MacArthur’s phone rang, and it was Phaneuf, wondering what was going on.

“He was telling me the positive sides of being here,” MacArthur said of the phone call. “He obviously loved the trade, coming here. That helped me make my decision.

“I had a few other teams interested. I’m glad we made the decision to come here.”

So what did he like about Toronto that he signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract?

“It looks like a good team coming together.” said MacArthur. “It takes a few years to mold things together. They’ve got a great defensive corps and goaltending here now and working on the forwards.

“Good speed. It’s a young team. We have to play smart, and play with an edge this year and make it a bad place to play when (other teams) come in here.”