Phaneuf Gets Captaincy- Ian White Cries Himself to Sleep

Ian White right now is most likely a collapsed ball of tears up in Calgary, then again, he may just be too blue collar to cry. The defenseman who was traded in one of the numerous packages that Brian Burke sent out before the deadline was seen as a possible candidate to take over as captain of the Leafs after a few years were put under his belt. Now, Dion "Who Cares About the Whole 'Sloppy Seconds' Thing I Slept With Elisha Cuthbert" Phaneuf is going to be the first Leaf to wear the 'C' since 2008. A majority of people with half a brain are skeptical of the move, even a good chunk of those with one quarter of a brain are a little apprehensive of the decision. I personally agree with it though, the only person I would rather see as Captain of the team is Phil Kessel. Yes he's young, however he's the cornerstone of that team. The Leafs gave up everything for him, and I think that the team's decisions should reflect that. Nevertheless, Phaneuf makes sense. He's young, he's going to be there for a very long time, and he's arguably the right mix of experience and skill to lead that team. Could it be an absolute failure? Definitely. But this is how you get the best out of young, talented, but inconsistent players. By giving him this vote of confidence I think they'll see a Phaneuf that feels as though he is in control of the locker room, and is valued as a Toronto Maple Leaf.

Still, the exact opposite could end up happening. He's the first captain since Sundin in 2008, and he's joining an incredibly respected group of players. The pressure on him now could end up crushing him and making the whole experiment an epic failure. But I think the kid definitely has talent, and I think that this will get the best of him on the ice. Though they're the Leafs and they'll always suck, there are now pieces in place for a little bit of success there. Phaneuf, Kessel, Gustavsson, Komisarek, Beauchemin, even a guy like Finger is ok to have. Defensively they're not the worst team I've ever seen. They have four defensemen who are keepers, Gustavsson is a pretty good, young goalie, and Giguere seemed to have a Renaissance there once he was reunited with his old goalie coach. If they fix their offense and get a better goalie then they could be in ok shape. They must be more than mourning the loss of their draft picks. Nothing would fix that team faster than a line with Kessel and Seguin on it.