Dion Phaneuf has been named the seventeenth captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history and he'll have enormous shoes to fill. Two of our last three captains have their names hanging from the rafters and the third will soon. Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour took the team to two Conference Finals appearances as did Mats Sundin: this is an enormous job with enormous pressure.
Described as a bad guy in the dressing room in Calgary we can only hope that it was because there were too many guys in the Flames' room trying to steer the ship. Immediately upon joining the Leafs we heard great praise heaped upon Phaneuf's style at practice and in games but this is a totally different ballgame.
Stick tap to mf37 but Phaneuf arrives as a $6.5M cap hit d-man a few seasons removed from a Norris nomination. With that pedigree and that cap hit Phaneuf has to be more than a good hitter who's solid in his own end he needs to put up offense both at evens and on the power play. Is naming him Captain the way for him to find the spark that earned him his reputation in this league? We're about to find out.
Brian Burke
Ron Wilson
Dion Phaneuf