At the start of the season, the Calgary Flames never expected to be in a dogfight just to simply make the playoffs.
The Stanley Cup was the goal, and with the Sutter brothers firmly entrenched at the general manager and head-coach positions, a deep playoff run was expected.

That still may happen, but after a nine-game winless streak, broken up only by a Saturday win over the hapless Oilers, those dreams have taken an unexpected turn.
Just how far the Flames have fallen from expectations was solidified on the weekend, when Darryl Sutter dealt Dion Phaneuf to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a slew of players.
Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers are coming to Calgary, and if that’s the big deal Sutter had cooking to save his season, Flames fans should be genuinely disappointed.
The Flames lack one thing — scoring. Calgary has improved immensely to become one of the league’s top defensive clubs, but can’t score its way out of a wet paper bag. Adding Stajan and Hagman may help slightly but come on, they’re not exactly first-line players. In fact, they’re likely destined to become third liners in Cowtown.
That’s the exact opposite of what the Flames need right now — more mid-level forwards. What’s needed is an elite-level scorer, something Jarome Iginla just is not anymore. You look at how Sutter had success last year in New Jersey. He played a close-to-the-vest defensive style, but had a dynamic scorer in Zack Parise to provide instant offence. New Jersey had a great regular season, but yes, did flame out early in the playoffs.
Still, that’s what’s needed in Calgary. It’s great to play a defensive style, but you need a player who can lift the roof off the rink and score that key goal when you really need it. As good as Iginla has been over the years, it appears he’s no longer capable of being that player. So, with a big-name scorer, Ilya Kovalchuk comes to mind, the Flames would certainly be primed for a playoff run.
As Phaneuf’s name has circulated in trade rumours, it seemed Altanta was an obvious destination in a deal that would bring Kovalchuk to Calgary. Perhaps the Thrashers had absolutely no interest in the Flames’ rearguard, which would have made any deal between the clubs impossible, but it’s hard to see how the Flames got any better with the deal with the Leafs.
With Oli Jokinen now traded to the Rangers for Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins, two more third and fourth liners is in the works, Stajan would appear to be the replacement there. Stajan is a nice player, with second-line potential, but he’s not the answer to Calgary’s number-one centre dilemma. Hagman is another solid scorer, who will give you 25 goals a year, something Calgary clearly needs, but probably isn’t the type of player that can function in Brent Sutter’s defensive system day in and day out and give consistent scoring.
Simply put, the Flames need someone that can go outside the box and create offence on his own. A deal for Ottawa’s Jason Spezza, an elite set-up man, was likely also a possibility earlier in the year, as Spezza was struggling, but would have been a great fit with a trigger man like Iginla. Alas, Spezza and the Senators have both found their games, and the centre is likely not on the trading block.
But the saving grace for the deal is Ian White, who night in and night out was Toronto’s most consistent player. He is a plus player for a horrible team, a defenceman who will fit in beautifully in Calgary. With the emergence of Mark Giordano on defence, Phaneuf was almost downgraded to the No. 4 defenceman in Calgary anyway.
That begs the question — what are the Leafs thinking? A team plagued by poor decision makers on the point got one of the worst decision makers in Phaneuf. Now it can be said, the team that gets the best player in any trade is the winner, and Phaneuf, arguably, is the best player in this deal. At 24, he has a lot of potential and upside, but has taken backward steps this year. Phaneuf is someone who is barely a plus player on a defensive-oriented club — not a good sign for the Leafs, especially since Toronto expects him to be the team’s No. 1 defenceman.
In Stajan and Hagman, the team’s second and fourth leading scorers, the Leafs are giving up any offence the team has now. Fredrick Sjostrom, whom the Leafs also acquired from the Flames, is a former first-round pick, but has accomplished absolutely nothing offensively in the NHL. By also trading Jason Blake, the Leafs will have a monumental struggle to generate any scoring whatsoever.
Finishing next to last this season is not going to do a thing for the Leafs, as Boston owns Toronto’s first-round draft pick for 2010, so tanking this  year makes no sense.
In the end, it’s hard to see how each team improved with this deal. Unless Sutter and Brian Burke of the Leafs have more deals up their sleeves, these two franchises could be in for a rocky end to the 2009/2010 campaign.