Happy Brian Burke Day!

Wow. What a day yesterday was. I got to bed probably around 2am, pretty late for me, and then just after 8am I woke up because I heard my phone beeping with a text message. It was TSN saying, simply: Dion Phaneuf traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. I have never woken up so fast. My husband wants to replace my alarm clock with a TSN trade ticker that will send me news of Leafs trades constantly.

My initial reaction was pure panic. What did the Leafs have to trade that was fair value for Dion Phaneuf? My only conclusion was Luke Schenn and that had me terrified. Little did I know that Burke managed to trick Darryl Sutter into believing that Matt Stajan is actually a #1 center, put in a couple of other decent players with White and Hagman, and then gave Mayers his ticket out of town. Wow.

And then came the rumours of Toskala for Giguere.  And then Blake was thrown in.  I have never been in more disbelief about any transaction the Leafs have ever made than that one.  Superb, that someone who actually deserves to be in the NHL was traded in return for those two players.

In honour of this superb bit of GM work by Brian Burke, it is a celebration day today.  HAPPY BRIAN BURKE DAY!!!

Make sure you have a lot of time for the links after the jump.  I think it's a record for an FTB.

This first bunch is all about the Trades on Brian Burke Day yesterday:

• Fireworks
  Eyebeleaf has anointed January 31st as Brian Burke Day.
• Wrap Up On Burke’s Maple Leaf Cleansing
  Toronto Sports Media's take on Brian Burke day: he threw a bomb into the room. What is the fallout?
• Does the Phaneuf Trade Suggest the End Is Near for Tomas Kaberle?
  Garrett at MLHS takes a look at what the future may have in store for Tomas Kaberle. Interestingly, Stajan and White were apparently two of Kaberle's best friends on the team.
• Churn, Churn, Churn: An Update on the Plan
  jrwendelman takes a look at yesterday's events and how they compare with his perception of The Plan as outlined in the Maple Leafs Annual, published prior to this season.
• What a Day for the Leafs: Now 100% Vesa Toskala Free!
  jrwendelman was busy yesterday: he wrote about Brian Burke day on his own blog too!
• Impact: Phaneuf to Toronto
  Andrew Knoll takes a look at the Calgary/Toronto trade, and answers some questions for Flames fans.
• The cap hit
  James looks at the effect on the cap of yesterday's trades.
• Burke trumps Sutter in Flames-Leafs deal
  Eric Duhatschek says: "The early returns show that shipping Phaneuf to Toronto was a move borne of desperation for Flames GM Darryl Sutter." Meaning: we win! YAY!
• Burke on new acquistions
  Alec at MLHS gives us a run-down of what Burke said about the Flames players we acquired yesterday.
• Maple Leafs fans wake up to a Burkie Blast
  TML Fan Fury takes his crack at analyzing Brian Burke Day.
• Leafs Trade Analysis: Two Loonies for a Twonie
  MF37 takes a look at yesterday's events in his unique, bitter way.
• Burke Hits Reset on Rebuild With Phaneuf Trade
  Hyaena reacts to the trade, noting the lack of any draft pick involved in any deal.
• Who is on your guest trade list tonight?
  Sleza gives us her take on Brian Burke day. But yeah, about Hagman playing with Jokinen.....well, let's give TSN a little more time to make that Jokinen trade official, eh?
• Brian Burke drops the hammer
  Down Goes Brown had to go to Starbuck's to write this reaction piece. And as far as his sabbatical is concerned, he says : read the fine print.
• Two GMs desperate for a shakeup
  Elliotte Friedman thinks Sutter could win the Phaneuf trade because of one thing he now has: flexibility come July 1.
• Instant Analysis: Burke & Sutter's 7-Player Swap
  Here's HOCKEYCENTRIC's take on the Phaneuf trade. He thinks a shake up was needed for both teams, and this was just what the doctor ordered.
• wait what?
  Wrap Around Curl is not so happy about Brian Burke Day.
• Brian Burke is god
  Space Weed is in his room carving an idol of Brian Burke to bow down to, thanks to yesterday's trades. Here's his take.
• Glorious Leafs Trades, Freaky Timing and My Thoughts
  Toronto Mike's take on Brian Burke day.
• Winners and losers from the Maple Leafs' blockbuster Sunday
  Puck Daddy's take on Brian Burke's handiwork yesterday.
• Burke "Open For Business"
  Steve from Hockey Analysis has his take on Brian Burke day and points out that the needs Steve had pointed out earlier look like they've addressed a number of them already.
• Dion Phaneuf Trade - Analysis, Reactions
  A Look at the blockbuster Dion Phaneuf trade from a Flames perspective
• BURKE IS ELATED, DOES BALKI DANCE OF JOY
  Does anyone else remember the show Perfect Strangers? I do. I miss Balki. This Habs fan thinks we could actually make some noise after the trades.
• Maple Swap: Thank you, Poppa Burke!
  Why Earl Sleek is happy about today's Giguere for Toskala/Blake deal.
• why did the flames trade phanuef?
  Fallen Leafs takes a look at Calgary's motivation of the Flames.
• Flames trade Phaneuf to Toronto, add scoring depth in seven-player deal
  The Hockey News takes a look at yesterday's first trade, and has some interesting quotes from the Flames' side of things.
• Maple Leafs Chat: Intervention
  Loser Domi has a record of the conversation Wilson had with Toskala about being traded.

Surprisingly, two people chose to write about something other than Brian Burke Day:

• Brent has two points as Marlies down Monsters 4-2 to end four-game slide
  Tim Brent! has apparently become the saviour of the Marlies'. Will he get called up now that we know who he is?
• Checking in with Nazem!
  The Muppet looks at how well Kadri's been doing in the OHL. The future is bright!