December 16
Toronto Sun
columnist Mike Zeisberger
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It greeted them when they arrived at the Saddledome for practice, a souvenir from a local auto dealership promotion two years ago. To a man, the Maple Leafs could not believe their eyes. Yet, there it was. A paper mask. With Dion Phaneuf's face on the front. "We walk in the room and THAT face is the first thing we see," forward Kris Versteeg said. Maybe the Maple Leafs captain wasn't with the team physically on Wednesday, but he certainly was there in spirit. And cardboard. Or, as Versteeg so eloquently put it: "Even when he's not here, he's here." Make no mistake. Each and every one of his teammates understood that Phaneuf's absence was no laughing matter. He was, after all, back in"