THE TELETYPE:
Brian Burke announced major trades with Calgary and Anaheim today. The Leafs have shipped Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala to Anaheim for longtime Ducks netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The goalie has found himself surrounded by trade speculation all season, including a report of this very trade in November from Randy Youngman. The announcement yesterday of Jonas Hiller's contract extension seemed to seal Giguere's fate, as his 7M salary and 6M cap hit next year would have the Ducks spending over 10M on goaltending.
Toskala, who has underperformed in net since arriving in Toronto, is making 4M this year, but is an unrestricted free agent at season's end. Blake has 10G and 16A, and is signed into the 2011-2012 season on a 4M cap hit though his salary drops from 4.5M this year to 3M for both next year and its final year. If Anaheim lets Toskala go at the end of this season, the zero sum effect of the trade is to clear 4M from the Ducks' salary and 2M from their cap hit for next year.