I must admit that I am becoming more and more disenchanted with not only his play, but the play of many others around him. Individuals who should be in their prime, and therefore at their peak production,yet cannot perform at levels they easily reached before. It makes me more confused than anything that a 28 year old would be passed his prime. I think he does suffer from not having a good #2 D partner. Who knows how good he could be if he had a Suter type player beside him. Shea Weber has shown, early on in this season, how much having a quality other half in a pairing can effect someones game.
I blame the piss poor management of this franchise more than Dion for his performance as a Leaf. They have not set him up for success.
If you look at a lot of Dion's struggles, they are irrelevant of who is playing next to him.
Sure having a solid partner helps.
But there are class Dmen right across the league, that continue to play great regardless of who they are paired with. I view those guys as #1 Dmen. Players that can be paired with anyone, and they make that next person better. Look at what Lidstrom did for Ian White. Kronwall. Etc.
Dion isn't that type of player. He needs someone to carry him. His best play as a Leaf has come with Gunnarsson, not because Gunnarsson is brilliant, but because Gunnarsson allowed Dion to play with a bit more freedom. He needs someone to carry him, not the other way around. That's not the sign of a #1 Dman for me.
It also doesn't matter who you play with - if you can't hit the net, or run a powerplay, or win the foot battles, or the puck battles, that's on you as a player, not on your partner.
You could put Chara next to Dion, and he would still struggle with the basics he is currently failing to master
