Embarassing Lopsided Victory for The Maple Leafs
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In Phaneuf’s case, the Maple Leafs succeeded in doing something that NHL teams often try and generally fail at. They deliberately worked to increase his value and then shipped him away; it’s commonly called a pump-and-dump and only rarely is it done masterfully enough that another team is fooled. In this case, the Senators were, as is obvious from the return Toronto managed to land.
Phaneuf joined the Flames for the 2005–06 NHL season after signing his first professional contract in September 2005. Phaneuf made his NHL debut on October 5, 2005, against the Minnesota Wild. Five nights later, he scored his first career goal, assist and points against the Colorado Avalanche. He was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for November after leading all rookie defencemen with nine points and two game-winning goals. By January, Phaneuf was being named alongside Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin as a candidate for the NHL’s top rookie. He finished the season with 20 goals, only the third player in NHL history after Brian Leetch and Barry Beck to score 20 as a rookie defenceman. His 20 goals also broke the Flames franchise record for goals by a rookie, surpassing Gary Suter’s total of 18. Phaneuf was named a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie, but lost out to Ovechkin.
Away from Gardiner this season, Phaneuf’s Corsi number falls by six points and Toronto was out-scored by nearly a 3:1 margin.
That’s not all. Phaneuf has historically played the toughest available minutes. This year, Leafs coach Mike Babcock has used 21-year-old Morgan Rielly and journeyman Matt Hunwick in that role; despite Rielly’s obviously exceptional quality, the pairing has been getting lit up. That allowed Gardiner and Phaneuf to take on less impressive opponents.
By Jonathan Willis ,
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2615283-how-the-maple-leafs-hoodwinked-the-senators-into-trading-for-dion-phaneuf
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Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick. In many areas, one sport (typically field hockey or ice hockey is generally referred to simply as hockey.
