Phil Kessel called media treatment of Dion Phaneuf “embarrassing.”

The trade deadline passed Monday with Dion Phaneuf still a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And the usually reticent Phil Kessel took the opportunity to rip into the Toronto media for its “embarrassing” treatment of the Maple Leafs captain.

“He’s our best defenseman and you guys act like he’s not trying out there,” Kessel told reporters while standing in front of Phaneuf’s locker.

“Is it his fault we’re losing? No. Did he build this team? No. It’s not Dion Phaneuf. The stuff he takes, the crap he takes, I’m just tired of it.”

Kessel, the team’s best player, doesn’t speak a lot publicly. And he has had his run-ins with the Toronto media, once calling a reporter an idiot for questioning whether he’s difficult to coach.

The slumping Maple Leafs are in rebuilding mode and traded most of their pending unrestricted free agents and under-performing David Clarkson leading up to the deadline. If Phaneuf is moved as part of the rebuild, it will happen during the summer. He is signed for another six years.

“He’s owed some apologies by people,” Kessel said of Phaneuf. “It’s disgusting the way people treat him.”