"Brian Burke came to the defense of Dion Phaneuf Tuesday as the Leafs captain faced a tidal wave of media hype and speculation in advance of what should be the game of the year for the Leafs — Phaneuf's homecoming against Calgary Thursday.

"We know exactly what was going on in that dressing room (Flames)," Burke said as the rumours of Phaneuf's impasses with teammates in Calgary heated up two days before the big game.

"We heard all the stuff that was in the media, but we have ways of getting into the dressing room and whatever disagreements there were, we were satisfied Dion Phaneuf was a player who was could help our team.""