Dion Phaneuf returns Saturday to the Air Canada Centre, a member of the Ottawa Senators.

The response is sure to be muted from a crowd — silent at the best of times — that never fully warmed to the defenceman. He was no guts-and-glory Wendel Clark. He was no dazzling Doug Gilmour. He was no calm-but-wow Mats Sundin.

Phaneuf, a lightning rod for malcontent Leaf fans, was a symbol of all that went wrong during his tenure as captain. Phaneuf was an easy target and, as a result, perhaps one of the most misunderstood Maple Leafs.

“Probably in history,” said Peter Holland. “We all loved Dion. He was a big personality in our room. It seems a lot quieter around here without him.”

After a game in Washington this week, ex-Leaf Phil Kessel — now with the Penguins — revisited his famous rant when he defended Phaneuf from media attacks.

“He was misunderstood in Toronto,” said Kessel. “A lot of times he wasn’t treated fairly by the media and the fans. You guys have to tell me why. A lot of it is media-driven.”

Win or lose, Phaneuf would barely show any emotion when addressing fans through the media. But that wasn’t the real Phaneuf.

“That was a persona he had to put on as captain, having that spotlight, having that attention,” said Nazem Kadri. “You don’t want to be saying the wrong thing when you’re captain. Being scrutinized. Having things taken out of context. He was very conscious about that.

“He was a super-energetic guy to hang out with. Always laughing. Jokes. He was serious when things had to be done. He was the first one to get down to business. At the same time, he could loosen up and have some fun, too.”

Phaneuf took his role as captain seriously, his teammates say. William Nylander, Kadri and Morgan Rielly — all high first-round draft picks — remember getting welcoming phone calls from Phaneuf after they were drafted, with invitations for dinner and get-togethers before they’d even made the team.

“When I came to my first training camp at 18, he really went out of his way to make me feel welcome,” said Rielly. “I went over to his house. He really tried to make me feel comfortable. Gave me confidence. When I was 19, I made the team. He really tried to take me under his wing a little bit.

“We developed a good friendship. I went to his house in P.E.I. We were good friends. He was a great leader and really taught me a lot. He passed on some messages that I’ll carry with me for a long time.”

Kadri, too, got an invitation to Phaneuf’s P.E.I summer getaway.

“He was a good host. I hung out with him and Elisha (Cuthbert). I was 18. It was a cool experience for me. He was very welcoming. It made me feel a lot better.”

The story is the same with Nylander.

“He sent me a text, called me. He invited me to his house. A great guy. It’s always nice to be around a guy like that. Little things make a difference.”

Daniel Winnik, now of the Washington Capitals, has played for a lot of captains in his seven-year, seven-team NHL career. Winnik compared Phaneuf favourably to captains like Sidney Crosby and Joe Thornton.

“I don’t think I can say I’ve had a bad captain,” said Winnik. “I thought Dion was great. He knew when to keep it loose with the players, he knew when to get on guys. He just kept everyone together. No one really understood it until he was gone.

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“There was a big void in that room after Dion left as far as leadership.”

The Maple Leafs team Phaneuf left behind has very quickly gone a different direction. Five more Leafs were traded after him. There are seven players on the current roster that weren’t here when Phaneuf played his last game in a Leaf uniform.

“When things weren’t going great, he was an easy target,” said Kadri. “In actual fact, he was the one who kept the team together. Things could have fallen apart a lot worse if he was not there.”

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