As a rookie with the Calgary Flames in the 2005-06 season, Phaneuf had an appetite for contact. He also broke the franchise record for goals by first-year defenseman with 20, and finished third in the voting for the Calder Trophy.

Two seasons later, he expanded and refined his repertoire to the point where he finished second to Nicklas Lidstrom in the voting for the Norris Trophy.

Phaneuf has also been the centerpiece of two of the largest trades in memory, a seven-player swap between the Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs in January 2010, and a nine-player trade between the Leafs and Ottawa Senators in February 2016.

In 2013, following a very public courtship, he married Calgary-born Hollywood actress Elisha Cuthbert.

Flames GM Darryl Sutter knew exactly what he was getting when he selected Phaneuf with the No. 9 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-3, 227-pound defenseman was playing for Sutter's brother, Brent, with Red Deer in the Western Hockey League.

The Flames waited two years for Phaneuf to conclude his junior apprenticeship. During that time, Phaneuf would win the Bill Hunter trophy as the top defenseman in the WHL in 2004 and 2005.

The highly touted Edmonton native made the Flames out of training camp in 2005-06 and, at 20 years old, played all 82 games and finished with 20 goals and 49 points. He also quickly earned a reputation as a big hitter.

In 2007-08, Phaneuf finished with 17 goals, 60 points and 182 penalty minutes, and was a First-Team All-Star.

But the Flames, eager to stockpile forwards, traded Phaneuf to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-player deal that sent forwards Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman to Calgary.

In Phaneuf's seven seasons in Toronto, when he scored 45 goals and 196 points, the Leafs reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs only once (2012-13). With the team struggling and needing a shakeup, Phaneuf was part of a nine-player trade with the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 9, 2016.