Happy Anniversary Dion Phaneuf!

Wow, time flies when you’re losing a lot of hockey games. It’s been five years to this very day since Dion Phaneuf was traded by the Calgary Flames along with Frederik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matt Stajan, Ian White, Nicklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers.

Do you remember where you were when that trade went down? I was in the offices of Fusion Radio at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where I was the Station Manager, listening to the radio and following along online as Dreger and MacKenzie teased of big deals coming our way… Remember this gem?

Ah, good times.

Of course, better than any trade speculation or trade announcement was the reaction online. Take a walk down memory lane and check out some of the best online posts from the day Dion became a Leaf.

Oh, good point. Don’t want to give up Kadri. He’s going to be a future first liner (who plays on the second line). And Schenn, that guy is going to be a stud.

The Leafs didn’t give up any of those guys. You better have been as ecstatic as you promised, Tonka.

You’re doing what? WHAT ARE YOU DOING CONSTANTLY? That’s disgusting, Brozak.

Hahahahahahahahahahahah, you have no idea!

Uh……

Exactly one of those players is still a Leaf, and that’s Phaneuf. And he’s about to be traded. Oops.

Looks like we got hosed again because the Leafs traded Hagman (scored 17 goals in Calgary, now playing in Finland) and White (did nothing in Calgary, now shuffling around the AHL). 

Well, you’re not wrong…

Kessel can’t score without a setup man. Good thing he’s had Tyler Bozak all this time!

Haha, yup.

At one point, when news of the Giguere trade was breaking, Flames fans thought the Phaneuf trade was a three-way deal with the Leafs and Ducks.

Oh, no. Do NOT think Bobby Ryan or Getzlaf. You are going to be so heartbroken. #InSutterWeTrust

Aw yeah. That’s the good stuff.