RALEIGH, N. Trent Murphy Jersey .C. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired veteran defenceman Tim Gleason from the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday in exchange for defenceman John-Michael Liles. The Hurricanes also received the rights to Brown University defenceman Dennis Robertson in the trade announced during the Maple Leafs game against Detroit in the Winter Classic. The 30-year-old Gleason was the Hurricanes most physical forward and one of the longest-tenured players on the team. Only captain Eric Staal and 2006 Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie Cam Ward have been with the franchise longer. The 33-year-old Liles had 15 hits and averaged 17 minutes of ice time in six games this season with the Maple Leafs. He was scratched from the Winter Classic. "John Liles was an excellent person for us and an excellent player," Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said. "He backed what we were trying to do and he was one of our leaders and it was a hard thing to do. An unfortunate situation where we couldnt get him ice time. Young guys like Morgan Reilly pushed him out the door. It was an unfortunate situation." Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford says Liles is a puck-mover who "can make a difference offensively" from the blue line. The Hurricanes acquired Gleason in a trade with Los Angeles in September 2006, three months after they won their only Stanley Cup. He missed 21 games this season due to injury, including the first 10 with a concussion, and had one assist while playing at a minus-7 rating with 10 penalty minutes. Gleason played in 491 career games with the Hurricanes -- the third-highest total of any defenceman since the club moved from Hartford in 1997 -- and his 495 penalty minutes are the most of any Carolina defenceman since the move. He was a healthy scratch for Tuesday nights overtime win against Montreal that snapped a five-game losing streak. The Hurricanes are sixth in the Metropolitan Division, 20 points behind division leader Pittsburgh and three behind the New York Rangers. Gleason played for the silver-medal-winning United States team at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and twice in the past three years his teammates selected him as the clubs Steve Chiasson Award winner for determination and dedication. Hes under contract through the 2015-16 season, having signed a four-year extension in July 2012 that will pay him $4.5 million both this season and next, and $3.5 million in the final year of the deal. Liles also is under contract through 2015-16 at an average of $3.875 million per year. Its the second trade of the week for Carolina, which sent forward Kevin Westgarth to Calgary on Monday in exchange for minor league forward Greg Nemisz. The Hurricanes also picked up the rights to the 22-year-old Robertson, who has three goals and five assists during his senior season at Brown. 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Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Failures this year have piled up for Mauer faster than usual for the six-time All-Star, three-time American League batting champion and one-time AL MVP. "Im a heck of a lot more frustrated than they are," Mauer said that night, when asked about those jeering fans. The sound of those boos has been jarring, considering hes the hometown guy from St. Paul with the handsome looks and the hitting skills to build a .321 career batting average, the best among all active players in baseball with at least 3,000 plate appearances. Minnesotans are fiercely proud of and protective of their natives, so Mauer figured to have a lifetime pass in the popularity department here. After signing that $184 million, eight-year contract extension in 2010, though, he has become a more-frequent target of criticism from fans frustrated by the teams struggles the past several years. The 28 home runs he hit in 138 games in 2009 were a one-year wonder. Lingering lower-body injuries limited him to 82 games in 2011. This season, his on-base-plus-slugging percentage was at a career-low .704 entering the weekend series in New York. Mauer is also on pace to blow by his career-high strikeout total of 89 set last year. "I feel pretty good actually, which is even more frustrating," he said. Phillip Gaines Bills Jerseys. . "Im hitting a lot of balls hard and just not having much to show for it. So hopefully that turns here soon." Mauer isnt the only one sputtering with the Twins. The teams batting average with runners in scoring position fell to .214, the second-worst in the league, after losing three of four games to Texas this week. "Were putting together a lot of good at-bats but still not driving people in with runners in scoring position. Thats the main focus, getting guys on, but we cant get them in," second baseman Brian Dozier said. Mauer reluctantly gave up his job as the catcher to better protect himself from another concussion, after missing the final six weeks of last season following a foul tip that hit him in the head. The loss to the Twins of Mauers intelligence and defence behind the plate was supposed to be trumped by an increase in his availability and production at a less-taxing position. He missed five games with back spasms earlier this month, but since then he said he feels fine. The problem has been these paltry totals: nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs through Thursday. "The expectations are very high for him. People get frustrated. I just dont want Joe to get frustrated. I know he is a little bit right now, because he doesnt have the results he wants. But I dont want to put any more pressure on the guy," manager Ron Gardenhire said. 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