Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\nSo, with the Flames tied 1-1 in the Western Conference semifinals against Detroit, the future franchise cornerstone packed up his gear, got back in the car, and drove home to Edmonton. And, like everyone else in Alberta, he watched the Flames\u2019 Cinderella run from afar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredible run,\u201d said Phaneuf, of a string of upsets that gave birth to the Red Mile and fell one goal short of a Stanley Cup. \u201cIt was unfortunate we couldn\u2019t come to terms.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Unfortunate” is one word to use. Flames fans might choose another.<\/p>\n
Because after you hear this story, it\u2019s impossible not to wonder: Would a fresh\u2011legged, first\u2011round pick like Phaneuf have made the difference in Game 7 against Tampa? A series Calgary lost with a blue line so battered by the war of attrition that it required nine defencemen that spring, including Brennan Evans, and Robyn Regehr playing on a broken foot.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll never know. But the possibility lingers, only adding to the sting.<\/p>\n
Phaneuf admits the silver lining was the development time that followed, as he got another year in Red Deer thanks to the 2005 lockout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the blessing that gets overlooked about that lockout year was I got to go back to junior and get a little bit stronger,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, when I did come to the NHL, I was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ready enough to score 20 goals as a rookie, collect all his rookie bonuses, and bulldoze his way into league stardom.<\/p>\n
Now working with the Kings\u2019 sales and partnerships group, Phaneuf\u2019s recent return to Calgary came shortly after Matthew Schaefer blew past his iconic rookie mark of 20 goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was getting a lot of texts,\u201d smiled Phaneuf, 41, who retired in 2019. \u201cIt reminded me of that 20th goal. Chris Simon passed me the puck, God rest his soul. What a great teammate he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reason for his return to Calgary was simple: he wanted one last walk through the building in which he grew up in. The Dome he called home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe memories kind of came flooding back when I was flying up here,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI played a lot of hockey here. That\u2019s 20 years ago, so it\u2019s been a long time since I started here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, this is not my last time at the Dome, but I wanted the memory of being here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phaneuf made no attempt to hide how emotional it felt walking back into the Saddledome, where everywhere he walked, he was greeted by familiar faces and warm embraces.<\/p>\n
He took pictures, inside, outside, soaking it all in.<\/p>\n
He saw Scotia Place on his way in. He\u2019s thrilled for the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans deserve it, the team deserves it \u2014 it\u2019s going to be an amazing state\u2011of\u2011the\u2011art facility,\u201d said Phaneuf. \u201cBut this building has got so much history. It\u2019s an iconic building. If you look at the skyline of Calgary, you see the saddle. The newer buildings are not as steep (inside). This building, the fans are on top of you. You can feel them. You can hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He still remembers the chills of the C of Red.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was known around the league,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was all red. The fans are so passionate here. The building was so electric and so loud. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a better night than a Saturday-night Battle of Alberta.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phaneuf\u2019s affection for Calgary is deep, genuine, and still raw.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I grew up,\u201d he said. \u201cI came into the league here as a rookie. I learned so much about the business, about being a professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rattled off names with reverence: Iginla, Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Marchment, Ken King and, of course, Sutter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDarryl was instrumental in my development as a player,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cHe taught me a ton. I have so much respect for Darryl and the whole Flames organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
For all the good memories, one still stings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got traded, I was in tears,\u201d he said of the shocking swap to Toronto in 2009. \u201cI loved Calgary. It\u2019s an incredible place to play. I got to be a part of that for six-and-a-half years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, he\u2019s settled in Los Angeles, raising his kids with wife, actress Elisha Cuthbert, and keeping the door open, someday, to NHL management.<\/p>\n
But for one last night he was just a kid again, walking into the rink where it all began.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a smile on my face since I\u2019ve been in the building,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll keep smiling the whole way through it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CALGARY \u2014 All these years later, Dion Phaneuf can finally tell the story. The one about the spring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-587140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n