Dion Phaneuf

[goleafsgo281]

Hey guys I'm just curious on how people think that Dion Phaneuf is playing this year. I understand his plus/minus isn't good at a minus 7 but our goals against is at 2.5 per game which is 11th in the NHL and Dion plays 25+ minutes pg so I believe that he has a bit to do with that along with goaltending and carlyle s system.

Thoughts?

Click to read more...

 

[Penalty Kill Icing*]

He is taken as #1 d-man and partnered with any other scrub (a term I am relatively using to a #1 pairing defenseman), and that is definitely affecting his play. Either give him Gardiner or Liles (or even Komisarek at this point).

That being said, he definitely has room for improvement. He was pretty brutal against Habs.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

He's played well. Carrying whoever is his partner on a respective night, and usually shadowing the other teams best player (i.e. Tavares last night).

 

[Hainzy58]

Considering who his defensive partner is I would say he is playing fantastic.

 

[shaner8989]

Poor partners but his hockey iq is really bad. I'm hard on players thou

 

[mt99808]

He's playing the best he has since he's been here and it's all about coaching IMO. He no longer takes runs at people taking himself out of the play for the big hit and he doesn't get caught behind the other teams net. There aren't many dmen in the league who have the complete all around physical, defensive and offensive game that he has.

 

[Hurt]

Poor partners but his hockey iq is really bad. I'm hard on players thou

Yes. We know.

He has been very good for us (stat sheet reading aside). He made Kostka look like an NHL D-man for a while.

 

[Brewsky]

Kostka
Holzer

I mean it's not like they can't be good NHLers, they just aren't good right now.

 

[smitty10]

Phaneuf has been very good this year. He's thriving in almost all situations and is really turning into a two-way player. He's the Leafs most steady player almost every game and is proving his worth in pressure and clutch situations.

 

[Pi]

Can we please get an NHL D to parter with him?

Kostka is okay but he's not that good with Phaneuf.
Holzer is an AHL'er.

Jake Gardiner needs to be his partner.

 

[Rockinz]

He has been a horse! Thriving under Carlyle!

 

[waingr0]

He is a much better player compared to his Norris-nominated self.

 

[Al14]

Phaneuf has too many brain farts for my liking, but, overall I think he has done a lot better under Carlyle.

IMHO he is #1 'B' D in the NHL. I think he would be really great if he were paired with a true #1 'A' D or was 2nd pairing mainstay.

Reduce TOI would also help. At times, he seems to be out of gas!

 

[Amadeus]

I think he's playing well, and like a top pairing D-man.

I'd still like him to work more on his shot. I want to see the same Phaneuf I was used to seeing in Calgary.

He's become a better two-way defender, but I remember he was lightning fast in Calgary and had a rocket from the point. It's not the case anymore. Maybe concentrating on two-way hockey has taken away from other parts of his game. But I'm happy with him.

 

[Joey Hoser]

He's played great so far this year.

He needs some insulation beside him though. Not many defensemen can look good playing against the opponents top lines for 25+ minutes a night while they play with AHL defencemen.

Too bad the next best defenceman in the organization is still sitting on the Marlies. Starting to wonder about that now.

 

[Grandrift145]

phanuf is a verry good player

but he will always be scrutinized as the leafs captain untill they make the playoffs and win some series

then people will respect his skill

 

[SprDaVE]

A bit inconsistent, I must admit, but for the most part he's been really good, if not great.

He's a solid #1 defenseman that plays in every situation.

 

[Leaf_Crazy]

Started off the season well, went into a slump, and is back to playing well again...

Top 10 NHL D-man this year.

 

[TMLife*]

Liles/gardiner- phaneuf
Gunarsson-kostka/holzer
Fraser-franson

 

[SeenSchenn2]

He's a solid #1 d-man. He'd REALLY excel with a better version of Gunnarsson paired with him.

His numbers aren't pretty cause he's had the luxury of playign with Holzer/Kostka.

 

[legendinblue]

Very inconsistent.

 

[MastuhNinks]

I think he has been great considering what he's expected to do with the defensive partners he has. He struggled a bit early but he seems to have found his game back.

First 11 games:
0G 1A 1P, -7

Last 11 games:
4G 5A 9P, even

I should preface this by saying that I think +/- is a generally useless statistic without context, and when that context is playing some of the toughest minutes in the entire league (10th in Corsi Rel QoC, 5th in TOI/game) with Mike Kostka and Korbinian Holzer as your defensive partners, pretty much every defensemen is going to be a minus player.

He's a solid #1 d-man. He'd REALLY excel with a better version of Gunnarsson paired with him.

His numbers aren't pretty cause he's had the luxury of playign with Holzer/Kostka.

Assuming Gunnarsson's injuries aren't still nagging him I think he should be on the 1st pairing anyways. That pairing was the only bright-spot on the Leafs blueline not named Gardiner last year, in fact it was one of the more effective top pairings in the league.

 

[SeenSchenn2]

Assuming Gunnarsson's injuries aren't still nagging him I think he should be on the 1st pairing anyways. That pairing was the only bright-spot on the Leafs blueline not named Gardiner last year, in fact it was one of the more effective top pairings in the league.

You and I both. He definitely should be.

Gunnarsson-Phaneuf
Liles-Kostka/Komisarek
Fraser-Franson
Holzer

Throw in Gardiner whenever he's ready.

 

[Leafsdude7]

Overall, he's played better than last year. That said, he's still having mental gaffs and has a tendency to find himself deep in the offensive zone on a rush.

When he's playing good, he's been very good this year. He just hasn't been playing good for a decent number of games.

 

[MastuhNinks]

Overall, he's played better than last year. That said, he's still having mental gaffs and has a tendency to find himself deep in the offensive zone on a rush.

When he's playing good, he's been very good this year. He just hasn't been playing good for a decent number of games.

I think he has been very good the past 11 games. 67 point pace, very dependable defensively in all but 1 game (a game where the entire team played terrible).

I'm not sure I'd say he has overall been better than last year though, I feel like people don't realize how great of a season Phaneuf had last year.