Leafs' Babcock: 'Someone's got to step up now'

The Toronto Maple Leafs are without a true leader after dealing Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Head coach Mike Babcock spoke about losing the team's longtime captain soon after the deal was announced, emphasizing the need for players to step up.

"Someone's got to step up now," Babcock said, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "Someone's got to step up in the room and provide the leadership that he provided, and I can't emphasize this enough: he did it right every single day.

"So, he did it right when he wasn't at the rink, he did it right at the rink, and he did it right with his coaches, and he did it right with his teammates. That's not easy to do."

Babcock's comments were echoed by his former teammates, who also spoke to how important he was to the team.

"Obviously, it was hard to swallow," said forward Nazem Kadri. "He was a guy who mentored me and really helped with my development since I was 18 years old."

"Coming in here this morning, it was a lot more quiet," said defenseman Jake Gardiner. "It's definitely something we're going to miss around the locker room, just him cracking jokes or just getting the boys fired up."

The Maple Leafs will take to the ice Tuesday against the Calgary Flames without a captain for the first time since Phaneuf became the club's 18th serving captain on June 14, 2010.