The news hasn't been very good for Toronto Maple Leafs fans in recent days, what with the consistent losing and the talk of tearing the team apart and starting anew and so on and so forth.
There may now be another piece of potentially frustrating information coming down the pipe: longtime captain and defensive stalwart, Dion Phaneuf, could find himself on the trade block.
Phaneuf's name apparently came up in talks in the offseason and there hasn't been word that he's available right now, but if a team came calling, could the Leafs hang up without at least entertaining the offer?
"I know there has been interest in Dion Phaneuf. Teams do call on Dion Phaneuf," Darren Dreger said on Toronto's TSN 1050, per Nichols on Hockey. "I don't know that anyone has called in-season, but I know there were inquiries in the off-season. But Nonis has been consistent in his response: 'If you're moving a player like Dion Phaneuf, how do you replace that player?' And in the moment, it seems pretty easy how you could replace him, because he's not playing well enough. And he took responsibility, as he always does, for not playing well."
The 29-year-old Phaneuf is in the middle of a 7-year, $49 million dollar contract that, per RotoWorld, pays him $8 million this season and will keep him in Toronto through 2020-21. He's got a single goal on the season, and by most accounts, hasn't been particularly effective.
Yes, he's been with the team for half a decade and yes he's a strong personality in the locker room.
But the idea of moving a player of his age and salary at a time when the roster, as currently constructed, simply isn't getting the job done, has to be more appealing than it was this offseason.
"But the Leafs as an organization still see value in Dion Phaneuf. When they stop seeing value, or - the vultures are circling now. They always do. They want to pick at the carcass, right? And the Leafs are fresh meat because of how poorly they've played of late. But I just don't see the return being significant enough for the Leafs to do something as drastic as moving out their captain. I think they make other moves before they do that."
As the New York Rangers proved last season, when they shipped captain Ryan Callahan to the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of their run to the Stanley Cup Finals, trading your leader in-season isn't always an indication that you're giving up. Quite the contrary, if things aren't working as currently constructed, it could be a reaffirmation of your commitment to winning.
