NHL Notes: Senators get Dion Phaneuf from Leafs in 9-player trade

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 Toronto Maple Leafs traded captain Dion Phaneuf to the rival Ottawa Senators in a blockbuster nine-player deal on Tuesday.

Now there are a couple things I want to get clear here. Despite never living up to his billing in Toronto, Phaneuf is still better than most of what Ottawa’s offered up as a D-crew all season. Meanwhile, Greening and Michalek are scheduled to be unrestricted in 2017. And it involves nine players.

From the moment Phaneuf signed his extension in 2013, it felt like a deal that would represent marginal value if all went well and be completely untradeable if it didn’t. From a Senators perspective, I heard murmurs that they were debating the merits of Phaneuf internally but found it hard to believe they could stomach that contract. Add it to their miracle dump of David Clarkson ($5.25M through 2020) on Columbus, and the trade of Phil Kessel ($6.8M through 2022, with $1.2M retained) to Pittsburgh, and that’s three untradaeble contracts the Leafs have traded away. But teams wouldn’t pay that price because of Phaneuf’s salary. Getting a young player with upside and a pick made the trade palatable.

In the near term the Blues need Shattenkirk to shoulder a bigger workload, especially at the defensive end of the ice, with Alex Pietrangelo missing for at least the next three weeks.

And yet the Sens apparently think otherwise, despite the fact that they needed an absurd hot streak to get into the playoffs previous year and they’ll need to close the season very strong to get in again now. If winning a Stanley Cup is his No. 1 priority he is going to have a much better opportunity to do that in Tampa Bay in the immediate future than he is in Toronto (while still making top dollar) a team that has completely gutted itself over the years is in a complete rebuild mode.

Of course, there’s a real question mark about Ottawa’s defence now. He chatted with new teammates during the morning skate, including some apparent strategy with Ceci, and wondered aloud to Senators personnel about the departure time of the team bus. He’s serviceable, but his contract could be one they try to shed in the off-season.

It might still be a while before the National Hockey League officially has its trade deadline, but the first major deal of the season has taken place. That may not be the best future plan for this franchise. They wanted the Maple Leafs to act as if the acquiring team was doing them a favor. Bailey played some decent hockey over three years at Penn State before deciding to turn pro last year. Plus he’s a UFA at the end of the year.

Rupert, a fan favourite in London, played four seasons with the Knights between 2010 and 2014. Donaghey is the most intriguing of the lot.

Swedish forward Tobias Lindberg, a big 20-year-old right winger, has had a promising season in the AHL for a player his age with 22 points in 34 games. Though they are picking up a large (and much longer) contract with Phaneuf, there comes some immediate savings for the team.

The Bolts have already offered up an eight-year deal worth $68 million to Stamkos, and while it’s not the max, seven-year deal the Leafs will throw Stamkos’ way if he hits the open market this July, it might just come back down to which organization gives him a chance to win while he’s in his prime.