My Sweet Shadow
Registered User
As a purely statistical approach:
Among the Canadian defensemen not on Team Canada, Phaneuf is:
T-11th in goals
T-9th in points
T-6th in +/-
T-9th in PPP
5th in TOI/GM
6th in SH TOI/GM
5th in PP TOI/GM
1st in Corsi Rel QoC (among ALL defensemen)
1st in Def Zone Start % (also among ALL defensemen)
There aren't many defensemen in the league who are relied on as heavily both offensively and defensively as Phaneuf, and even fewer who are anywhere near as successful. If it wasn't for the Leafs' huge slump leading up to the roster selection, he probably would have been in consideration for the actual team, so I would easily put Phaneuf among the top 14 Canadian d-men in the league.
Among the Canadian defensemen not on Team Canada, Phaneuf is:
T-11th in goals
T-9th in points
T-6th in +/-
T-9th in PPP
5th in TOI/GM
6th in SH TOI/GM
5th in PP TOI/GM
1st in Corsi Rel QoC (among ALL defensemen)
1st in Def Zone Start % (also among ALL defensemen)
There aren't many defensemen in the league who are relied on as heavily both offensively and defensively as Phaneuf, and even fewer who are anywhere near as successful. If it wasn't for the Leafs' huge slump leading up to the roster selection, he probably would have been in consideration for the actual team, so I would easily put Phaneuf among the top 14 Canadian d-men in the league.