Dion Phaneuf Appreciation Thread

[gabeliscious]

Well, I personally think he is NOT a $7M D man. He is average at best.

I also don't believe that he is a good captain. Not a great leader and does not lead by example.

This is just my opinion.

your obviously entitled to your opinion but i think you are seriously undervaluing phaneuf if you consider him average at best. i could see an argument that gunnarson is average at best or franson is average at best. i find it hard to believe that people actually consider phaneuf BELOW average.

i dont consider him a true #1 defenseman but he isnt far behind. phaneuf is a number 2 defenseman on just about every team in the nhl. with the exception of chicago and st louis im not sure what other team he would be on the 2nd pairing.

You said he should be paid using market comparables so you should supply the list .

I'll start you off

J-Bo 5.4 m x 5 years

bouwmeester is not as good as phaneuf imo. despite having better number at right now, im sure playing in st louis is helping. he also has the luxury of playing with pieterangelo, shatenkirk, polak, etc, etc. this makes a big difference. bouwmeester is also 2 years older.

someone is going to give phaneuf $7 million. it may or may not be the leafs but he is going to get it.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Phaneuf would be the best defenceman on most teams. Whether or not that makes him a "true #1 defenceman" or not depends on your definition I guess.

I suppose you could argue that a better way to go is to start a complete rebuild and trade him for picks or whatever. Considering the Clarkson signing though, we're obviously not going down that road.

Or maybe this could be a deal, offer up Phaneuf to whoever, and in return ask that they take Clarkson and Bozak off our hands as well. Maybe Liles too if we throw in a 2nd and 4th round pick as a sweetener.

 

[hotpaws]

bouwmeester is not as good as phaneuf imo. despite having better number at right now, im sure playing in st louis is helping. he also has the luxury of playing with pieterangelo, shatenkirk, polak, etc, etc. this makes a big difference. bouwmeester is also 2 years older.

someone is going to give phaneuf $7 million. it may or may not be the leafs but he is going to get it.

Outside of being more physical and maybe a harder shot there really isn't anything DP does better than J-Bo .

I have no doubt someone may pay DP 7 mil as a UFA , I just don't want it to be us .

 

[New Liskeard]

Outside of being more physical and maybe a harder shot there really isn't anything DP does better than J-Bo .

I have no doubt someone may pay DP 7 mil as a UFA , I just don't want it to be us .

Most non Leaf fans don't want the leafs to re-sign Phaneuf for under market value at 7 million per.

 

[hotpaws]

Most non Leaf fans don't want the leafs to re-sign Phaneuf for under market value at 7 million per.

So i'm now not a leaf fan because I don't follow the homer sheep mentality that believes DP is a top 5 D in the league ?

 

[Duke Silver]

So i'm now not a leaf fan because I don't follow the homer sheep mentality that believes DP is a top 5 D in the league ?

Shea Weber
Ryan Suter
Brian Campbell
Zdeno Chara
Jay Bouwmeester
Dan Boyle
Kimmo Timonen
Andrei Markov
James Wisniewski
Matt Carle

That is a list of the top-10 paid UFA defencemen in the NHL. Where does Phaneuf rank in that list, to you?

 

[Pitt the Elder]

You said he should be paid using market comparables so you should supply the list .

I'll start you off

J-Bo 5.4 m x 5 years

http://theleafsnation.com/2013/11/7/assessing-the-value-of-dion-phaneuf

http://theleafsnation.com/2013/11/7/assessing-the-value-of-dion-phaneuf

http://theleafsnation.com/2013/11/7/assessing-the-value-of-dion-phaneuf

Jesus Christ....

 

[Rare Jewel]

I don't really get why it's so hard to see and appreciate what Dion does.

Unless it's just stubborn people who said things in the past who are to proud to say differently.

 

[KPower]

Dion has been our best player this season and he has all the leverage in negotiations with how brutal the rest of the defense has been.

The thoughts of a an 8 year contract scares me though.

 

[Parkdale]

Phaneuf would be the best defenceman on most teams. Whether or not that makes him a "true #1 defenceman" or not depends on your definition I guess.

I suppose you could argue that a better way to go is to start a complete rebuild and trade him for picks or whatever. Considering the Clarkson signing though, we're obviously not going down that road.

Or maybe this could be a deal, offer up Phaneuf to whoever, and in return ask that they take Clarkson and Bozak off our hands as well. Maybe Liles too if we throw in a 2nd and 4th round pick as a sweetener.

Its the thought of having to trade an $8M Phaneuf that has me concerned.

 

[Breakingbad28]

Leaf fans in general have a real problem with under appreciating skilled players (occasionally their best players!) and making mediocre ones the fan favourite for ridiculous made up reasons.

I wish I could say Leaf fans deserve success, but the majority of them really do not. They deserve a lineup of guys they think are good and are "fan favourites" but in actuality suck.

I wonder why this is, but I have a far-fetched theory. I believe leaf fans look at the TML as a soap-opera, and not as a sports franchise. In most cases fans favorite players are generally players who are personable in interviews and show emotion on the ice (Chirping at players, showing rage, ect.). Thats why players like Clarkson was dubbed as a fan favorite before he even came into town, and why people love our goons. For example, when you go to a leafs game what are the most popular jerseys from past players besides Sundin? Tucker and Domi

 

[achtungbaby]

Dion has been our best player this season and he has all the leverage in negotiations with how brutal the rest of the defense has been.

The thoughts of a an 8 year contract scares me though.

This pretty much sums up my fears. I believe he's been better then he's ever been throughout his current contract but does that earn him a raise over what's he's been making? Especially at 8 years?? I have no doubt that some team will give him $7 million plus on a long term deal. I'm just wary of that team being us.

If you're not totally comfortable about the long term make up of this team, re-signing the same guys to bigger money isn't likely to make you feel you great. I guess I'm urging caution and patience here.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Grow up. Anyone who doesn't like Dion as much as I do isn't a real Leafs fan huh?

They're definitely deluded. As we see with the Bozak debate, the Bolland - Clarkson ( top-six "shut down" pair), or the idea that most top D pairings in the NHL are also involved in shut down duties, very deluded.

I don't get it. No one here is suggesting that he's as physical dominant as Pronger. Nor is anyone suggesting that he's some sort of elite smooth-skating PMD like Lidstrom. In fact, he needs someone like Brodin to really help him generate creativity in the backend. We look very predicable and it's hampering us.

Phaneuf is a top 10-15 defenceman, but it's not like the gap between defencemen is that huge. We don't really have a Lidstrom ( thinking Brodin will be) or a Pronger. With Lidstrom you had a two-way positionally elite PMD, who usually wouldn't need to rush into the offence zone. With Pronger, you had a mean two-way beast, who could control the tempo of the game with his puck moving ability particularly his passing. Dion, on the other hand, is one of - if not - the best hitters in the NHL, and has a very parsimonious playing style, but never had elite passing ability. Nonetheless he makes crisp passes and is a very dominant puck rushers.

 

[Ruski]

I completely appreciate Phaneuf's contributions, both offensively and defensively (eating bigtime minutes, etc.) JUST NOT at above $6.5mil/year

He can have $7mil/year on a 4-5 year deal, but nothing above that.

 

[Burke the Legend]

he is too error prone. it kills you in playoffs. remember who was on ice at end of game 7? let him walk there's just some players even though they are generally good, you can't build a stanley cup team around because they are not championship material. It's a tough call when a team has to face it with a star but sometimes it has to happen. Look at the Bruins concluding that with the tin man.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

he is too error prone. it kills you in playoffs. remember who was on ice at end of game 7? let him walk there's just some players even though they are generally good, you can't build a stanley cup team around because they are not championship material. It's a tough call when a team has to face it with a star but sometimes it has to happen. Look at the Bruins concluding that with the tin man.

End of game 7 was Gardiner if not Grabovski. What are you talking about? Boston's strategy - like every other team - was to field their scorers when Phaneuf was on the bench. That was accomplished, and we conceded the final goal. Interestingly, our shut down unit was terrible ( with Grabo as C) and yet Phaneuf produced offensively in that role.

 

[gabeliscious]

Outside of being more physical and maybe a harder shot there really isn't anything DP does better than J-Bo .

I have no doubt someone may pay DP 7 mil as a UFA , I just don't want it to be us .

as per nhl.com

in my most unbiased opinion and not looking at just the stats, i believe that phaneuf has developed over the years into a cornerstone defenseman. he isnt chara, weber, kieth but he is in that next tier. when phaneuf is the main guy on the backend he can still produce numbers. bouwmeester looks out of place when he has to carry the load by himself. i also think bouwmeester took less money then he might of gotten if he waited until july to resign. the fact that st louis got a good deal doesnt negate the fact that phaeuf is worth ~$7 million. mason raymond is making $1 million and has more points then players like vanek,hodgson, stastny, ror, etc, etc. my point is that maybe bouwmeesters contract is indicative of him wanting to be in st louis and valuing that environment/winning more then what the actual market is.

phaneuf bouwmeester
age 28 30
gp 627 789
goals 108 73
assists 242 253
total points 350 326
pim 829 475
+/- +13 -47

 

[CreeksideStrangler]

Dion has been our best player this season and he has all the leverage in negotiations with how brutal the rest of the defense has been.

The thoughts of a an 8 year contract scares me though.

I disagree. I could name a handful of leafs who imo have been better

 

[hockeyfanz*]

I disagree. I could name a handful of leafs who imo have been better

Two of them wear goalie pads and for the most part make the brutal defense look better than it actually is.....gasp. Thats not saying much.

 

[BayStreetBullies*]

I disagree. I could name a handful of leafs who imo have been better

Not including goalies, no one else on the Leafs touches Dion as the team's best player this season.

 

[Rare Jewel]

I disagree. I could name a handful of leafs who imo have been better

Let's see them.

 

[LeafOfBread]

Two of them wear goalie pads and for the most part make the brutal defense look better than it actually is.....gasp. Thats not saying much.

Not including goalies, no one else on the Leafs touches Dion as the team's best player this season.

Yep, these two responses hit the nail on the head.

Without Dion this D is probably the biggest joke in the league.

 

[ACC1224]

Not including goalies, no one else on the Leafs touches Dion as the team's best player this season.

The Goalies have been excellent but I'd say Phanuef has been consistently the best player game in and out.

 

[Jeffler]

Shea Weber
Ryan Suter
Brian Campbell
Zdeno Chara
Jay Bouwmeester
Dan Boyle
Kimmo Timonen
Andrei Markov
James Wisniewski
Matt Carle

That is a list of the top-10 paid UFA defencemen in the NHL. Where does Phaneuf rank in that list, to you?

FYI, Weber was an RFA signing

 

[Leafidelity]

FYI, Weber was an RFA signing

Have to think his contract being made by offer sheet makes his contract more in-line to a UFA than a RFA