Former Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf announces retirement after 14 NHL seasons

Longtime National Hockey League defenceman @Dion Phaneuf announced his retirement on Tuesday after a 14-year career, including seven seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs (and six as team captain).

Phaneuf, 36, played his final NHL season as a member of the Los Angeles Kings in 2018–19. He also suited up for the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators, totalling 137 goals and 494 points in 1,048 career regular-season NHL games.

The Flames originally drafted Phaneuf with the ninth overall selection in the 2003 NHL Draft. He played parts of five seasons in Calgary, being named a Norris Trophy finalist for the 2007–08 season after scoring a career-high 60 points in 82 games, before being traded to Toronto in 2010. During his tenure in Calgary, Phaneuf was named the cover athlete for EA Sports’ NHL 09 video game.

On Jan. 31, 2010, the Maple Leafs sent Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White, and Jamal Mayers to Calgary in exchange for Phaneuf, Keith Aulie, and Fredrik Sjostrom. Toronto named Phaneuf its 17th team captain in franchise history prior to the 2010–11 season.

The Maple Leafs made the playoffs once during Phaneuf’s captaincy, finishing third in the Northeast Division with a 26–17–5 record in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. Phaneuf scored nine goals and 28 points in 48 games with the Leafs that season before adding a goal and two assists in the team’s opening-round loss to the Boston Bruins.

Phaneuf’s Leafs tenure came to an end late in the 2015–16 season when he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in a nine-player deal. He scored 30 points for Ottawa in 2016–17 and added five more in 19 postseason contests as the Senators took the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to two overtimes in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference final.

Ottawa traded Phaneuf to Los Angeles prior to the 2018 trade deadline. The big left-handed defenceman played parts of two seasons in California before being bought out by the Kings in the 2019 offseason. He has not played an NHL game since.

Phaneuf finished the 2012–13 season in 11th place in Norris Trophy balloting. He was a Calder Trophy finalist in his first season with the Flames, ultimately finishing third in voting behind @Sidney Crosby and @Alex Ovechkin.

Also with Calgary in 2007–08, Phaneuf finished second in Norris balloting behind Nicklas Lidstrom and was named to the NHL’s end-of-season first all-star team.

Phaneuf scored 45 goals and 176 points in 423 career games with the Maple Leafs.

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