The 34-year-old defenseman, who had the final two seasons of his contract bought out by the Los Angeles Kings on June 15 to become an unrestricted free agent, told Sportsnet on Friday he has garnered some interest.
"A couple teams have already reached out, which is nice," said Phaneuf, who is a free agent for the first time in his NHL career. "It's not stressful. I'm excited for another opportunity."
He said he's also out to prove his NHL career-low six points (one goal, five assists) and NHL career-worst minus-21 in 67 games for the Kings last season was a fluke.
"One bad year is not going to define me," he said. "I know I've got lots of hockey left."
He had 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 81 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2016-17 and 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 79 games with the Senators and Kings last season.
Those seasons, and his size, are reasons Phaneuf (6-foot-4, 222 pounds) believes he's a desired commodity.
"I'm a bigger defenseman and I still think you see value in that," he said. "Look at the team that won this year (St. Louis Blues). They had a lot of big guys back there."
Phaneuf has 494 points (137 goals, 357 assists) in 1,048 games with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Senators and Kings. He scored 20 goals as a rookie with the Flames in 2005-06, one of three rookie NHL defensemen to score that many, along with Brian Leetch (23, New York Rangers 1988-89) and Barry Beck (22, Colorado Rockies, 1977-78). Phaneuf played in the NHL All-Star Game in 2007, 2008 and 2012.
