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Whether or not Calgary Flames fans want to discuss the “rumour… that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be shopping Dion Phaneuf, we can thank Nick Kypreos for opening the dialogue which directly involves the Flames.
As mentioned, there is a lot of chatter at the moment concerning the fact Toronto is rumoured to be interested in moving their captain, Dion Phaneuf, to a Western Conference team.
Ontario captains on the way out soon? Independent sources say both #Sens and #Leafs shopping Spezza/ Phaneuf to west conf #NHL teams
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) May 11, 2014
Hearing lots of interest in #Leafs Phaneuf @ right price. Some clubs tell me they value him btw 5m -6m, meaning Tor must cover remaining $.
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) May 12, 2014After releasing the above two tweets on Sunday, most hockey pundits have already weighed in on the topic and most feel it is unlikely that Toronto will be shopping their captain. In fact, TSN’s Darren Dreger released a statement after allegedly speaking directly to Leafs’ GM Dave Nonis that "the Leafs aren't shopping Phaneuf. Nonis told me yesterday, the Leafs will move him but aren't shopping him.…
Which of the two you’d rather put more stock into is entirely up to you, however the original story which came out of Sportsnet’s Kypreos was that the team is in fact shopping their captain after a disappointing season, and the Calgary Flames could be an interested team.
With the relationship between the Leafs and Flames, many have pointed to the fact that there could be some legs to this rumour if Brian Burke were to be involved. After all, it was Burke who made Phaneuf the captain of the Leafs and it was he who felt that Dion was a player who his team could be built around.
Fast forward a few years and Burke is now working as the President of the Calgary Flames and is trying to build a new roster for a different organization. An organization, need I remind you, that initially traded Phaneuf and hasn’t seemingly missed him since.
So here’s where I stand.
I do personally believe that the Leafs are interested in moving Phaneuf. That said, it will not be an easy task for the Leafs because 1) he’s their captain and 2) he’s arguably their strongest defenseman. While most feel that Phaneuf is not great captain material, it’s tough to argue the fact that he eats up a ton of important minutes and moving him, these minutes would be hard to replace. He is often squared up against the oppositions toughest lines and is looked upon to carry a defensive unit that is…well...not very strong.
Where am I going with this? Well, Phaneuf hasn’t been great in Toronto but this shouldn’t be confused with the fact that he’s not as bad as his rap sheet portrays him to be at the moment. Before you judge the man too critically, know this - he plays for a team who seemingly has no defensive system in place whatsoever, and his defensive partners are rather inexperienced or poorly rated league wide.
Toronto’s defense is bad as a whole, and it’s certainly hard for one player in particular to shine. Whether or not Phaneuf should be regarded as a #1 defenseman...well that's not a road I feel like going down.
With that, there were changes expected to come about after last season and, after extending their coach, it appears that the Leafs would rather move out some of their on-ice personnel than their bench boss.
To which we introduce the Calgary Flames (thanks again Kypreos)...
Of the teams that will be able to do more than just inquire about Phaneuf, Calgary happens to be one who has the cap space available to take on his annual $7M cap hit. Where the Flames don’t really fit into the conversation, at least in my opinion, is with respect to what the Leafs will be looking for in exchange for their captain.
As I’ve expressed time and time again, the Flames shouldn’t be looking to make any bold moves at the moment. They have players to develop, draft picks to…well…draft, and moving assets for Phaneuf at the moment would be ill-advised in this writer’s opinion. As expressed by Dreger and Nonis, Toronto is looking for the “right deal…, and wishful thinking that the team will dump Phaneuf to rid themselves of his contract isn’t going to happen.
It’s going to be hard to avoid, but given that the discussions have begun, anyone speaking from the point of interest of the Maple Leafs will inquire about the potential acquisition of Flames captain Mark Giordano. Captain for Captain swap anyone!?
While not something that we see often, the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning pulled it off, despite the fact that the scenario was rather different.
When considering the value of each player there are things to consider here.
- Both players are about the same age (separated by one year).
- Phaneuf is entering his 7 year contract while Giordano, who’s nearly paid half the amount at $4.02M, is signed into 2016.
- When averaging their last three seasons (percentage of games played vs points) Phaneuf averages 81(99%) games played while scoring 40.5 points, and Giordano averages 68(83%) games played while scoring 34 points.
- Giordano is regarded as a better “leader… than is Phaneuf. Unforunately I can’t place too much value in this because it seems that “leadership qualities… is somewhat subjective. That said, I will maintain that both players have a high value to their respective team given the number of minutes they play, however it appears that Giordano has created a much stronger reputation for himself as a leader than has Phaneuf.
So, with that established, is there any room for a trade between the two teams? Would Toronto be required to send a draft pick and or prospect along with Dion in order to pry Giordano from the beloved hands of Flames fans? In discussion, would any move between the two teams, even one tipped in the favour of Calgary, do anything but cause distrust by fans for their new GM?
*Disclaimer: The trade proposal is meant for discussion purposes only and the writer of this blog does not support the notion.