The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded captain Dion Phaneuf to their rivals the Ottawa Senators in a blockbuster nine-player trade.
In the nine-player deal Toronto sends defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forwards Casey Bailey, Matt Frattin, Ryan Rupert and defense prospect Cody Donaghey to Ottawa for defenseman Jared Cowen and forwards Milan Michalek, Colin Greening, forward prospect Tobias Lindberg and a second-round pick in 2017.
Neither team are retaining salary from the players they sent either way.
There was talk of Phaneuf being moved this morning after TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted he believed the Leafs would get a deal done involving their captain before the deadline. Minutes later the deal was announced.
Salaries
Millions of dollars were moved each way in the deal, here is a breakdown of every player’s salary cap hit:
To Toronto:
Milan Michalek - $4 million (UFA after next season)
Jared Cowen - $3.1 million (RFA after next season)
Colin Greening - $2.65 million (UFA after next season)
Tobias Lindberg - $693,333 (first year of entry-level contract)
To Ottawa:
Dion Phaneuf - $7 million (until after 2020-21 season)
Casey Bailey - $912,500 (RFA at end of this season)
Matt Frattin - $800,000 (UFA at end of this season)
Ryan Rupert - $631,667 (RFA at end of next season)
Cody Donaghey - $633,333 (first year of entry-level contract)
Toronto Moves Big Contracts For Second Straight Year
The Maple Leafs have now moved three big contracts, which carry cap hits of five million or more the past two seasons.
At last years trade deadline the Leafs were able to send forward David Clarkson to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Nathan Horton. Clarkson carried a cap hit of $5.25 million and Horton had a $5.3 million cap hit. The difference however is Horton was then placed on long-term injured reserve and his salary did not effect the Leafs cap hit.
Last summer during free agency the Leafs were able to trade forward Phil Kessel and his $6.8 million cap hit to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the teams rebuild.