The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded goaltender Justin Pogge to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a conditional 2011 draft pick.
Following the trade, Toronto announced the signing of free agent netminder Joey MacDonald to a one-year contract.
"We are pleased to be able to add a goaltender of Joey's caliber to our roster," said Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke.
"He brings experience and character to our organization and gives us depth at the goaltending position." The 29-year-old MacDonald posted a 14-26-6 record last season in 49 games for the New York Islanders with one shutout and a 3.37 goals-against average. Over 66 career contests with the Isles, Bruins and Red Wings, MacDonald is 17-34-9 with a 3.31 goals-against average.
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Pogge made his NHL Hockey bet debut last season for Toronto, appearing in seven games and posting a 4.35 goals-against average with a record of 1-4-1. The 23-year-old Alberta native debuted on December 22 against Atlanta, turning aside 19 shots to get the win.
Taken with the 90th overall selection by the Leafs in the 2004 NHL Hockey Betting draft, Pogge amassed a 26-21-5 record and 2.70 GAA over 53 games for the AHL's Toronto Marlies.
GM Brian Burke recently made it clear the Toronto Maple Leafs will part company with Justin Pogge, once considered the team's goalie of the future. Burke is on record as saying he will cut a deal that will put Pogge in a good situation because he appreciates Pogge as a person as well as a player.
Where will he go? One likely place, according the Canada's Sportsnet, is the Anaheim Ducks.
Pogge signed a one-year, two-way deal last month, but the team also acquired the rights to elite Swedish prospect Jonas Gustavsson and has Vesa Toskala as its presumptive No. 1 goalie.
The deal, Sportsnet reports, will bring a late-round pick from the Ducks -- the team for which Burke was GM before parting last season. The pick could increase in value, reports say, depending on how Pogge plays for the Ducks organization.
Pogge would likely be a minor leaguer for either team. Anaheim is set with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Jonas Hiller on the Ducks' Betting Hockey Online roster. If Pogge isn't traded, he would be fourth on the Leafs' depth chart and play for AHL Toronto. James Reimer, a comer for the Leafs, will get the No. 1 role with the Leafs' top affiliate.
Pogge, 23, has yet to prove he can handle an NHL Hockey Betting job and will need to continue his development. He had great success in juniors, appears to be poised in most situations and shows the ability to make key saves in crucial situations. But he must improve his coordination and learn the ways of NHL Hockey Bet players, which can only come with experience.
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