Article content

In the 2012 NHL all-star game played at Canadian Tire Centre, Scott Hartnell delivered a sound bite that generated plenty of laughs – and can still be heard on TSN1200 – after setting up Team (Daniel) Alfredsson’s first goal and skating by Team (Zdeno) Chara’s bench.

“Suck it Phaneuf,” Hartnell said to then Leafs captain, who was given the first name Dion by his parents, Amber and Paul.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Cheapseats: 'Dirty Dion' can still teach young Senators D-men some lessons in nastiness Back to video

Phaneuf himself laughed at the playful jab, and probably still does.

In a game between Toronto and Philadelphia one week later, however, voting on dropyourgloves.com had Phaneuf the clear cut winner ina fight between the two good ole’ western Canadian boys. And he beat up Hartnell again when they squared off in the eighth minute of Thursday night’s game at CTC.

That improved Phaneuf’s career record versus Hartnell to 3-0, dating back to their first bout in 2010.

Phaneuf has 34 penalty minutes this season, and he should have more with the way opponents have cruised so freely in the Senators zone. He should be even a meaner version of the “Dirty Dion” who was so effective in Ottawa’s run in 2016-17. And apparently, he should drop his gloves a little more often.