Cameron loves Phaneuf's personality, so Dion's keeping the 'A' in Ottawa

Dion Phaneuf's keeping his letter.

Acquired from Toronto in arguably the NHL's most surprising trade this season, the Ottawa Senators defenseman and former Maple Leafs captain will be keeping the "A" he's worn on his jersey over the last two games, head coach Dave Cameron said.

After alternate captain Kyle Turris went down to injury, defenseman Mark Borowiecki took the letter. Borowiecki was lost last week to a torn MCL, and Phaneuf had the "A" in his return to Toronto on Saturday for the first time since the trade.

"You put it on somebody that is a leader. I knew what he was as a player," Cameron said, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. "I didn't know his personality because I've never spent any time with him."

Cameron's been impressed with Phaneuf in a short time.

"The pleasant surprise for me is his personality. He's here, he comes into the rink every day and you know he's happy to be in the NHL. He has energy, he's engaging, he talks. There's no moping, and that's been missing somewhat with our young team as we've been bouncing up and down. This guy comes in every day, does his work, does it in good humor and brings other guys along."

Phaneuf has a goal and six assists in 13 games with the Senators, while averaging almost 24 minutes of ice time. He has a 49.1 Corsi For rating, down from 52.1 with Toronto, according to Hockey Reference.