from Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen,

...But Phaneuf held his ground, meaning Dorion couldn’t protect Methot, Erik Karlsson’s defence partner.

If all of the above caused some fans to be critical of Phaneuf’s choice, he says he couldn’t be happier with where he is now.

“I know that I’m excited to be here,” Phaneuf said Tuesday, following an informal skate with many of his Senators teammates.

“I’m very happy to be back here for training camp. It’s always tough when you see teammates go. The fans have been incredible to me the whole time here and I’m excited to start again.”

Phaneuf, 32, isn’t overly keen on elaborating on the expansion draft process.

“It’s a part of the business, a tough part of the business, but it’s something you have to deal with,” he said. “It definitely made for an interesting summer for a lot of the league.”

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