Did we ever believe it would end any other way? Even at the time, one had to wonder whether Phaneuf knew what exactly he was getting himself into.
The job of captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs is widely regarded as one of the hardest in all of hockey. Saying that, it should have been clear that poor Dion was doomed from the moment the first stitch melded his white “C” onto the iconic blue sweater.
Losing has just numbed us too much to notice.
No, Phaneuf never did blossom into the blueline stalwart his contract told us he would.