The Maple Leafs traded the rights of Curtis Joseph to the Flames late Sunday night, reported ESPN The Magazine's E.J. Hradek.

	Joseph

The move came when Joseph opted to become an unrestricted free agent. Joseph isn't expected to sign with the Flames, meaning Calgary will receive a compensatory draft pick when he signs with another team.

The Maple Leafs were not in a position to get a compensatory pick if Joseph signed elsewhere because of their high payroll.

Toronto used the same strategy the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars used last week when they dealt future free agents for draft picks. The Rangers traded forward Theo Fleury's rights to San Jose, and the Stars traded goalie Ed Belfour's rights to Nashville.

"It was clear that we were unable to make a deal with Curtis and his representative before the July 1 deadline, so we proceeded to do what was best for the organization," Maple Leafs general manager and coach Pat Quinn told The Sports Network of Canada on its Web site on Sunday night.

The Leafs had exclusive rights to bargain with Joseph until the July 1 deadline, when teams can start to negotiate with unrestricted free agents. If the Leafs had not dealt Joseph by then, he would have become a free agent with Toronto not having been able to re-coup any compensation for him.

Discussions between Toronto general manager Pat Quinn and Joseph's agent, Don Meehan, didn't materialize into a new deal for the 35-year-old goalie, who was to return from a vacation in Cuba on Monday.

"We didn't get a deal before midnight. You just accept it,'' Leafs assistant GM Bill Watters told the Associated Press. "We know Curtis won't be coming back until tomorrow and all the goalies become available at 12:01 a.m. So you just do what you have to do.''

Joseph is 133-88-27 with a 2.42 goals-against average in four seasons with Toronto.

In Friday's meeting, Quinn offered Joseph $26 million over three years, but the stumbling block is believed to be Meehan's desire for a fourth year. Joseph earned $6.57 million last season -- the last of a four-year, $24-million deal.

Joseph, who broke his hand during the season, went 29-17-5 with a career-best 2.23 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 51 games. He had a 2.30 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in 20 playoff games.

It was an up-and-down year for Joseph, who lost the starting job as Team Canada's goalie at the Salt Lake Games after a 5-2 loss to Sweden in the opener. But he finished the NHL season on a positive -- single-handedly winning Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final in Carolina with a sensational shutout and playing well in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 6.

Fans at the Air Canada Centre chanted, "CuJo, CuJo,'' after that last playoff game.

Joseph, who has also played with St. Louis and Edmonton, is 346-260-81 during his 13-year NHL career.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.