“I worked as hard as I possibly could for that organization and I had great pride in playing there and being a Toronto Maple Leaf”.
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Dion Phaneuf – the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs who only last Saturday was roundly booed every time he touched the puck during an Ottawa match between his Leafs and the Senators – is now himself an Ottawa Senator. The original news of a possible trade between the Leafs and Senators was broken by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
Phaneuf’s departure makes Toronto weaker on defense in the short term, but this was not supposed to be a winning season. No salary retained, just a bunch of bodies crisscrossing the province. But for the most part, the players themselves are nothing more than short-term roster-filler (much like the majority of the roster the Maple Leafs are putting on the ice this season). Phaneuf, 30, has recorded 24 points (three goals, 21 assists), while registering 67 penalty minutes in 51 games for Toronto this season.
For the Maple Leafs, the move is obvious: they shed Phaneuf’s considerable salary, get younger and add a draft pick while taking back injured (Michalek) or buried (Greening) players.
Phaneuf recently played his 800th career National Hockey League game, a total that far surpasses any of his new teammates on defence.
Also part of this deal, going back to the Leafs is 25-year old defenseman, Jared Cowen.
He will look to bolster the blue line for Ottawa’s playoff push. “In 249 games with the Senators, the 6′ 5” and 238-pound Cowen has accumulated 46 points. With Phaneuf, Karlsson, Methot, and Borowiecki (one of these things is not like the others) on long deals, Ottawa probably can’t afford to re-sign all four of those guys. Michalek was acquired by the Senators in a trade that send Dany Heatley to the Bay Area.
Dion Phaneuf is expected to debut for the visiting Senators as they try for a third consecutive victory Wednesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. In 729 career games with Ottawa and the San Jose Sharks, he has scored 206 goals and added 232 assists for 438 points. He will earn $4 million in the final year of his current deal, which expires after next season.
These two sides rarely make deals at all let alone of this magnitude thanks to the heat and hostility surrounding the Battle of Ontario, and while there are varying views and opinions on who won this trade and whether or not Phaneuf is a good fit for the Senators, at the end of the day it is easy to say that Ottawa is a better team than they were yesterday.
Greening, 29, has split his season between Ottawa and its AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. He was originally Ottawa’s fourth-round selection (102nd overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Donaghey, 19, has five goals and 22 points in 36 combined games with Halifax and Moncton of the QMJHL this season.
Until Stamkos actually signs an extension with the Lightning (or signs elsewhere as a free agent) he is going to constantly be connected to the Maple Leafs. In six games with the Leafs, Bailey had one goal, but has played all 38 games played this season in the AHL with the Marlies.
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The Ottawa Senators have played better defensively in the last two games and hope that continues with the acquisition of a veteran blueliner ahead of the trade deadline.
