The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired veteran goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks in a trade for goaltender Vesa Toskala and veteran forward Jason Blake.
The MVP of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, the deal reunites Giguere with his former goalkeeping coach, Francois Allaire, as well as former general manager Brian Burke.
“What I loved about him is that I’ve never had a goalkeeper who works as hard… I’ve had a lot of goalkeepers and I’ve had good goalkeepers, but I’ve never had a goalkeeper who works as hard as JS.” Giguere,” Leafs general manager Brian Burke said.
The Montreal native recently lost his starting job to goalkeeper Jonas Hiller, who on Saturday signed a four-year, $18 million extension, clearing the way for the trade.
Giguere, 32, has a one-year, $7 million contract remaining, while Toskala, 32, is making $4 million this season and will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Giguere joins the Maple Leafs with a 3.14 GAA and .900 SV% in 20 games this season, while Toskala has posted a 3.66 GAA in 26 games.
Blake, 36, has struggled playing for the Blue and Whites this season, scoring just 10 goals and 26 points in 55 games. The Moorhead, MN native signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent in 2007 and has 50 goals and 141 points in that span.
Earlier in the day, the Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames were involved in a seven-player trade in which former All-Star defender Dion Phaneuf headed to Toronto. The Leafs also acquired 6-foot-6 defenseman Keith Aulie and winger Fredrik Sjostrom.
In exchange, Toronto gave up defenseman Ian White and forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers.