Brophy on Leafs: The role of a captain

It is a rather select club, those who have been captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And being a member of this exclusive club is considered such an honor, the Maple Leafs played two full seasons without anointing a new member after captain Mats Sundin left for Vancouver. They didn’t deem anybody in their organization worthy — or, perhaps ready.

Hap Day wore the “C”. So did Syl Apps, Ted Kennedy, George Armstrong, Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin.

Despite the honour, it is also not without its challenges. Sittler battled management on behalf of the players and ultimately resigned as captain. He was subsequently traded.

On June 14, 2010, Toronto announced one of the worst-kept secrets ever when Dion Phaneuf was named the 18th captain in club history. Acquired midway through the previous season from the Calgary Flames, Phaneuf instantly became a vocal leader in the dressing room and was the obvious choice to be the team’s captain.

It is an honour he does not take lightly as he enters his second season in the role, trying to lead a team to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

“It’s a huge honour to be the captain of this organization, Phaneuf said, “with the history and the great captains that have come before me. When I was named it was a big honour.”

When Phaneuf speaks publicly, he often comes across as reserved and calculated. Away from the bright lights of the media, however, he is quite engaging and very passionate about his team. There are those who worried that being captain of the most covered team in hockey might be a burden for a young player, and that the then 25-year-old would be better off concentrating on trying to find his offensive game that appeared to have abandoned him.

Phaneuf broke into the NHL as a teenage scoring whiz with the Flames, scoring 20 goals in his rookie season and following that up with back-to-back 17-goal campaigns. He was also considered one of the best and most punishing open-ice hitters in the league. Since then, Phaneuf’s goal-scoring has dwindled. He had 11 in his final full season with the Flames and then had 12 in 2009-10 split between Calgary and Toronto.

If you want to get Phaneuf riled, then mention his drop off in production. And then duck.

“I’m still the same player that I have always been,” said Phaneuf, seemingly a little perturbed at his interviewer. “I didn’t put the puck in the net as many times as I did before, but last year I didn’t play as many games. I was hurt for a quarter of the season. That’s not making an excuse; that’s calling a spade a spade. I’m not worried one bit. I feel good and I am looking forward to the year. I know I can produce. It’s tough to put up the same numbers when you miss a quarter of the year. I’m not worried.”

Phaneuf missed 16 games after suffering a nasty cut on his leg upon being clipped by the skate of Ottawa’s Peter Regin. Even upon return it took him a while to find his game in a year when he finished with eight goals and 30 points in 66 games.

Sittler was one of the most celebrated Leaf captains in club history and he knows how taxing the job can be.

“When I was first drafted by the Maple Leafs, we still had a number of players on the club that had been a part of the last Stanley Cup-winning team; guys like the captain, George Armstrong, and Dave Keon, who would be the next captain. So I learned a lot about being the captain and a leader from those guys.

“When (GM) Jim Gregory asked me to be captain of the team I was fortunate to have a lot of help in terms of leadership from guys like Lanny McDonald, Tiger Williams, Borje Salming and Ron Ellis. I thought Ron would be the next captain, but he told Mr. Gregory that I should take the job.”

Sittler said it is great being captain when things are going well, but when things are not going so great, the captain of the Leafs takes additional heat because he is supposed to be the leader of the group.

So is being captain of the Maple Leafs too big a chore for a young player — a young captain on a young team? Phaneuf balks at that notion, even though the case could be made that being captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets tougher with each passing year the team doesn’t make the playoffs.

“There’s no burden with a young team,” Phaneuf stated. “I’ve said it before; we have a lot of leaders in this room. It’s not just one guy or the guys that wear the letters. Every guy leads in their own way and every guy brings a little different style of leadership. I think that’s what makes a real good team; when every guy has input and every guy contributes. It’s been a great room to be a part of and a great guy to lead. I lead by the way I play. I want to be a guy that works hard day in and day out in practices and games. I know that I do that. I’m really excited to get the year going.”

Watching the Maple Leafs at practice and in the pre-season, it is obvious Phaneuf is prepared to do whatever he can to get his team back to the post-season. He works hard in practice and is very vocal, on and off the ice. To those who suggest this season will be yet another in an endless series of losing season, Phaneuf believes otherwise. He thinks the addition of centre Tim Connolly and Matthew Lombardi as well as defencemen John-Michael Liles and Cody Franson gives the Maple Leafs a whole new look.

“We added some new guys in the offseason and I think each and everyone of them bring different elements of their game that really add to our team,” Phaneuf said. “You look at Lombardi who brings a lot of speed up the middle and that will really help us up front. Connolly can really make plays. He’s very, very skilled. Those are two guys who’ll add a lot to our team.

“Liles skates so well and moves the puck well and Franson has a great shot, moves the puck well and see the ice well. Plus he’s a big guy who adds size on our back end. We added four real big pieces that will help us so that something that definitely gives our team a new look and adds to the depth of our team.”

Phaneuf said there are a few keys in terms of the Maple Leafs bucking the odds and making the playoffs in the very competitive Eastern Conference. Last season they started 19-25-5 and were sitting in 12th place in the East before finishing 18-9-6 and in 10th place. Phaneuf said consistency and speed are the two things that will determine if they can make the top eight – and the playoffs – in the East.

“We need to be a hard-working, fast, up-tempo team,” Phaneuf said. “That’s how we have success. It’s how we had success last year. We play a fast game. We’re moving the puck and we’re a fast forechecking team. We have to use our speed. It’s a big strength for our team. We’re going to be a hard-working group that’s always moving.

“The other thing is every game is so important. The reason we didn’t make the playoffs last year – the reason we just missed after playing really good hockey down the stretch – is we dug ourselves a hole by having a bad month. When you have a bad stretch of games where you dig yourself into a hole in the first half or first quarter of the season, it’s too hard now with the way the schedule is and with the three-point games, to make up those lost points. It’s very tough to make up points after Christmas because it seems every team you are chasing is always winning or at least getting a point. That’s the way it is now. We have to be consistent right from the start. We can’t have any swings where we’re good for two weeks and then bad for two weeks. You’ve got to be as consistent as you can and then we’ll be fine.”

Not many are giving the Leafs much of a chance to make it to the playoffs this season. They have too many question marks, from an unproven No. 1 goalie, a sharp-shooter who can’t seem to take his game to the next level and they are quite thin down the middle with both Connolly and Lombardi having had problems with concussions.

That doesn’t faze Phaneuf.

“Whether you are in the West or the E
ast, it’s a tight battle to make the playoffs and you have to play well all year,’ he said. “That’s the goal for our team. We want to be a playoff team and to do that we have to learn from the things that we didn’t do well last year. We have to take the positives from the things we did do well. We have to keep the positives and learn from the negatives and we’ll be fine.