The New Look

Everyone try to act surprised now.

For months, its been clear that not only would Dion Phaneuf be the new captain of the Leafs, he would skate his first game with the "C" wearing new jerseys. Reported all that here some time ago.

Monday, the Leafs will unveil both Phaneuf as captain and the new sweaters, which (hopefully) won't be as drab and non-descript as the current t-shirt numbers. All they've done is lose and lose some more in those babies since they donned them after the lockout, so might as well try some thing different. It'll likely be nothing too dramatic, probably just some piping here and there. A move to the traditional Leaf on the chest would be welcome, but seems unlikely.

Then there's Phaneuf as captain, although those media types in Calgary who covered him there are stunned that he is now regarded as a leader in Toronto. Ron Wilson, however, talked about the impact he had on the dressing room from the moment he landed in the deal with the Flames, so maybe they're seeing something the fine Sutter clan in Cowtown never did.

That the Leafs need a leader is indisputable. Whether Phaneuf is the right guy, well, we'll all apparently have years to discuss that, just as the debate over whether Mats Sundin was a good or bad captain never went away.

It says here if Phaneuf can be three-quarters of the captain Sundin was, the Leafs are making an excellent choice.

Comments

[Steve7221]

Sundin may have been captain and a well mannered one at that, but as a leader, all he did was lead them to mediocrity. Great captains, like great coaches, are able to get players to rise above themselves when the need arises. On Sundin's watch, who did that .....hmmm.....no one comes to mind. Rumour has it that he wasn't exactly all that coachable himself.

[Vsem]

Steve, if you're gonna bash Sundin for the ineffectiveness of the team then you also have to bash Gilmour, Clark, Sittler etc...basically every captain since Armstrong. No other captain has led the Leafs any better since they last won the cup. Sundin was a great captain and anyone that says otherwise clearly doesn't know the game of hockey.

[Johnnyk]

Dion Phaneuf? The one who was a cancer in the Calgary dressing room?
George Armstrong was a captain.
Ted Kennedy was a captain.

[Clevie Baron]

Never a big Sundin booster, but after seeing the Flyers and Hawks go at it for the Cup, I was blown away by what supporting casts those teams had backing up their star players. No wonder the Leafs didn't get near the Cup under Sundin's captaincy! Compare Hartnell, Giroux, Coburn, et al, backing up Richards, and Byfuglien, Bolland, Sopel, etc. supporting Toews, with Hoglund, Renberg, Reichel, and too many sub-par defenceman to count "having Sundin's back" and it becomes crystal clear the guy never had a chance!

[BUDApest]

And...I am married to an amazing woman who was married before. I bet you her ex doesn't think she's that spectacular. The point is....let's decide after we see him with the C - I just can't stand how we eat our own.

[Brian]

Dion Phaneuf will be a great Capitan I have read the slew of negativity towards him and we can all guess what happen in Calgary. One thing that was obvious was the clash of personalities in that Calgary dressing room. Dion Phaneuf needed to leave Calgary needed to leave Iggy and the gang. Mats Sundin was a decent Captain but speaking to many fans he was a ass-whole from what I heard. Darryl Sittler when I meet him in the 1970's he was arrogant and well a complete ass-whole, I have respected to this day for his skill etc but lost respect for his treatment of the fans. Dion Phaneuf is a guy that will kick this kids butts he is the go to leader now and to be honest that is what he wants. It was pretty hard to do that or say anything in that Calgary dressing. This team is headed in the right direction

[PrinceLH]

Sundin was a Captain but not a leader. The real leaders were the likes of Darcy Tucker, Shane Corson and Gary Roberts. Sundin may have been the most talented, but it only goes that far. Their best playoff success, was when he wasn't in the lineup.

[Scott]

Agree with you on Sundin. He was a great captain that answered any questions that came his way in a media crazed city. He never backed down, played hurt and never complained. he even wanted to stay here until the team didn't want him anymore. A captain is not judged by the final outcome. A captain is limited, to some extent, by the quality of the ship he is leading and the assembled team around him was medicore at best. Without him we would not have made it to those conference finals. Give the guy some credit. It's a team sport and players should not ultimately be judged by how many championships they win. Is Ray Bourque all of a sudden viewed as that much better because he played for Colorado for four months and won a cup?

[Phil]

So,the Leafs are unveiling new uniforms...again.Sort of like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[Vsem]

I keep hearing that Phaneuf was a cancer in Calgary, but by logic shouldn't a body become healthier once the cancer is removed? If he really was a cancer then the Flames should have improved after he left. The Flames not only didn't improve after they traded Phaneuf they actually became worse. By contrast the Leafs became much better once he got here. So far the "Phaneuf is a cancer" theory is looking more and more like a myth.

[OL]

What happened with DIon in Calgary was like what happened in Toronto with Larry Murphy, Brian Mccabe, Mike Komiserik etc... He became a whipping boy everyone the common fan could agree to hate with no particular reason. Mccabe was awesome in TO and Phaneuf was awesome in Calgary, sometimes the less knowledgable majority can run a perfectly good player out of town. Just watch as Dion wins every Norris Trophy that Doughty doesnt win for the rest of their careers.

[Rob]

There's no one on the team that should be captain. I would argue captains are redundant and not important. As mentioned on PTS on Friday, this is an addition to an announcement from MLSE about jerseys and opening up a new bar near the ACC. This is just to make some news over the summer.

I'm very surprised Burke and Co. would name this guy captain especially just after a short stint here. At least wait a full season and see what you have first before naming a captain for the sake of naming a captain.

I applauded the hiring of Brian Burke because I felt there would be no shortcuts taken. This example, along with a few others, have shown that it's full-steam ahead for MLSE in taking shortcuts to improve the team.

[Phredd]

If Dion lacks leadership skills as Calgary media types are saying, perhaps the Leafs are so lacking in leadership up and down their roster, that even a mediocre candidate such as Dion look like a savior.

[Lawrence J]

...The Laffs are so consistent...Phaneuf was polled by the Players as the most overrated guy in the league...it just gets more and more shocking how misguided the Laff Management is...What;s the difference between Bryan McCabe and Phaneuf ??? ...the answer is that there is no Difference...This team is going nowhere faster and faster....

[hockey fan]

Boy have we ever set the bar low here in Toronto ! Sundin never won anything for the Leafs. He could not even lead the Leafs to the finals let alone win a cup. Phaneuf better be three-quarters better than Sundin, not three quarters as good.

[robert scrymgeour]

Sorry Sundin was not a great Captain or leader. Sundin was a very expenise hockey player. The leafs did better in the playoffs when Sundin was out. It is very important that a Captain of The Toronto Maple Leafs is a Canadian born player. A Canadian understand the need to win and try harder then a European does. A good example of this grit is Toews of Chicago Black Hawks what a leader that young man is.

[David]

Maybe the jersesy should be red, white and blue and have a CH on them!

[conn smythe]

'The Laffs are so consistent...Phaneuf was polled by the Players as the most overrated guy in the league...it just gets more and more shocking how misguided the Laff Management is...What;s the difference between Bryan McCabe and Phaneuf ??? ...' The fact that you have to ask that question speaks volumes about your general lack of hockey knowledge. Thanks for the 'laffs', Lawrence J...