Defenceman Dion Phaneuf has been traded to the Ottawa Senators alongside Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and prospect Cody Donaghey in exchange for Jared Cowen, Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, prospect Tobias Lindberg as well as Ottawa’s second-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft.
Ottawa’s General Manager Bryan Murray praised Phaneuf in a press conference for his leadership and work ethic. Phaneuf holds a $7M salary until the year 2021 and no salary was retained.
The pieces going back to the Maple Leafs are an interesting bunch. Milan Michalek, the former All-Star, has a $4M price tag to offset some of the salary going out. The 25-year-old defenceman Jared Cowen still has some upside to his game and disappointing forward Colin Greening that carries a hefty price tag, has been dumped in the AHL while with the Senators this season.
Tobias Lindberg, 20, is a big forward prospect coming back to Toronto as well. He is having a great season playing 34 games for the Binghamton Senators tallying five goals and 17 assists in 34 games. The Leafs also acquired a second round draft pick in the 2017 draft.
All three of Cowen, Greening and Michalek are under contract for the rest of this season until they are free agents at the end of next season, opening up cap room for the already young and rebuilding Leafs club.
The NHL trade deadline is on Feb. 29, and it is unknown if the Leafs will make more moves before then. There will be no Leafs captain until a new one is appointed.
For more on the reactions on the Phaneuf trade, check Storify.
