[Draug]

I am suprised at the negative reaction to the trade... I like it myself. It may have been mentioned in the first 42 pages of this thread, but ...

It was obvious to me that this team was not going to achieve all we thought it could when this core was built. I define the core as Iginla, Kiprusoff, Regher, Langkow, and formely Phanuef. Since the lockout, the Flames have underachieved. During that time, we've changed coaches, and pretty all the surrounding players at least once if not twice. The only thing left to change was the core. I would argue that Phanuef was the most marketable amd so with Bouwmeester on the team, Phanuef gets traded. I'd say that Bouwmeester is now part of my 5 unit core.

Coming back, we have a pretty good center in Stajan and a decent two way player in Hagman. I remember him being really good for the Stars. And Stajan has a lot of upside in my mind; remember, he has only played on a disfunctional Leafs team.

I like the trade!

And, I like Phanuef ... I have an Authentic jersey from 03/04 that I got when he was drafted. I even made the trip to Red Deer numerous times to watch him play for the Rebels back in the day. Not that I am anything special for doing it, it just goes to show that I was not a Phanuef hater...