Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 11:44pm

CALGARY ACQUIRES HOMETOWN C COLBORNE

The Calgary Flames acquired center Joe Colborne from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2014.

What does it give the Calgary Flames
The Flames are in rebuilding mode right now and--at least on paper--Colborne is a perfect fit for them. A former first-round pick (No. 16 overall in 2008 by Boston), he showed excellent offensive development until hitting a bit of a wall in the Leafs' organization last season. Regardless, he is that rare skilled big pivot who can possibly play a top-6 role, and he may get that chance early on in Calgary (his hometown). New Flames President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke has his fingerprints all over this deal, having traded for Colborne twice now.

What does it give the Toronto Maple Leafs
The fast-improving Maple Leafs--a team built mostly by Burke when he was with them--just didn't have room for the underwhelming Colborne after recently re-inking him to a one-year, one-way deal. Recently-signed (and more proven) {P Mason Raymond} effectively took Colborne's spot on the third line with the Leafs, and the recent re-signings of {P Nazem Kadri} and {P Cody Franson} (among others) put cap pressure on Toronto. Something had to give and it was Colborne. Down the road Toronto may regret this one (though the pick may become a third rounder).

Fantasy impact
Colborne's fantasy value gets a huge boost here, since he has a chance to immediately push for a top-6 role with the young Flames. Look for him to settle in as a regular fairly early on, and potentially produce in the 30-40 point range if all goes well. For the Leafs this deal pretty much ensures Raymond won't have much competition for regular shifts. His value moves up nicely.