Phaneuf started off his career as an elite defencemen - at least the ceiling he had was elite, and his production was elite. I remember one stat that stood out to me with regards to his start - something like: "Only Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey collected more points in their first three seasons in the NHL than Dion Phaneuf." He also played physical and was on track to be something very special. There were even some re-drafts in those three seasons with many people even outside Calgary saying he should have gone top 2 or 3 that year, perhaps even higher.
Dion just didn't develop after his tremendous start, so in hindsight, that trade wasn't so bad after all. It was absolutely horrid at the time based on value, however. It was definitely a poor value trade by Calgary at the time.
|