Maple Leafs have quiet trade-deadline day
Posted February 27, 2012 1:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was a quiet trade-deadline day for the Toronto Maple Leafs, with general manager Brian Burke pulling the trigger on only two deals.
Burke sent defenceman Keith Aulie to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Carter Ashton on Monday afternoon. In a smaller move, Toronto also acquired defenceman Mark Fraser from Anaheim for prospect Dale Mitchell.
Ashton was drafted by Tampa Bay with the 29th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He was a member of the 2011 World Junior team that won the silver medal in Buffalo, New York.
The 20-year-old winger has 19 goals and 35 points in 56 games with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League this season.
His father, Brent Ashton, played in 998 NHL games from 1979–1993.
Aulie was originally acquired along with current captain Dion Phaneuf in 2009-2010 when the Leafs sent Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamaal Mayers and Ian White to the Calgary Flames.
The 22-year-old Aulie had two assists in 17 games with the Maple Leafs this season.
Aulie was sent down to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL last week.
Separately, the Leafs also made a minor trade, sending forward Dale Mitchell to the Anaheim Ducks for defenceman Mark Fraser.
The Leafs selected Mitchell 74th-overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft but the 22-year-old could not break into the NHL. The former Ontario Hockey League star with the Windsor Spitfires and Oshawa Generals has split time with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL and the Reading Royals of the ECHL the past two years.
Fraser was drafted 84th-overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2005 and was recently traded to the Ducks in December. He has played 25 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season, recording five points, 35 penalty minutes and a plus-13 rating.
