Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun debate the merits of this nine-player swap for both the Senators and Leafs and predict how this will influence Steven Stamkos' free-agency decision.
BURNSIDE: Well my friend, that's a nice old-fashioned blockbuster of a trade, isn't it? The Toronto Maple Leafs sending captain Dion Phaneuf to division rival the Ottawa Senators as the center piece in a nine-player swap. No salary retained, just a bunch of bodies crisscrossing the province. Love it.
And what I love about this move from the Senators' standpoint is they're saying, "yes, we have stunk for a while and we rank 28th in the NHL in goals allowed per game and we are dead last on the penalty kill, but we're not done.