Dion Phaneuf Named 18th Captain of Toronto Maple Leafs

Two years have gone by since Mats Sundin ended his 13-year tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs and took the team’s captaincy with him. Since then, no player in the organization has been given the role and only the alternate captaincy has been passed around between players. On Monday, general manager Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson felt it was time to bring back the “C” and stitch it onto the sweater of the 18th captain in team history. And that honor goes to Dion Phaneuf, who was formally introduced Monday in a press conference also intended to showcase Maple Leafs’ new sweaters for the 2010-11 season:

It might seem a bit awkward to hand over this highly-regarded status to a player who fell out of favor with the squad that originally drafted him and has only suited up for a total of 26 games with Toronto. But the 25-year old Phaneuf, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames as part of a seven-player trade in January, has proven to be a physical and vocal leader. He logs plenty of ice time, is capable of getting on the score sheet and defends his end of the ice with size and strength. In his short time in Toronto, he has gained the respect of his teammates, Wilson and Burke, who he apparently doesn’t have any issue standing up to:

"He thought we got pushed around in a game and came right out of the dressing room and barked at me on the way to the weight room: ‘We need some bigger forwards in here,’ and kept walking,” Burke said. “I haven’t had too many guys bark at me like that. I didn’t mind it and he’s right. We do need some bigger forwards.”

There weren’t too many options of the Toronto roster outside Phaneuf for the captaincy anyway. Tomas Kaberle would be the most logical, but he’s believed to be on his way out of Toronto sometime between the NHL Entry Draft on June 25 and the end of July when his no-trade clause will temporarily be lifted. Phil Kessel might eventually be captain material and should probably don an “A” come next season. But he’s still a budding star that isn’t as vocal and lacks the personality of Phaneuf. Everybody else is either too young or lacks the high status Phaneuf possesses. He is, at the very least, the right guy at the right time.

Phaneuf has goals for his new position on the team. He doesn’t just want to be any captain – he wants to be one of the best. He hopes to live up to the hefty standards set by the likes of Mark Messier, Wendel Clark and his former teammate with the Flames, Jarome Iginla.

“You look at how they play the game and how they lead,” Phaneuf said. “I think the best way to lead is you don’t have to be the loudest guy but you definitely want to be the guy who’s working the hardest day in and day out … That’s what I’m going to bring to our team. I want to be known as the guy who works the hardest.”

That hard work is going to be critical for the still-rebuilding Maple Leafs if they hope to get back into playoff contention within the next year or two. His leadership and toughness will need to trickle down to the team’s young players. And when it doesn’t, he won’t hesitate to give his teammates a “kick in the butt,” according to 20-year old Luke Schenn.