Toronto Maple Leafs: The Long-Term Benefits of the Dion Phaneuf Trade
Getting Rid of Wasted Cap Space
The Leafs do not get immediate cap relief from the Phaneuf deal, due to the contracts they had to take from the Senators. However, moving forward they will get the benefit of not having a lot of long-term commitments, especially with Phaneuf, Kessel and Clarkson gone.
Leafs only retained $1.2 million (on Kessel) with all three contracts gone. Cap savings of $19.05 M combined a year moving forward
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 9, 2016
This was seen as an impossible task for Toronto to accomplish, but in this case they took advantage of other team’s situations. Columbus could not afford to pay Nathan Horton to be out for the remainder of his contract, so the Leafs were able to give them a player that could contribute on the ice, although in Clarkson’s case who knows what contributions he’s giving.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins needed to add scoring so Toronto made the decision to take on some of Kessel’s salary cap and get something for a declining asset. The Senators are struggling defensively and needed to move on from Jared Cowen, Colin Greening and Milan Michalek and since the Leafs are in no position to compete, they saw an opportunity to get an upgrade on defence without paying a premium.
Sure the second round pick and prospect given up might have a little bit of overpaying for Phaneuf, considering his contract. Do not forget that Ottawa is a budget team tough and they got rid of some useless contracts for this season and next season.
Michalek’s cap hit is $4 million, Cowen’s is $3.1 million, and Greening’s is $2.65 million ($1.7 million while he is buried in AHL), for a combined $9.75 million ($8.8 million while Greening is in the AHL) until the end of the 2016-17 season. The Senators were not getting anything out of these players which is why the Leafs decided to take them in exchange for Phaneuf, who they have more use for.
Lou Lamoriello: "This was a transaction I think we had no choice with."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 9, 2016
GM Lou Lamoriello talked about how this was a tough trade to make, because usually a team does not want to trade their captain. In the Leafs case they could not afford to keep paying Phaneuf at his age and price range during a rebuild.
If Phaneuf was younger and there was no doubt he could sustain the type of play expected of him, then he would still be in Toronto. Minus the 2011-12 season, when he had 12 goals and 32 assists for 44 points in 82 games, it was clear Phaneuf was unable to sustain the type of play he had with the Flames.
When he was in Calgary he scored 20 goals in his first season, then 17 in the two seasons after that. After that, Phaneuf’s play started to decline, which is why the Leafs were able to trade for him at such a low price.
The same reason why the Flames traded Phaneuf to Toronto is the same reason he was moved to Ottawa. The Senators are hoping he can be a piece that will push them towards contending.
They already have players like Erik Karlsson, Bobby Ryan, Mark Stone and Kyle Turris leading the way, and Phaneuf compliments them. The mistake the Leafs made was they thought Phaneuf could be the piece to build around.
However, now that he is a complimentary player in Ottawa, there is no reason why Phaneuf cannot find more success. The Leafs in the end get more benefits long-term with the $7 million in cap space they do not have to worry about, once the contracts they acquired from Ottawa are gone.
Next: The prospect and draft pick acquired