MEGA TRADE - Phaneuf to the Sens

[Matt the Aussie]

http://www.tsn.ca/maple-leafs-deal-d-phaneuf-to-senators-in-nine-player-trade-1.435458

Where on EARTH did this trade come from??!! Can't even process this yet...

[Alfie11]

Holy crap...

All in all, though, I love this deal for the Sens. Phaneuf is a top four defenseman, albeit overpaid. That's something we desperately needed. In return, we're able to dump off three bad contracts in Michalek, Greening and Cowen (two of which aren't NHL players, at this point). We give up a 2nd and Lindberg but we would have had to give up something to get a top four defenseman anyways.

I think Phaneuf will do well in Ottawa. He's exactly what we needed - a top four, physical defenseman who can put up some points.

[Alfie11]

Interesting thought, too ...

Phaneuf is a right handed defenseman. We now have three in the top four. What if the Sens turn around and flip Ceci for Drouin, and we end up upgrading Ceci to Phaneuf and Michalek to Drouin along with dumping off salary

[thedaigle1]

I think Ottawa keeps all seven D down this stretch and maybe moves an RFA in the summer.

[Matt the Aussie]

Interesting thought, too ...

Phaneuf is a right handed defenseman. We now have three in the top four. What if the Sens turn around and flip Ceci for Drouin, and we end up upgrading Ceci to Phaneuf and Michalek to Drouin along with dumping off salary

Actually, Phaneuf is a Left shot but plays the right side.

Also, while I agree there was a lot of dead weight we were able to move, we've just replaced it with 1 contract with significantly longer term. I'm sure Phaneuf won't be an absolute disaster but he's also not worth the dollars, or especially the term, he's signed to.

[Alfie11]

Actually, Phaneuf is a Left shot but plays the right side.

Also, while I agree there was a lot of dead weight we were able to move, we've just replaced it with 1 contract with significantly longer term. I'm sure Phaneuf won't be an absolute disaster but he's also not worth the dollars, or especially the term, he's signed to.

The term scares me more than the money for Phaneuf. But at the same time, it's not like he's overpaid by $7M. IMO he's overpaid by around $1.5M and will thrive on the second pairing.

[Josh]

Does Phaneuf always play the right side, or can he potentially be a partner for Karlsson? If he can play the left side and finds chemistry with Karlsson, I think this could be HUGE.

Brandon's idea of moving out Ceci for Drouin and having Phaneuf take his spot could be really good too though.

As for the other players, Cody Donaghey looks like a pretty decent D prospect. Frattin and Bailey look to be career AHLers at this point. Rupert, while undersized, appears to have some potential..

[Matt the Aussie]

He plays on the right side most nights I've watched the Leafs. I'm certain Ottawa will at least try Phaneuf with Karlsson. You don't make a splash this big to have a guy play 2nd pair from the start.

Having had time to think this over, it's not the absolute worst deal of all time. We would have spent at least this much at free agency to get a comparable defender, and that's IF a defender was available and wanted to come to Ottawa. Then we would still have been stuck with Cowen.

In fact, in the short term, taking out Cowen is the best move of the day and has made our D corps that much stronger.

[thedaigle1]

The money pretty much breaks even for the next two seasons while exchanging one NHLer (Michalek) for another (Phaneuf). Ottawa was gonna spend ~8M either way but now it's going to the D they need and not Michalek plus two scratches. So I don't worry about the short term money.

The term looks bad but Phaneuf's contract decreases over time and we dunno where the cap will be in three years. We also don't know about ownership. Maybe the team can afford to buy Phaneuf out in 2018 if necessary when his salary is a few M lower and hey aren't we due for another lockout and a whole new CBA with all sorts of crazy contract-circumvention methods?

Lindberg was a decent prospect but he'd be vying for the role occupied by a guy like Lazar or Chiasson or McCormick so he won't be terribly missed.

At first I was scared of a trade within the division but I'd put money on at least two of Cowen/Greening/Michalek getting flipped at the deadline. I particularly hope Michalek gets flipped. He's a class act and he's gotten shafted so many times throughout his career. You really gotta feel for him.

[Alfie11]

Actually, Coach Cameron said that Phaneuf will be playing with Ceci to start.

Honestly, I like the move. I'm sure he'll play on the top pairing with Karlsson at times, and maybe even get a shot up there. But we all know Karlsson - Methot have chemistry. Even with Methot on the second pairing, I'm not a huge fan of the bottom four. I'd rather have Phaneuf down there playing 18-20 minutes per night. I'm hoping this will cause the bottom pairing to not have to play a lot.

A bigger question for me, is what happens to the power play. I love how they have the power play set up now, with Karlsson, Hoffman and Ryan all playing further back and controlling the unit. You have to respect all three or the puck is going to end up in the back of the net. I think Phaneuf moves to the second unit, and plays with Karlsson when Hoffman/Ryan aren't on there. Or maybe we even put him out there as a forward

[Josh]

It's certainly true that either Methot or Phaneuf represents an upgrade on Cowen in the bottom-four. If Phaneuf plays with Ceci then you'd have to think he plays the left side.. I hope Cameron won't put Ceci on a side he's not used to playing and have two players playing "off sides" even if Phaneuf is accustomed to playing on the right. From what I've read, Phaneuf's played on the left side before (though not much in Toronto). I do hope he gets a chance to play with Karlsson though, as I think he's a better option than Methot if they can find chemistry.

[thedaigle1]

I particularly hope Michalek gets flipped. He's a class act and he's gotten shafted so many times throughout his career. You really gotta feel for him.

Michalek had Toronto on his no-trade list and waived that request for the team. Starting building the goddamn statue already; Milo is a saint.

In terms of the PP, Phaneuf and Hoffman are the only real left-handed weapons Ottawa has so I'm not worried about them both getting their deserved time with the man-advantage.

[Matt the Aussie]

Didn't realize that, classy move by Michalek. He's always been a solid player...but unfairly affected by multiple injuries.

A Leafs fan that I work with referred to him as Lupul 2.0.

[Alfie11]

Check out this article by Ian Mendes

- He says the deal was believed to be completed on Sunday evening. Michalek had to waive his no-trade clause, which he 'hesitantly' did after 24-48 hours of convincing.

- He also says around six weeks ago, Clarke MacArthur was eating lunch alone when the management came and asked him for his opinions on Dion Phaneuf in Toronto. MacArthur responded by saying he was a great guy in the locker room and believed a much needed player on the ice.

- MacArthur also enjoys how great he's found the switch from Toronto to Ottawa, saying how laid back it is with not as much media pressure on you.

[Josh]

Check out this article by Ian Mendes

- He says the deal was believed to be completed on Sunday evening. Michalek had to waive his no-trade clause, which he 'hesitantly' did after 24-48 hours of convincing.

- He also says around six weeks ago, Clarke MacArthur was eating lunch alone when the management came and asked him for his opinions on Dion Phaneuf in Toronto. MacArthur responded by saying he was a great guy in the locker room and believed a much needed player on the ice.

- MacArthur also enjoys how great he's found the switch from Toronto to Ottawa, saying how laid back it is with not as much media pressure on you.

Awesome, I hope Mac suits up soon :)

But uhhh.. where's the article? :P