Dion Phaneuf's return to Toronto nearly a month after being traded to Ottawa is expected to draw a similar reaction from fans at the Air Canada Center that former Leaf Phil Kessel enjoyed last October, but the club that he captained for 5 1/2 seasons will not ignore the occasion.
Phaneuf will be honored with a video presentation during the Maple Leafs contest against the Senators on Saturday, unlike Kessel who received no acknowledgment from the club.
Fans invited to the rink to watch Leafs morning skate. Some stuck around to boo Phaneuf at Sens skate. Wow.
— David Alter (@dalter) March 5, 2016
Kessel and Phaneuf will forever be symbols of the mistakes of the Brian Burke/Dave Nonis era. In spite of leading the Leafs in scoring, Kessel will be remembered for the deal that brought him to Toronto and the failure of the team to succeed during his tenure.
The same can be said about Phaneuf, who Burke thought would thrive as a top pairing, 25 minute per-night defenseman and as a leader, but his defensive shortcomings made him ill-suited for that primary role.
After being a Norris Trophy finalist and scoring 54 goals in his first three seasons, Phaneuf signed a six-year, $39 Million deal in 2008. Calgary GM Darryl Sutter moved the 25-year-old defenseman to Toronto in January 2010 to alleviate the Flames cap problems after signing Jay Bouwmeester and displeasure at not being able to assume a leadership role with Jarome Iginla firmly entrenched as team captain.
Burke was already a year into his tenure and thought that he had put together one of the strongest defensive corps in the league with Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn and free agent additions Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin and that the addition of Kessel would enable the club to compete for a playoff spot, but instead they wallowed at the bottom of the NHL standings when they traded for Phaneuf and goaltender J-S Giguere to prevent the Leafs from finishing last overall.
Over six years with Toronto, Phaneuf did the things that are expected of team captains off the ice and should be credited with that, but the results on the ice are where he and the Leafs comes up short. His best offensive season was 2011-12 (marked by a second half collapse that cost Ron Wilson his job).
With Phaneuf’s contract up at the end of the 2014 season, Nonis decided to double down on the defenseman and sign him to a seven-year, $49 Million contract extension, making him the third highest paid defenseman in the NHL at the time. That became a decision the Leafs would regret before the first year of the deal had expired, as “Salute-gate… and another second-half collapse tainted his leadership.
With the trade to Ottawa, Phaneuf is in a more advantageous position playing behind two-time Norris Trophy Erik Karlsson on the Senators second pairing, while the Leafs continue their transition to a younger group centered around Morgan Rielly.
There should be no ill will towards Dion, who gave his best effort during his time in Toronto, but it is for the best that the trade happened and the Leafs can move forward without him.
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Jonathan Bernier will get the start in goal for Toronto and Andrew Hammond will be between the pipes for Ottawa, who trail Pittsburgh by seven points for the last Eastern Conference wild card spot.
The Leafs are expected to go with the same lineup that played on Thursday against Minnesota. Brad Boyes is still out with an upper body injury and Brendan Leipsic (on emergency recall) will play in his place.
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More good news on the scoreboard from Friday and Saturday. Columbus is now 10 points in front of the Leafs thanks to a 6-3 victory over Edmonton on Friday. Buffalo picked up a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to Minnesota on Saturday afternoon and now are 9 points ahead of Toronto.
Calgary snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh and are six points in front of the Leafs. Winnipeg and Edmonton are tied with 57 points and Toronto has 52 points.
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