Sportsbook had the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs making a major trade on Sunday. Online sportsbook odds could start to be impacted as the Flames traded away star defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Toronto also made a second deal, acquiring goaltender J.S. Giguere from Anaheim.
Sportsbook has seen the Flames go winless in their last nine games and the front office seems to have panicked. Phaneuf is a major star and should immediately help Toronto. “Of course the centerpiece of the deal is Dion Phaneuf,” Leafs GM Brian Burke said, “A couple of words come to mind with him, like ‘elite player.’ He’s a warrior, he’s got a cannon for a shot and he plays the game hard. I want players that play the game hard. He makes our power play better, he’s a big hitter and a quality human being. We’re thrilled to have him.” Phaneuf has 10 goals, 12 assists and 49 penalty minutes this season as sportsbook stats show. He immediately upgrades the Toronto blueline a great deal and overall the Maple Leafs will be better vs. odds at the sportsbook. Getting Giguere doesn’t hurt them vs. online sportsbook lines either. The got him from Anaheim for Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala.
The Calgary-Toronto deal had Phaneuf, right win Fredrik Sjostrom and defenseman Keith Aulie going to Toronto while the Flames receive defenseman Ian White, center Matt Stajan, left wing Niklas Hagman and right win Jamal Mayers. The Flames are getting Stajan who has 16 goals and 25 assists this season and Hagman who has 20 goals and 13 assists as sportsbook stats showed.
Toronto was also happy to get Giguere from the Ducks. It made sense for Anaheim since they signed goalie Jonas Hiller to a four-year extension on Saturday. Giguere waved his no-trade clause to go to Toronto. “Obviously I have a history with this player, won a championship with him in Anaheim,” Burke said. “But more importantly he has a history with our goalie coach.”
Toronto may not make the playoffs this online sportsbook season as they are tied for last in the Eastern Conference but these trades definitely make them a much better team vs. sportsbook odds. On the other side, Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter seems to have panicked with the Flames’ latest winless streak vs. sportsbook lines. Trading away Phaneuf for some average players just doesn’t look good at the online sportsbook.