The Ottawa Senators have acquired defenseman captain Dion Phaneuf from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a nine-player trade.
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Ottawa wants to make the playoffs, and needed to get the kind of player, a top four defenceman, that isn’t readily available at any time, let alone at the trade deadline. He adds offensive spark and toughness, making him a nice fit for a Senators team that has more pure talent than most people realize.
After Dustin Byfuglien was re-signed by Winnipeg Monday, it was clear that the trade market would be short of impact defensemen.
The Senators look to continue their defensive improvement after killing all seven penalties in two contests to follow a three-game stretch in which their opponents went 6 for 10 on the power play.
He was on pace for almost 40 points and averaging 22 minutes per game. He can deliver a booming hit. So, do you think this move actually takes the Leafs closer to being able to lure Stamkos north? No salary retained, just a bunch of bodies crisscrossing the province.
The Maple Leafs play the Calgary Flames on Tuesday; the Senators are back in action Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings. They’re four points out of the last wild card spot and six points back of third place in the Atlantic. They have very, very rarely been trade partners. It’s good to have that one done early. Phaneuf has had a solid season for the Leafs, a team quite obviously playing for a draft pick. But teams wouldn’t pay that price because of Phaneuf’s salary.
On the Leafs depth chart, while Lindberg probably sits behind William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Andreas Johnson, Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen, Jeremy Bracco and Dmytro Timashov as a forward prospect, he slides in ahead of or in the same conversations as the likes Nikita Soshnikov. They wanted the Maple Leafs to act as if the acquiring team was doing them a favor.
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Given that the Sens did marvellously in last year’s draft by scooping up four picks in the top 50 in defencemen Thomas Chabot, centre Colin White, winger Gabriel Gagne and centre Filip Chlapik, and given they like Matt Puempel, Nick Paul and Shane Prince as prospects better than Lindberg, they were well positioned to make this kind of deal. The Senators get a veteran who fills a true need. It gives the Maple Leafs flexibility in their potential pursuit of a big-ticket free agent either this summer or next. Phaneuf can settle in on the second pair with Cody Ceci, who is developing nicely this season, and should thrive now that he’ll be facing lesser competition.
