Toronto Maple Leafs: Dion Phaneuf's Injury May Have Been a Reality Check

In the three games since the return of their captain Dion Phaneuf, the Toronto Maple Leafs have gone 2-1. They have not only gone 2-1, but have also played what are probably their two best, most complete games of the season to date.

Everything is going right for the team, Phil Kessel has scored in two straight, something he hasn't done since October 23-26.

Nazem Kadri arguably played his most complete game to date, and as much as he hasn't developed into a serious scoring threat so far, he has only played 16 games in a Leafs jersey, has six assists, 26 shots and is a minus-three on what is so far this season a below-average team.

While the Leafs are still in need of at least two top-tier players, this young group has shown glimpses of progress this season and their young captain is starting to show signs of a genuine ability to lead.

There has been no shortage of "hockey experts" who have said on record that Phaneuf is not worthy of wearing the "C."

When he first arrived on the scene, it was said that his appearance was like throwing an adrenaline grenade into the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room.

The excitement seemed to last the rest of the season and the Leafs finished strong. The optimism surrounding the team reached a fever pitch when the Leafs continued their strong play at the start of this season and reeled off four consecutive wins to start the 2010-2011 campaign.

Of course, there were no real questions about the captaincy simply because everything was going well.

The Leafs lost their fifth game of the season in overtime to the New York Islanders and everything went to hell in a hand bag from that point on.

The team would only manage one win over their next 12 games, and it was everyone's fault.

Ron Wilson was the worst coach in the history of the organization, Brian Burke was looking like he really wasn't going to save the franchise after all and Dion Phaneuf, well, he was the absolute worst choice for the captaincy and the Leafs had collectively imploded into a black hole of their own making.

Boy, it must be a good deal of fun to be a Toronto Maple Leaf.

Of course, the injury bug hit the Leafs and they not only lost their captain for an extended period of time, one of their key penalty killers in the form of Fredrik Sjostrom and veteran goal tender JS Giguere missed six games with a groin injury.

The Leafs of course struggled in the face of those injuries, the team simply has no depth at the forward position and the defensive corps is not offensively gifted enough to put more goals in while still maintaining good defensive posture.

The Leafs have won four of their last seven games and are enjoying their first month as an above .500 team in a while.

Dion Phaneuf appears to be playing better since his return to the lineup than he was before the injury and it is rubbing off on the rest of the team.

He is a plus-one with two points and 10 shots in the three games since his return and is definitely making his presence felt on the ice again in good ways.

With the Leafs set to face the Calgary Flames tonight, it is expected that Phaneuf will receive a mixed welcome from the fans, and he said to the Globe & Mail, "It’ll be a special night. I played a lot of hockey there. I have a lot of respect for that organization. I have a lot of respect for the guys I played with.”

The young Leafs captain obviously still faces an uphill climb when talking about being a great captain, but at least, looking at his most recent play, it can be argued that he has that potential, something most had thought he'd forgotten early in the season.