In one of the worst kept secrets, the Toronto Maple Leafs will finally be naming a new captain, after a two year hiatus without one. Fans betting on who the captain will be can look no further then to former Calgary stalwart, Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf will become the second Calgary Flame to be traded to the storied original six franchise, and become captain. The other Flame to become not only captain of the Leafs, but also an icon in the big smoke was Doug Gilmour. Phaneuf will look to guide the Leafs to the Stanley Cup final, for the first time, since they last won it in 1967.

With Phaneuf becoming the 17^th captain in Maple Leafs history, it all but confirms for fans betting on Tomas Kaberle leaving, that he will be gone this offseason. Kaberle, the player with the longest tenure on the Leafs, has been rumored for years to be moving each offseason, as a window annually opens in his "no trade clause" for him to be traded. Yet annually, he survives the speculation and remains a Leaf. Having said that, one would have figured that Kaberle as the Leaf with the longest tenure, would be the obvious choice for captain before Phaneuf would even be considered.

One of the main drawing points of Phaneuf becoming captain is his very vocal style of leading. Within the NHL there has been captains that are more quiet and lead by example, and others that are more vocal and don't necessarily perform up to par. For the Leafs, they see Phaneuf as a combination of both styles of captain, as he is very vocal, but is also perhaps one of the top five best defensemen in the entire league. Further, when Phaneuf arrived in Toronto at the end of January, he almost immediately, took over the dressing room. He did this by kicking out the frail confused identity of a franchise that was so used to losing that they had one of the worst starts to any NHL season. Phaneuf alongside veteran goalie JS Giguere, came into the Leafs dressing room, and let everyone on the team know that they were going to start winning and return the franchise to glory. With Phaneuf as the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he can do nothing but help the team grow into the contender Leafs fans have always wanted.