I bet one of the reasons Brian Burke?s spouse fell for him was because he is such a good spring cleaner, at least in my eyes because did he clean the Maple Leafs house on Monday or what. Bazinga! Alright, despite what you may think, it was funny ...I think. He got rid of three unrestricted free agents, none of whom were likely to be back next season as well as a bad contract that no one thought was possible to get rid of. True, he did lose Ian White, arguably their most consistent defenseman this season besides Tomas Kaberle, and Niklas Hagman, one of their most skilled forwards, but the potential in the return he got far outweighs the risk. In Dion Phaneuf they get a good defenseman who has the potential to be an All-Star year in and year out and in Jean-Sebastien Giguere they get a goaltender who knows what it takes to win, and maybe more importantly wants to win again. It was a trade that may well define Burke?s time in Toronto, maybe even more so than the Phil Kessel trade, because if it doesn?t work out you just picked up a player who has four more years left on his deal at $6.5 million of a salary cap hit per season. Making deals based on potential or a couple good seasons is a dangerous game to play, just ask Burke?s predecessor, John Ferguson Jr., but rarely do you have a chance to pick up a Stanley Cup winning goaltender or a player who can change the game?s make-up with just one hit. The Flames did get the best player in the deal at this current time with Ian White, and I will never bag on Hagman because a 30-goal scorer making $3 million is a bargain, but Stajan and Mayers may leave due to free agency and Phaneuf may become the cornerstone on the Leafs blue line for years to come. If you were to say four years ago when Phaneuf came into the league out of the lockout that he would be wearing #3 in a Leafs uniform in February of 2010, I would have said stop playing games with my heart. You just don?t tease a guy like that. The Leafs now have a defense that features Phaneuf, Tomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin, which is a total of $19 million tied up in four guys, and yet it still doesn?t mean they?re any good. Having a strong top-four defensive unit is a key to success in today?s NHL; they don?t have to be stars to be a cohesive, dominant unit. If the top-four unit plays to their potential (getting tired of hearing that word yet?) then they should stay together, not just for the rest of this season but for years to come. Burke has said time and time again that he will not ask Kaberle to waive his no-trade clause and we should take him at his word. But, that doesn?t mean he won?t be quick on the trigger to move him in the summer once that no-trade clause is no longer in effect if the Leafs fail to make the playoffs, which is very, very likely. The big wild-card in this may be Luke Schenn, he?s improved his play the last 15 games or so and if he bounces back with a great 2010-11 season he will be in line for a raise. So, if Kaberle gets traded in the off-season that means Burke is confident having Schenn in the top-four because it would be irresponsible to trade Kaberle for another defenseman when what they need is a front line scorer or high draft picks. In terms of the Anaheim deal, it helps both clubs in different ways. Anaheim no longer has a goaltending controversy as Toskala will probably not be re-signed at season?s end, without a doubt giving Jonas Hiller the number-one job after giving him number-one money recently. They also get a forward who tries hard, is feisty sometimes, scores sometimes and skates in circles in the offensive end all the time. Good luck with that ...no, really. The Leafs get a goalie that has a good history with Burke and the goaltending coach, Francois Allaire. They hope it leads to the same amount of success it bred in the past, a Stanley Cup. If not that, they are happy with him battling it out with Jonas Gustavsson for the number-one job while mentoring him at the same time. Although he won?t admit it, there is no doubt at this moment in time that Burke is trying to do whatever little he can to get the Leafs as far away as possible from the league?s basement. Imagine facing Taylor Hall or whoever the first overall pick will be in this June?s entry draft six times a year, a constant reminder of your shortcomings as a general manager, imagine the embarrassment. Burke may be insane for believing the playoffs are still within reach, but you have got to give credit to him for not giving up even when most fans have. Dream on my friend, dream on. After all, you?re only general manager of the Leafs once. Follow Gagan Gandhi on Twitter and join his group on Facebook . He can be reached at: gaganrealgm@gmail.com with any comments, concerns or requests.