I think he tries he's just not as good as he's unreasonably expected to be. It's not his fault that Burke practically made him the de facto captain when he stepped off the plane from Calgary. The fact is the leafs still need two top 2 defence men - Phaneuf is either a 2 or 3 though.
I'm sure he says the right things on the ice and in the room but he can't really lead by example. Not with the minutes he's playing.
If I remember correctly, he performed his best with minutes in the high teens (Calgary days!).
