie and Fredrick Sjostrom.

Sjostrom provided decent penalty killing for the Maple Leafs in his short stay in Toronto, but not much else. He is no longer in the NHL.

Aulie has played very well in his time here.

The big, stay-at-home defenceman has played for the Marlies and Maple Leafs. He is still learning the game, but you can see he has a bright future in the league and was a key component to this deal.

Dion Phaneuf. What more can I say?

He is the Maple Leafs' captain and has been fantastic. Yes, he did struggle initially, but after returning from a leg injury last year, he has been lights out.

Phaneuf was the best player when this deal was made and I can say he is even better now.

Now on to the leftovers.

Stajan has been a failure in Calgary.

He re-signed with the Flames for four years at $3.5 million. Since signing the contract, Stajan has struggled to keep himself in the lineup, as he has been a healthy scratch many times.

Mayers finished his half season in Calgary before moving on as an unrestricted free agent.

Hagman was waived by the Flames and claimed by the Anaheim Ducks earlier this year. 

White and Brett Sutter were traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos. 

Kostopoulos is still with the Flames, as is Babchuk, but neither have been too good for Calgary.

This trade is definitely my most memorable in the Brian Burke era. 

Tomas Kaberle to Boston

After years of speculation, Tomas Kaberle was finally traded to the Boston Bruins in February for Joe Colborne, a first-round pick and a conditional second-round pick.

The first-round pick ended up being forward prospect, Tyler Biggs, while the conditional second rounder was traded to Colorado for John-Michael Liles.

Even though the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, the Kaberle trade was not a good deal for them. Kaberle was often criticized for his soft play and the fact that he could not improve the Bruins' last-ranked power play.

For the price the Bruins paid, they should have expected more. Kaberle signed this past offseason with Carolina.

Colborne has been fantastic. In October, he was named the AHL player of the month and he has been recently called up to the big club.

In seven games, Colborne has recorded a goal and three assists for four points. He has a bright future.

Liles, the puck-moving defenceman, has filled Kaberle's void on the power play.

Since arriving in Toronto, he has led the Maple Leafs to a top-five power play, while providing good defence. In my opinion he has been a better fit for Toronto than Kaberle was in his final years here.

Biggs is currently playing for Miami of the CCHA. He is projected to be a top-six power forward, but as we all know, prospects don't always pan out.

He's had a very strong start to his 2011-12 season, and I look forward to hopefully seeing him in the blue and white down the road. 

Trading Up for Luke Schenn

The 2008 NHL Draft was a turning point for the Maple Leafs. With no real top-end prospects, the Maple Leafs traded up to the fifth spot and took Kelowna defenceman, Luke Schenn.

Schenn stepped in immediately and took the role of shutdown defenceman. Although he has struggled throughout the years, he has shown great promise and has been performing at high levels. 

Many critics argued the Maple Leafs should have taken a chance on Nikita Filatov, Josh Bailey or Mikkel Boedker, and upgraded their offence. In hindsight, then-GM Cliff Fletcher made a great choice taking Schenn over those forwards. 

Consistency has been Schenn's issue throughout his young career, but after having a slow start to the 2011-12 season, it looks like he has found his groove with partner Jake Gardiner. 

At only 21 years old, Schenn has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. Fletcher made a smart decision by moving up in the draft to get Schenn instead of settling for the boom-or-bust forwards the Maple Leafs were projected to take.