Confirmed with Link: BLOCKBUSTER: Phaneuf to Ottawa in 9 Player Trade

[Sun God Nika]

Now we should strip the "A" off boro, and make him the 7th D

Methot - Karlsson
Dion - Ceci
Wiercioch/Claesson - Wideman
Boro

but thats not gonna happen.

 

[BonkTastic]

This doesn't mean much but the Hockey Central guys are singing high praises for Dion in the locker room. Lou apparently was surprised when he came to the Leafs at how great he was in that captain/locker room guy etc.

That's good to hear. A veteran voice on the blue line is a welcome addition.

Apparently, Mike Babcock thinks the world of Phaneuf. Can't say enough good things about his leadership, workout & training habits, professionalism, skill... the whole package.


Also... has it sunk in for anyone else that (injuries notwithstanding, knock on wood), we never have to see Wiercioch or Cowen or Borowiecki play on the 2nd pairing anymore? Just that one thought is my happy place right now.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Now we should strip the "A" off boro, and make him the 7th D

Methot - Karlsson
Dion - Ceci
Wiercioch/Claesson - Wideman
Boro

but thats not gonna happen.

You can put him at 7th D, but I'll be damned if you strip that A.

 

[QuattroFTW]

The thing I like with Phaneuf is that he's more than willing to stick up for his teammates.

 

[Super Cake]

Apparently, Mike Babcock thinks the world of Phaneuf. Can't say enough good things about his leadership, workout & training habits, professionalism, skill... the whole package.

Babcock was the reason why Detroit was even going after Phaneuf last year. As soon as Babcock went to Toronto, Detroits interest in Phaneuf ended.

 

[NyQuil]

Apparently, Mike Babcock thinks the world of Phaneuf. Can't say enough good things about his leadership, workout & training habits, professionalism, skill... the whole package.

He's got the hockey IQ of a doorknob but Cowen was worse?

It's too bad he doesn't have that shot anymore. But that was like 8 years ago.

 

[Whippet]

Excellent. Hope this will prevent us from rushing Chabot in the future.

 

[Micklebot]

Apparently, Mike Babcock thinks the world of Phaneuf. Can't say enough good things about his leadership, workout & training habits, professionalism, skill... the whole package.


Also... has it sunk in for anyone else that (injuries notwithstanding, knock on wood), we never have to see Wiercioch or Cowen or Borowiecki play on the 2nd pairing anymore? Just that one thought is my happy place right now.

Wonder if Phaneuf gets an A on his jersey?

 

[IceBjoern]

Well.. This was surprising. Dion is definitely an upgrade but he's not enough to tip the scale in my opinion. Maybe we will see another trade coming soon?

 

[BonkTastic]

Ottawa Senators ‏@Senators 60s60 seconds ago
The #Sens Store works quick:

I was just going to ask what number Phaneuf will take here in Ottawa, seeing as how Methot wears #3.


This is exactly like what happened when we traded Rundblad for Turris - new player comes in and takes the old guy's number. Perfect for fan(s?) who own a Cowen jersey, now they just have to replace a nameplate instead of the whole thing.

 

[Holdurbreathe]

I really don't like the term to his contract. I think it's going to bite us in the butt eventually.

Contract drops every year and if Dion doesn't work out, Sens buy him out at a cost of $1.8M, not the end of the world.

Fact is for Ottawa to have a chance at the playoffs Murray needed to fix the 2nd pairing and I think he might have with this trade.

On a bad night for Dion, he is considerably better than Boro or Wiercoich.

 

[aragorn]

Phaneuf is going to improve here, I have zero doubts about that. He is going to be in a position to succeed rather than be thrown to the wolves.

It also eases Karlsson's minutes 3-5 a game.

I think so too, it improves our 2nd pairing immensely & Phaneuf makes our D much harder to play against & he throws the odd hard hit which this team needs more of. It really makes our defence so much better now.

Now replace Neil with Frattin and we have great speed in bottom 6. I wonder which of Boro or Wier will sit now or will they scratch wideman?

I don't know if Neil will be replaced by Frattin, I guess we'll see but I do think that it will be Wiercioch who ends up in the press box & not Boro. Boro brings an element of toughness to this defence as does Phaneuf now which makes our D so much harder to play against something that was lacking. I imagine Wier will be the 7th D going forward & could eventually be traded maybe at the draft if the organization thinks Claesson is the better option which IMO he is as a 7th D for next season.

The only disappointment in this deal for me & a bit of an overpayment was losing Lindberg who I had high hopes for but we'll see if he is able to make anything out of himself in future. Should also be interesting if any of the other Leaf players in the deal are able to beat out who we already have in Ottawa & in the organization.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

2 words: Elisha Cuthbert

We actually have a spare room in our basement if she needs a place to stay temporarily.

 

[OgieO]

Now find a way to snag Drouin. #greedyfan

 

[BonkTastic]

Wonder if Phaneuf gets an A on his jersey?

Maybe in a year or two?

I can't think of a single time in my 35+ years as a hockey fan where a guy got traded to a new team and had a letter waiting for him upon his arrival.

 

[Wondercarrot]

OUTSTANDING!
Good lord this is possibly the perfect deal for us.
Our absolute weakest position on the team which in turn affects so many others.
5 on 5 play,PP, PK, waaaaay better slotting, dumped all of our bad/no longer need contracts, chabot can now be nicely eased in over the next couple of years.
We didn't have to give up chabot, white our first or a roster player to pick up a legit #3 Dman

Simply amazing.

 

[Alfie#11]

Well.. This was surprising. Dion is definitely an upgrade but he's not enough to tip the scale in my opinion. Maybe we will see another trade coming soon?

Maybe but Murray admitted making the playoffs this season will be tough.

This deal is as much about next year as it is this year.

 

[BondraTime]

He's got the hockey IQ of a doorknob but Cowen was worse?

It's too bad he doesn't have that shot anymore. But that was like 8 years ago.

Yet he is able to do things offensively, and the occasional time defensively. I don't see whats not to like, we get a 20+ minute, 0.5 ppg LD for our 2nd pairing, literally the exact thing we needed.

 

[BK201]

Maybe in a year or two?

I can't think of a single time in my 35+ years as a hockey fan where a guy got traded to a new team and had a letter waiting for him upon his arrival.

Except for basically phaneuf to Toronto.

 

[Holdurbreathe]

He's got the hockey IQ of a doorknob but Cowen was worse?

It's too bad he doesn't have that shot anymore. But that was like 8 years ago.

Being played above his level and paired with some pretty bad D at the same time didn't help him.

Dion will make Ceci's life much easier IMO.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Let me just start by saying that I am a huge critic of Murray and absolutely was in favour of him stepping down at the end of the year, but he absolutely killed it in this deal.

Phaneuf may be expensive but he's a clear #2 or #3 defenseman, and we acquired him for peanuts. Only actual assets in the deal going to Toronto were Lindberg (likely bottom 6 winger) and a 2nd next year. I posted proposals in the trade thread for Phaneuf awhile back which included more value coming from the Sens than in this trade.

And this deal actually saved the Sens money next season. Michalek, Cowen, Greening off the books means 11.85M in space, 7.5M of which will go to Phaneuf. Might be enough salary open to sign another good player if we play our cards right.

Major props to BMurr. Didn't think he was capable of making a blockbuster deal like this, and good on him for realizing that Michalek and Cowen had to go to make room for better players.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Guys this is absolutely spectacular news.

We literally the get the perfect number 3 defender we've been looking for to play alongside Ceci.

Phaneuf hits, can score a lot of points, is a veteran, can play 2 way, is left shot and has mobility and can PK. Literally the perfect defender we were looking for. We gave up junk for him. This is unbelievable.

Check out this graph:

http://www.hockeyabstract.com/playerusagecharts

It basically says in a lesser role(than being the number 1) he has thrived tremendously and has been a great defender while also putting up most points on Leaf blueline.

I absolutely love this deal. Phaneuf can make boneheaded moves sometimes but is the perfect guy to have as number 3. Methot and Karlsson will keep him in line.

Most importantly, he'll be solid for another 3 years and after that Chabot will be more than ready to step in so we're set for the future. The only concern is moving Phaneuf when he's dirt but boys... we have 3+ years to worry about that.

I can not believe we managed to rid ourselves of Greening, Michalek and Cowen all at once.

 

[Laphroaig]

Ottawa wins in this deal for the first two years but after that I think they'll come to regret it.

 

[Fandlauer]

I'm a pretty negative poster, but I don't know how anyone can be upset about this.

A top 4 D is exactly what we needed. We are getting a solid #3 man who has served as a captain in the most rabid hockey town on the planet. This will help us immensely and immediately. For the first time this year I'm excited about this team.

Huge kudos to our GM here. A great hockey deal.

 

[NyQuil]

Being played above his level and paired with some pretty bad D at the same time didn't help him.

Dion will make Ceci's life much easier IMO.

I agree, I'm just trying to set my expectations appropriately.