[Trade] Phaneuf to Ottawa in monster deal

[newfcollins]

For anyone curious, Jake Gardiner played 25:40 last night. He only had one game above 19 minutes (and none above 20) in the previous 10 games. We'll see if that continues, but it looks like Gardiner could be the beneficiary here.

[fungchen3]

phaneuf switches to #2

Methot has #3 and Dion didn't want him to give it up.

[JohnScott AllStarMVP]

Methot has #3 and Dion didn't want him to give it up.

Classy start to his time in Ottawa

[Instant Karma]

In reflection, I think it's fair to say that...
I still have no idea what Ottawa was thinking. But thank you!!!

My guess is that they looked hard at both:

a) contracts that they had that they really wanted to unload (but had no idea how to do it) and
b) a glaring need on their team

and had an "Aha!" moment. "Here's a team that both has what we need and will have no choice but to take these contracts off of our hands."

That probably oversimplifies a bit, but there you go.

[Lug Tread Lager]

There are two factors regarding the lack of TO retaining salary:
1) I read somewhere that they have maxed out on retained salary so it's not an option.
2) They 'ate' lots of salary for Ottawa in contracts going the other way. No bad contracts came back in the Kessel deal.

For Ottawa, their need is more Phaneuf than Kessel. I agree that Kessel is the better overall player (or at least WAS pre-Pittsburgh). We'll see if he goes Heatley post Sens or not!

[Mr. Guru]

I'll say this for Dion... I do think he was well liked by his Leafs teammates. Watch Kadri's interview from yesterday morning, in particular. You could tell he was saying goodbye to someone who had helped him a lot as a young player.

Having said that, I'm still very happy that he's gone and even happier that they didn't have to retain salary to get it done.
By the way... tangent for a moment, sorry... it's quite remarkable that they had to retain salary to unload Phil but didn't have to for Dion. I'd rather have Kessel on my team - I think he's a more dynamic player and, although overpaid, he's not as badly overpaid as Dion is.

Then again, Dion is a d-man, and a decent one at times, so the market always seems to push those guys up in value.
Also, Lindberg isn't as good a prospect as Kapanen.

In reflection, I think it's fair to say that...
I still have no idea what Ottawa was thinking. But thank you!!!

We also got a first instead of a 2nd.

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Which brings up a great question. Would you change that 2nd Ottawa traded is for a first if we retained 1.5M for the duration of the contract?

If I was Ottawa I would probably do that deal.

[Hoopo]

My guess is that they looked hard at both:

a) contracts that they had that they really wanted to unload (but had no idea how to do it) and
b) a glaring need on their team

and had an "Aha!" moment. "Here's a team that both has what we need and will have no choice but to take these contracts off of our hands."

That probably oversimplifies a bit, but there you go.

Don't bother, man, he's not listening.

[The Comish]

I agree, actually. I never thought Phaneuf was "as bad" as his contract and the spotlight in Toronto deemed him to be. The Sens are Erik Karlsson's team - Dion can just supply solid play on the 2nd pairing with the skills to level up if needed. I think Ottawa is a nice fit for Phaneuf actually. His tag isn't great, but I don't think the Sens plan on spending to the max cap anytime soon, so that's a moot point for now. Bottom line is - the Senators are a better hockey team today than they were yesterday IMO.

That said, I think this trade is solid for the Leafs too - works perfectly with their plan. Nothing wrong with a win-win trade.

I agree with fung here. I also think the hatred from the Leafs fans here is a little over the top. Is Phaneuf a top 4 D? Yes? Then, he's a bit overpaid with a bigger cap hit than he probably should have, but if your team doesn't spend to the cap, it just doesn't matter at the end of the day. Yes, if they are forced to make decisions in subsequent years, a higher cap hit might impact them, but with the Sens, it's more about how much the owner is willing to spend on salaries more than cap hits.

Definitely a win-win for me, with my money on the Sens having an edge short AND long term. For the Leafs to win outright, they need both Lindberg and/or the 2nd to pan out AND Phanuef to blow. I think out of the spotlight of Toronto, Phaneuf will see a bit of a resurgence - he'll also want to shove it down the Toronto media's throats and show them that he's not crap. I still remember Larry Murphy getting run out of Toronto and winning a Cup (or 2?) as a key part of the Penguins.

This will be fun to follow over the next 2-3 years!

[Big Ev]

Totally listening. Just don't buy any of it.
I've seen more of Phaneuf in the past several years than most of you put together. His usefulness per dollar ratio is the lowest in the league.

If you really don't understand why Ottawa made the move then you should stop following hockey. The facts are right in your face, just read an article or two and listen to some analysts on why they made the moves.

Ive been a phaneuf fan for years. You're basing your opinion on him as a captain an number one d. He is not that good.

[Axeman33]

If you really don't understand why Ottawa made the move then you should stop following hockey. The facts are right in your face, just read an article or two and listen to some analysts on why they made the moves.

Ive been a phaneuf fan for years. You're basing your opinion on him as a captain an number one d. He is not that good.

Glad to see you are finally coming out of the closet with this. Ive never seen you praise Phaneuf around these parts until a deal to Ottawa came close (this thread and the rumor one). Now you are singing his praises and talking like you have been pumping his tires for years, which we all know isn't the case.

Nows a good time to start changing your tune on Drouin as well, just in case.

[blayze]

Ive been a phaneuf fan for years.

Oh please... I've been mercilessly bashing that pylon for years and I don't recall you once coming to his defense (because he needs all the help he can get in that department!)

[rainydrinkwater]

Lol. Why are you guys acting like you just just met EV?

[Big Ev]

I said I wanted phaneuf before he was even mentioned to be going to Ottawa. I have always been a fan. The moronic Toronto fans and media put way too much pressure on him and expected him to be somebody he isn't. He isnt a superstar he's just a solid d.

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Oh please... I've been mercilessly bashing that pylon for years and I don't recall you once coming to his defense (because he needs all the help he can get in that department!)

I can tell who really.knows hockey when I hear phaneuf called a pylon.

[JagrBomb]

Definitely a win-win for me, with my money on the Sens having an edge short AND long term. For the Leafs to win outright, they need both Lindberg and/or the 2nd to pan out AND Phanuef to blow. I think out of the spotlight of Toronto, Phaneuf will see a bit of a resurgence - he'll also want to shove it down the Toronto media's throats and show them that he's not crap. I still remember Larry Murphy getting run out of Toronto and winning a Cup (or 2?) as a key part of the Penguins.

This will be fun to follow over the next 2-3 years!

i agree it's a win-win but not for the reasons you listed.

reasons why leafs win:

leafs will still be a lottery team in 2 years. michalek/greening/cowen's bad contracts are pretty much irrelevant. once the 2 years is up we will be saving 7M cap space for 4 years that otherwise would have been tied to phaneuf. THAT is the best asset in the deal. lindberg/2nd could bust for all i care.



reasons why the sens win:

sens are a bubble playoff team. certainly not a playoff contender with their awful D, so adding a very good 2nd pairing Dman definitely makes them a better team. and they gave up almost nothing. they are a cap budget team, so having plugs like michalek, greening and cowen just isn't going to fly. and the cost of moving those contracts would certainly have cost them more than lindberg + 2nd.

with phaneuf's front loaded contract, it works out for the sens. they will never come close to the cap with the stingiest of owners, so cap hit is pretty irrelevant for them, salary is what they care about.

now lets ignore this years dollars since i'm too lazy to see how much of it has already been paid by each team.

greening + michalek + cowen each have 1 year left, totalling 11.7M salary.

phaneuf has 5 years left totalling 33M salary.

so sens are taking on an additional 21.3M salary over 5 years.

so what was their other option? keep the 3 plugs (11.7M), and then sign a top 4 dman via UFA, which would cost them 21.3M/5 years at minimum anyways.


i hate phaneuf dont get me wrong, i'm so glad the leafs dumped his contract. but those of you trashing the sens aren't looking at the big picture. $$$ means more to the sens than it does to most teams, so even though this looks like a slam dunk to leaf fans, it helps the sens out just as much.

[hockeyrobot]

I can tell who really.knows hockey when I hear phaneuf called a pylon.

Not sure how to embed......but thought this was convenient

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