One of the worst trades in NHL history has to be the Doug Gilmour trade. Although it didn't win the Leafs a Stanley Cup they went from a playoff noncombatant to a Cup contender. Calgary tried to repeat that disastrous trade with another blockbuster swap with the Leafs. It's been almost two years so much of the dust has settled on the deal. It doesn't look good for the Flames.
The Leafs got Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjöström in exchange for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White. Sjöström is now playing in Sweden. Aulie is with the Marlies and whether he develops into an everyday NHL defenseman has yet to be determined. Mayers is a 4th liner with Chicago. White landed this season with Detroit and is paired with Nik Lidstrom. Calgary finally got fed up with Hagman and has put him on waivers.
That leaves the Leafs with Phaneuf who is playing over 25 minutes per game and appears to be a Norris trophy candidate while the Flames are left with Stajan who is now just a 4th line centre who plays only 11 minutes per game. While Calgary fans were at the time happy to see the overpaid ($6.5 million cap hit) Phaneuf leave, they now have to justify Stajan's cap hit of $3.5 million for 2 more seasons.
Note to Calgary management, do not return any calls from Toronto.
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