Feb 20, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Colin Greening (38) skates around the net with the puck as Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald (47) pursues him at Air Canada Centre. The Flyers beat the Maple Leafs 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Colin Greening was a salary cap toss-in for the Ottawa Senators when they acquired Dion Phaneuf from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he might mean more to Toronto.

Greening suited up in 30 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs after appearing in only one contest for the Ottawa Senators. His $2.65M cap hit that has a year remaining was a hindrance that the Senators wanted to rid themselves of and that Toronto was willing to absorb.

Greening, though, was worth every cent of that $2.65M from a traditional and analytic statistic point of view.

The exiled Senator had 15 points, 11 of which came at 5v5, and had the highest points-per-60 at even strength of any Toronto Maple Leafs player who appeared in 30 or more games.

Boasting relative totals of 1.57 (Corsi-for percentage), 1.53 (scoring chances for percentage) and 15.42 (goals for percentage), Greening was one of the better even strength players for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But, was he sheltered? The answer is, simply, no. He had an offensive zone start (relative) of -2.09.

Greening had a successfully quiet stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs that might just generate some phone calls for Lou Lamoriello over the summer if teams can’t find their man through free agency. His 30 games with the Leafs generated some of his best underlying numbers of his career.

Even if the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t deal him over the summer, if he continues to play well for the Leafs into the 2016-2017 NHL season they’ll have no issues dealing him at the trade deadline.

He’s a prime candidate for the Toronto Maple Leafs to increase his trade value by retaining half of his salary for a competitive team up against the cap.

Greening was a pleasant surprise that exceeded expectations for the Toronto Maple Leafs and if they can turn him into a future asset – be it a draft pick or prospect – it will add to the return in the Dion Phaneuf trade. Just what the doctor ordered.