Game day

Toronto at Calgary (28-22-6) (26-22-8) Saddledome

Matt Stajan is quite capable of reading the schedule. So he knew.

Meaning his face registers zero surprise Monday morning when, post-practice, he enters the Calgary Flames' dressing room and sees his stall already encircled by reporters.

Yes, his former employers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, are on their way.

Yes, two years after that fateful blockbuster, he stands alone in Calgary.

Niklas Hagman, gone.

Jamal Mayers, gone.

Ian White, gone.

And the centrepiece of the swap - Dion Phaneuf - is captain of the Leafs, a team that has become a factor in the Eastern Conference.

So there's a lot to answer for, even if Stajan is not entirely to blame.

"You know what? It's always going to be talked about," says Stajan, unfailingly cordial as usual. "Obviously, the three other guys aren't here anymore. And I haven't exactly produced the way I would have liked. But that's where we're at. You can't look back. You look forward. You come out here and work hard and you face the questions because people want to hear it.''

"It would be easy to come here and be miserable every day. But that's not the person I am."

And if Stajan actually does dread the attention - and the scrutiny - the other guy eats it up. Because this scene is right up The Dion's alley.

(The Leafs, who practised Monday in Toronto, were not available to local media.)

"It probably means a lot, coming back," Mark Giordano says of Phaneuf's return to the Saddledome. "He had some really good years here. He played a long time here. Probably like anyone, when they go back to a city they played in, they want to play well. I'm sure it means a lot to him. I'm sure it'll be a big night for him."

Giordano does keep in touch with his chum, who, to the surprise of no one, is thriving in Toronto.

"I think it's a perfect fit, honestly, for him," he says. "That team he's on, he takes that captaincy role . . . he's done well with it so far and he'll continue to do well with it. As far as the city, he's told me a number of times that he loves it. I'm sure it's a great fit for him."

Calgary, for Phaneuf, wasn't always a great fit. For starters, a veteranladen roster isn't the best spot for an abrasive, turbo-charged kid.

Plus, the fan base soon sharply divided into two camps - love-hims and hate-hims.

"He's going to be remembered here for a long time," says Alex Tanguay. "His personality (gives) him a big image. He's got a big personality. Sometimes you like it, sometimes it rubs you the wrong way. But I thought he was a great guy."

Adds Giordano: "As far as people liking him or disliking him, sometimes it gets blown out (of proportion) both ways. Obviously, as you know, he's outspoken. But he's fun to play with - there's never a dull practice, you can say that."

In the stunning deal, the Leafs also received blueline prospect Keith Aulie and the since-departed Freddie Sjostrom.

On the Flames' side of the equation - Mayers left via free agency as soon as possible; Hagman was relatively recently plucked off waivers by Anaheim; White, in Darryl Sutter's final transaction, was shipped with Brett Sutter to Carolina for Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk early last season.

Leaving only No. 18.

"It's definitely been a tough go," says Stajan, 28. "I saw myself playing a lot of power play and top-two-line minutes in Toronto. Here, it's been kind of the opposite."

In his final full season with the Leafs, 2008-09, he collected 55 points.

In his first full season with the Flames, 2010-11, he collected 31 points.

"Talking with Brent (Sutter), he sees me playing a third-, fourth-line role," says Stajan. "Me as a player, I try to do what's best for the team and play my role. Obviously, production is down because of it. But I'm working hard and I feel good out there and I enjoy playing with who I'm playing with. You always want to play more, but circumstances aren't like that for me this season.

"You play with what cards you're dealt."