Flames acquire Toskala - 03-03-10

The Flames have acquired goaltender Vesa Toskala (above) from the Ducks in exchange for goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

Toskala, was acquired by the Ducks last month in the deal that sent goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto. Toskala, 32, is 7-12-3 with a 3.66 goals against average and .874 save percentage. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

McElhinney, 26, is 3-4-0, with a 3.23 goals against average and .885 save percentage. He is schedule to become an unrestricted free agent after 2010-11. He counts $500,000 against the salary cap.

EN Says: We love the move for the Flames. Not so much for the Ducks.

The Flames have not had a solid back up goaltender for a few season. Toskala might be one of the best in the NHL for that role. Additonally, he's friends with Kiprusoff, a fellow Finn and each came up in the Sharks organization several years ago.

We really question this move for the Ducks. They deal a really good back up in Toskala, and a nice prospect in Justin Pogge who has NHL experience on the same day. In their place, they bring in McElhinney who has been very inconsistent (to be nice) in the NHL. We don't like this move at all from Anaheim's perspective.

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)