Dion Phaneuf discussion thread

[Lebanese Leaf]

Going through twitter and HFboards after last night, and taking the night to let the emotion settle before I post, I realized that the amount of hate he is getting is ridiculous!

First of all, he manned up and admitted his mistake, took complete blame last night in the post-game press conference. You have got to respect that. If he connects on that hit and gets the puck, we might be talking about one of the most devastating hits in Leaf playoff history + a game winning OT goal. Luck just wasn't on our side last night, especially in OT.

Bottom line is, Dion is the heart and soul of our defense, and a true #1 defenseman. I challenge anyone to name me 20 defenseman better than him in the NHL. He plays in every situation (even strength, PP, PK, 4on4) and is always assigned other teams' top players to shutdown, with partners who are not top pairing guys.

So this is a thread to support our captain, and acknowledge his importance to this team. We would not be anywhere close to a playoff spot without him in our lineup.

Click to read more...

 

[Leafidelity]

Terrible game from start to finish last night, but that doesn't make him a terrible player.

 

[mikebel111*]

Going through twitter and HFboards after last night, and taking the night to let the emotion settle before I post, I realized that the amount of hate he is getting is ridiculous!

First of all, he manned up and admitted his mistake, took complete blame last night in the post-game press conference. You have got to respect that. If he connects on that hit and gets the puck, we might be talking about one of the most devastating hits in Leaf playoff history + a game winning OT goal. Luck just wasn't on our side last night, especially in OT.

Bottom line is, Dion is the heart and soul of our defense, and a true #1 defenseman. I challenge anyone to name me 20 defenseman better than him in the NHL. He plays in every situation (even strength, PP, PK, 4on4) and is always assigned other teams' top players to shutdown, with partners who are not top pairing guys.

So this is a thread to support our captain, and acknowledge his importance to this team. We would not be anywhere close to a playoff spot without him in our lineup.

amazing thread

he is an elite dman, who needs some help
What would our defence be without him, we would be garbage

he is needed on the team, most of the time, does really well for us
i am glad he is on the team

t

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

Ughhh, he has good numbers but his play on the ice leaves me wanting more.

 

[mikebel111*]

Terrible game from start to finish last night, but that doesn't make him a terrible player.

everyone has them
it depends on how a player redeems himself
im calling it now, dion has a great game tomorrow

 

[Teeder9]

amazing thread

he is an elite dman, who needs some help
What would our defence be without him, we would be garbage

he is needed on the team, most of the time, does really well for us
i am glad he is on the team

t

The worst part of this team is the defense, and he's by far the best part of it. Take him out and we get Jones, which really isn't helping things at all.

 

[mikebel111*]

Ughhh, he has good numbers but his play on the ice leaves me wanting more.

he plays too much IMO
should play more like 23 minutes, this is why I Want someone like morris, who can take off the load

 

[Lebanese Leaf]

Terrible game from start to finish last night, but that doesn't make him a terrible player.

I wouldn't say terrible all game.

But take a look at the kind of playoffs Norris trophy favourite PK Subban has been having...

 

[mikebel111*]

I wouldn't say terrible all game.

But take a look at the kind of playoffs Norris trophy favourite PK Subban has been having...

you want to talk about overrated
subban is that
he is a cocky individual with no class
phaneuf actually owns up his mistakes, something PK I doubt would ever do

 

[TmlHockeyFan]

Going through twitter and HFboards after last night, and taking the night to let the emotion settle before I post, I realized that the amount of hate he is getting is ridiculous!

First of all, he manned up and admitted his mistake, took complete blame last night in the post-game press conference. You have got to respect that. If he connects on that hit and gets the puck, we might be talking about one of the most devastating hits in Leaf playoff history + a game winning OT goal. Luck just wasn't on our side last night, especially in OT.

Bottom line is, Dion is the heart and soul of our defense, and a true #1 defenseman. I challenge anyone to name me 20 defenseman better than him in the NHL. He plays in every situation (even strength, PP, PK, 4on4) and is always assigned other teams' top players to shutdown, with partners who are not top pairing guys.

So this is a thread to support our captain, and acknowledge his importance to this team. We would not be anywhere close to a playoff spot without him in our lineup.

He made one bad decision. These plays happen. If the puck didn't go in our net, no one would be bashing him. Every player makes mistakes. Phaneuf is a #1 D. He plays all scenerios. If we trade Phaneuf, it will be hard to replace him. He's a big part of our team.

 

[rimshot]

everyone has them
it depends on how a player redeems himself
im calling it now, dion has a great game tomorrow

I watched Nick Lidstrom have a game that would make the coach bench a lesser dman for multiple games. The only difference was that it was regular season and Nick was in his prime. The captain will survive and thrive.

 

[charliolemieux]

I would like to see him with a real #2d-man as a partner.

 

[Lebanese Leaf]

I would like to see him with a real #2d-man as a partner.

I keep saying this, but with the amount of prospects coming up on the blueline, I see this problem fixing itself sooner than later. Morgan Rielly can emerge into that role as soon as next year, or perhaps Gardiner. And if neither of them, then you have Percy or Finn that can become that within 2 years. All of those guys have top pairing upside.

 

[Trill Kessell]

The amount of times Dion shoots/passes the puck into the opponents shin pads is frustrating. Also, he completely fanned on multiple shots and his shooting is supposed to be his specialty. We can't keep supporting a player who is supposed to be our captain and lead by example, when all he does is make mistakes. He has played some good hockey during the regular season but has been horrific during the only games that matter...playoffs!

 

[Roo]

Good post. He had a bad game, but you don't judge someone on one bad game.

We likely dont even make the playoffs without him.

 

[Dreakmur]

I challenge anyone to name me 20 defenseman better than him in the NHL.

Off the top of my head:

1. Francois Beauchemin (Anaheim)
2. Zdeno Chara (Boston)
3. Duncan Keith (Chicago)
4. Brent Seabrook (Chicago)
5. Niklas Kronwall (Detroit)
6. Brian Campbell (Florida)
7. Drew Doughty (Los Angeles)
8. Ryan Suter (Minnesota)
9. PK Subban (Montreal)
10. Shea Weber (Nashville)
11. Ryan McDonagh (New York)
12. Marc Staal (New York)
13. Erik Karsson (Ottawa)
14. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Phoenix)
15. Keith Yandle (Phoenix)
Kris Letang (Pittsbugh)
16. Dan Boyle (San Jose)
17. Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose)
18. Jay Bouwmeester (St. Louis)
19. Alex Peitrangelo (St. Louis)
20. Mike Green (Washinton)


Having said that, I don't think many people would argue Dion Phaneuf is not a top-30 defenseman in the league. By that measure, he is a #1 defenseman. If I'm a GM or a coach, I don't want him as my #1. First of all, he's a bottom end #1, so he's weak in that role. Second, he's not reliable enough - he does a lot of good, but he's just too stupid to be relied upon to make good decisions in key situations.

 

[mikebel111*]

I keep saying this, but with the amount of prospects coming up on the blueline, I see this problem fixing itself sooner than later. Morgan Rielly can emerge into that role as soon as next year, or perhaps Gardiner. And if neither of them, then you have Percy or Finn that can become that within 2 years. All of those guys have top pairing upside.

finn and percy, I love those two, they play like gunnerson, just more offense in them than gunner IMO
perfect for dion IMO

 

[DD03]

He's a true leader. He owned up for his mistake. People need to lay off the guy. He's done REALLY well since coming to Toronto.

 

[Center Ice Scrum*]

Phaneuf was a clutch performer down the stretch for us this year. It's kinda sad how quickly people forget just how valuable Phaneuf is to this team just because he had one bad shift. Fickle Leaf fans on this site. Anyways, I'm very happy with his play this season and have no issues with him being the captain of this team. Things are headed in the right direction and he's at the helm of all the change and the subsequent progress that has taken place. We don't abandon our own in Leaf land, unfortunately this memo hasn't made its round to many in Leafs nation it seems.

 

[Lebanese Leaf]

Off the top of my head:

1. Francois Beauchemin (Anaheim)
2. Zdeno Chara (Boston)
3. Duncan Keith (Chicago)
4. Brent Seabrook (Chicago)
5. Niklas Kronwall (Detroit)
6. Brian Campbell (Florida)
7. Drew Doughty (Los Angeles)
8. Ryan Suter (Minnesota)
9. PK Subban (Montreal)
10. Shea Weber (Nashville)
11. Ryan McDonagh (New York)
12. Marc Staal (New York)
13. Erik Karsson (Ottawa)
14. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Phoenix)
15. Keith Yandle (Phoenix)
Kris Letang (Pittsbugh)
16. Dan Boyle (San Jose)
17. Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose)
18. Jay Bouwmeester (St. Louis)
19. Alex Peitrangelo (St. Louis)
20. Mike Green (Washinton)


Having said that, I don't think many people would argue Dion Phaneuf is not a top-30 defenseman in the league. By that measure, he is a #1 defenseman. If I'm a GM or a coach, I don't want him as my #1. First of all, he's a bottom end #1, so he's weak in that role. Second, he's not reliable enough - he does a lot of good, but he's just too stupid to be relied upon to make good decisions in key situations.

Bolded are absolutely not better than Phaneuf all things considered. The only one you could make a case for is Beauchemin, only because he had a great season above expectations, but we all remember how he was on the Leafs...

 

[mikebel111*]

Off the top of my head:

1. Francois Beauchemin (Anaheim)
2. Zdeno Chara (Boston)
3. Duncan Keith (Chicago)
4. Brent Seabrook (Chicago)
5. Niklas Kronwall (Detroit)
6. Brian Campbell (Florida)
7. Drew Doughty (Los Angeles)
8. Ryan Suter (Minnesota)
9. PK Subban (Montreal)
10. Shea Weber (Nashville)
11. Ryan McDonagh (New York)
12. Marc Staal (New York)
13. Erik Karsson (Ottawa)
14. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Phoenix)
15. Keith Yandle (Phoenix)
Kris Letang (Pittsbugh)
16. Dan Boyle (San Jose)
17. Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose)
18. Jay Bouwmeester (St. Louis)
19. Alex Peitrangelo (St. Louis)
20. Mike Green (Washinton)


Having said that, I don't think many people would argue Dion Phaneuf is not a top-30 defenseman in the league. By that measure, he is a #1 defenseman. If I'm a GM or a coach, I don't want him as my #1. First of all, he's a bottom end #1, so he's weak in that role. Second, he's not reliable enough - he does a lot of good, but he's just too stupid to be relied upon to make good decisions in key situations.

the bolded are the players I take over dion, dion is a top 20 dman in this league

 

[mikeo1]

Great player who didn't come through in a key game last night. Definitely a night he'd like to forget.

 

[SprDaVE]

Some fans are just way to bipolar and suffer extreme cases of amnesia, good lord.

He was great all year, solid in these playoffs. One bad game and one bad mistake, for which he all ready manned up to, and he's the worst ever.

Embarassing.

 

[Crispy Crust]

Dion made a poor pinch on that play but he didn't get any help from his D partner ROB. I'm thinking if that was Gunnarsson instead, we survive that play.

 

[Derrty]

funny list you got there, if he wasn't as dependent upon he would be an absolute stud. All of the responsibility is on Dions shoulders most nights, Give him a more solid D-core and he will be a stud.