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Lou Lamoriello says Dion Phaneuf trade 'certainly wasn’t for today'

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello traded captain Dion Phaneuf to make his team better for the long-term. In a conference call Tuesday after the completion of the deal, Lamoriello made sure to spell out explicitly that this was not a "win-now" move and was part of a "five-year" plan he started last summer when he was hired by Toronto to change the team culture and put his stamp on the struggling organization.

The Toronto GM pulled the trigger on the nine-player trade in order to give the Leafs some salary cap flexibility both with possible free agents in the offseason, as well younger players looking to eventually cash in on their first big NHL deals.

Toronto acquired forwards Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Tobias Lindberg, defenseman Jared Cowen, and a 2017 second-round draft pick from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Dion Phaneuf and prospect defenseman Cody Donaghey, as well as AHL forwards Casey Bailey, Matt Frattin and Ryan Rupert.

The Maple Leafs are tied with the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets with the fewest points in the NHL.

“The length of Dion’s contract, and the amount of cap space that is there, and where that would put us at a given time, certainly not knowing where the cap will go and I always have had a feeling it would sort of level off, this gives us the opportunity to do things,” Lamoriello said. “It also gives us the opportunity that when some of our younger players coming at the end of their entry-level contracts, that we have high expectations to be able to sign them.

"This was a transaction that certainly wasn’t for today.”

Lamoriello said dealing Phaneuf leaves a “hole in our lineup.” He ranked third on the team in ice time, averaging 22:01 per-game, and his 24 points led Maple Leafs defensemen. A year ago he had just 29 points in 70 games.

The 30-year-old Phaneuf has an annual salary cap hit of $7 million through the 2020-21 season, a number that currently ranks seventh amongst NHL defensemen, ahead of new teammate Erik Karlsson, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, and Brent Seabrook, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks and comparable from the 2003 NHL Draft.

Toronto signed Phaneuf to the extension in the middle of the 2013-14 season. While Phaneuf was the Leafs' captain, his contract was considered too rich and too long for his overall production – especially for a rebuilding club.

Jonathan Willis of Bleacher Report points out how Toronto dropped Phaneuf's quality of competition this year, which with his better numbers, boosted his trade value. Willis called it a "pump-and-dump" strategy for Toronto to help Phaneuf's value by putting him in more favorable situations. Because of this, he then looked more desirable to teams looking for blueline help.

Phaneuf has historically played the toughest available minutes. This year, Leafs coach Mike Babcock has used 21-year-old Morgan Rielly and journeyman Matt Hunwick in that role; despite Rielly’s obviously exceptional quality, the pairing has been getting lit up. That allowed (Jake) Gardiner and Phaneuf to take on less impressive opponents.

Here's a closer look at what Willis was talking about.

His advanced stats dropped when he wasn’t playing with Gardiner showing another troubling trend, but one that didn't seem to steer away the Senators, possibly thanks to how Toronto made Phaneuf's overall numbers look better.

“It starts with his partner. Phaneuf typically played with Jake Gardiner this year, and the difference in his performance with and without player is breathtaking. As a duo, Gardiner and Phaneuf had a 53.2 percent Corsi rating, three points better than the team average. They were also on the ice for as many goals for as against, remarkable on a Maple Leafs team that has been badly outscored this year at evens. Away from Gardiner this season, Phaneuf's Corsi number falls by six points and Toronto was outscored by nearly a 3:1 margin.”

As part of the deal, the Maple Leafs added the 31-year-old Michalek ($4 million salary cap hit this year and next) and Cowen, who carries a $3.1 million salary cap hit through 2017.

But those deals expire after the 2016-17 season and there are already rumors that Cowen could be flipped. He's also considered a buyout candidate. 

Also, the Maple Leafs have nine pending unrestricted free agents on their roster, which could give them more flexibility to make a run at a prime unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has often been rumored as a possibility for Toronto. According to numbers from General Fanager, between deals of Phil Kessel, David Clarkson and now Phaneuf, the Leafs have traded away $19.05 million of salary cap hit per season – including money retained from the Kessel trade. Kessel was signed through 2021-22 and Clarkson through 2019-20.

“Whatever opportunity there is to make the Maple Leafs better, certainly, it will be considered,” Lamoriello said when asked about free agents. “And if it’s the right situation, it’ll be done. As far as pinpointing one area and not another area, no matter what it might be, whatever the availability is to us within the framework of the collective bargaining agreement, within the framework of our salary cap, within the framework of our own players and our sort of young players that are coming and when our plan is to get them in here. There are so many different variables to come into. I couldn’t really answer what’s going to happen next. I’ve always said: We’re going to have a five-year plan that’s going to change every single day.”

Beyond the hockey element of the deal, when it comes to these Maple Leafs, there are always questions as to who drives the bus on trades and personnel decisions. Is it Lamoriello, team president Brendan Shanahan or assistant GM Kyle Dubas? Also, how much influence does coach Mike Babcock carry? Lamoriello noted that all were on the same page with this deal.

“Our communication is open, it will continue to be open,” Lamoriello said. “We’ll discuss whatever has to be done internally, and then whatever decision going forward, it’s a unanimous one.”

Lamoriello didn’t tip his hand on whether Toronto would make any more trades heading into the Feb. 29 trade deadline.

"We’re certainly going to do whatever we can to make ourselves better, not only today but for tomorrow whatever is done,” Lamoriello said. “I wouldn’t even know how to answer that. If there was something evident, we’d have it done.”

But the Leafs GM believes his team is in better position to make future moves, which was the entire point of the trade.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!