Sportsnet: Phaneuf: I was too emotional to talk to the media

[achtungbaby]

I'm pleased that he did eventually speak to the media.

I'm sure that the team, his agents and Newport Sports had a big hand in him getting out and doing the radio rounds yesterday afternoon, but good on him.

Not only was his explanation reasonable enough, but I liked that he owned up to the mistake of not talking AND more importantly his performance.

As I've said this week, the questions about the leadership of this team will be feverish, frequent, difficult, and totally justified after the third collapse in three years. However, I do think that the problem is less with Phaneuf as a leader and more with the other leaders that he has in the group - quite frankly, I don't think this has a strong enough core; both from a skill set perspective, and a leadership perspective.

Agreed. It's better to eventually do the right thing then to never do it at all, we're all human. I also like that he owned up and admitted that it was a mistake to duck out, something some of his fans aren't willing to do yet.

 

[Ratboy]

It was funny when he said he made some bad mistakes that is uncharacteristic of his play. I think every one can agree that making big mistakes is a big part of how people view him. He kept making them at Calgary and even do he could be excused being a young d-man at the time, he keeps making them now as a veteran d-man with close to 700 NHL games.

Even his scouting report on THN talks about his inconsistency.

Assets: Owns a big shot from the point and good offensive instincts. Displays all-round acumen and is the total physical package. Owns impressive lateral movement and big-hitting ability. Is a leader, too. Can log a ton of ice time.
Flaws: Lacks consistency. His defensive-zone coverage leaves something to be desired at times, which negates his impact on the NHL a little. Can be a little too exhuberant at times in search of the big hit and gets out of position.
Career Potential: Inconsistent, all-round big-minute defenseman.

this was an exception though. i mean sometimes hes bad, but this time he was really bad.

hes usually better than that.

 

[cack]

Agreed. Sid Seixeiro is a drama queen.

The Toronto media knows their audience well.

 

[Antropovsky]

Does he actually only wear the red bull hat after wins? Haha that is beyond scum. "We lost? Better grab my lo-eaf hat!" In all seriousness, I do think this is a very disrespectful thing for dion to do, I mean, I'm sure being the leafs captain gives him all kind of sponsorship opportunities. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

Love that backes is making headlines for saving dogs, and ours is throwing a red bull hat on for every leaf win..... Rogers needs to ask red bull to bump the deal to 250,000 more per playoff round, then maybe we will get some heart out of him.

 

[Cor]

who gives a **** what hat he wears?

Jesus Christ

 

[Ari91]

A true leader would understand he's responsible for not only his own performance but also that of the team . It isn't acceptable for a leader to not feel personally responsible/emotional for losses if he believes his play is acceptable (which it hasn't been for a while now).

You're honestly reaching for the sake of complaining. It's perfectly reasonable for someone to feel extra crappy after loss when they played poorly in that loss. That doesn't mean that they don't feel any sense of responsibility or disappointment when the team loses even if they may have played a good individual game. For a leader, a loss should be a burden and I absolutely agree with that, but you're making a complaint based on an assumption you're making about his level of interest beyond his own individual performance.

He should have spoken to the media. That was a mistake on his part, one that he owned up to and since it isn't a regular occurrence no one needs to pop a blood vessel over it right now.

 

[The Legend]

Classless.
Cowardice.
Entitled.

As far as I'm concerned Dion threw his players under 2 buses. The first during the game. As evidenced by his performance.
The second when he bailed out afterwards and left his teammates to fend for themselves and explain what happened to the media.


This ranks right up there for me with him picking a fight with one of his teammates brothers (a rookie in the NHL no less)


You couldn't pay me enough money to have this guy on my team - let alone the captain.

I'm pretty sure you don't know the definition of "throwing someone under the bus"

 

[Bardown warrior]

Jonas Siegel ‏@jonasTSN1050 1m
Phaneuf : "I just didn’t play well enough...I wasn’t even close to the level that I have to play at and I accept responsibility for that."

 

[Hockey Talker29]

The fact that this thread exists lends credit to any player's argument for not coming to Toronto.

Phaneuf didn't speak to the media after the game. He had a perfectly reasonable explanation why.

He then went on a radio station which can be heard worldwide, and answered every question asked of him.

I understand the criticism for how he played in St. Louis. Everything after that is just crazy.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

I dont buy this. EVERYONE in Montreal is a Habs fan. All of the french media are to be sure. In Toronto we have a host of media from across Canada, including several from BC (you can probably guess who they are without looking it up, hint: they're very critical of the Leafs). Some are from Quebec. Some are from the US.

It is ingrained in the French media in Montreal to be Habs fans. For a large chunk of media in Toronto its ingrained to ridicule the Leafs

As GreekLeafer mentioned, the pressure that the Leafs are facing is no where near the pressure that soccer giants like Bayern, Real, Barcelona, etc. face on a regular basis. Those teams win despite the pressure and massive tabloidization of their personal lives on a scale that makes the whole Carlyle ok comment seem like nothing in comparison. Heck, some of those players are subjected to racist chants from their own fans during the actual game. I just think using the media to explain their poor play is a cheap scapegoat.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

The fact that this thread exists lends credit to any player's argument for not coming to Toronto.

Phaneuf didn't speak to the media after the game. He had a perfectly reasonable explanation why.

He then went on a radio station which can be heard worldwide, and answered every question asked of him.

I understand the criticism for how he played in St. Louis. Everything after that is just crazy.

Wasn't he suspended when Leafs played in St Louis?

 

[Indicate]

Dion acknowledged his mistakes and took responsibility. Non issue really.

 

[yubbers]

Dion acknowledged his mistakes and took responsibility. Non issue really.

So when he apologizes and takes responsibility for missing the playoffs this year in yet another choke of epic proportions, that's also a non issue for ya?

Or would you rather somebody who can step up when needed. Not the day after when it's already too late.

 

[Diatomic]

Dion acknowledged his mistakes and took responsibility. Non issue really.

He's gona play like crap again and say he takes responsibility, same crap over and over again. 2 years ago when we won like 6 out of our last 24 games and ended with a top 5 pick dumb dion said the same old bull****, "I take responsibility for how things turned out" bla bla bla and deja vu 2 years later the teams in a crap shoot again and dion's going to say the same crap.

Talk is cheap.

 

[rumman]

I'll reiterate,

Reimer had to do 5 of those interviews last week that may have been 'emotional' for him. Hell, his wife was getting blasted on Twitter as well. That would piss me off something special. But Dion has a bad game and can't be bothered

So reimer has more balls and character than our Captain

And you guys cant see how that's a problem? It shows this team has a weak leader.

If the last 3 years haven't

excellent point.

 

[Phaneuffan3]

So when he apologizes and takes responsibility for missing the playoffs this year in yet another choke of epic proportions, that's also a non issue for ya?

Or would you rather somebody who can step up when needed. Not the day after when it's already too late.

This is a team sport. The team takes responsibility, not one individual.

 

[rustysvetz]

Aye the Phaneuf threads are useless right now. Too many people soooo mad.

"He's not a leader, didnt talk to the media and doesnt take responsibility as captain"

*Phaneuf does exactly that

"Talk is cheap, we dont want a captain to talk he has to perform on the ice"

At least we can agree on that point but the moving goal posts of criticism is a laugh. Maybe return to this thread when people's panties aren't so bunched up.

 

[Parkdale]

If Phaneuf cannot even step up to his responsibility to the team and represent his teammates after a horrendous game, then he should resign as Captain. Apologizing 24 hour afterwards for not doing so is fine in itself, but is not fairy dust to make the issue go away. It would be intolerable if this is ever repeated. Playing well in the next 8 games and leading the team to the playoffs is also the responsibility of a captain of the Maple Leafs...hopefully he will handle this phase better. Words are cheap...action is what we need.

 

[yubbers]

This is a team sport. The team takes responsibility, not one individual.

When you keep getting the same result with different coaches, different goalies, why would you question leadership. The SAME captain that has accomplished nothing here but epic choke jobs can't be part of the problem can he?

Of course it's a team sport. Dions not fully to blame but he's a big part of the losing culture. See how he tucked his tail between his legs and ran away after the game? That's who you want leading this team?

I'm not mad. I've hated Phaneuf since the moment he arrived. I'm just glad he's getting outed for the horrible leader I and many others always knew he was. This particular situation may seem overblown and not a big deal to some. But it shows EXACTLY why this team can't man up. Our leader can't.

 

[topched]

I really don't respect the TO media, and it's for reasons like this.

This story is nothing but a soap opera over reaction created by media members. They know damn well that they need players to give them quotes so they can do their job. They rile up fans to react to Phaneuf not talking to them when in reality 90% of us could care less.

I would be totally fine if all of our players were like Phil and spoke to the press once a month. The post game quote in hockey is one of the most useless pieces of information in the entirety of sports.

 

[Dreakmur]

I really don't respect the TO media, and it's for reasons like this.

This story is nothing but a soap opera over reaction created by media members. They know damn well that they need players to give them quotes so they can do their job. They rile up fans to react to Phaneuf not talking to them when in reality 90% of us could care less.

I would be totally fine if all of our players were like Phil and spoke to the press once a month. The post game quote in hockey is one of the most useless pieces of information in the entirety of sports.

The NHL mandates much of the media availability. Each team to provide a minimum to the reporters.

If it was just a matter of Dion not going out, I wouldn't have an issue with it, but there is more to it. When Dion decides not to go out, somebody else has to take his place - that is league mandated. So it's not just Dion not talking. He is essentially sending somebody else out there to take the bullets. A real leader would protect his team from that. A real leader would say "you guys relax, I got this". A real leader would go out and take more of he blame then they deserve just to keep the heat off the reg if tr team.

 

[RaskY]

Did Phaneuf even want to be the captain of the team? Or did Burke just sort of awarded him it in which case it would have been difficult for Dion, being the new big arrival, to refuse.

Regardless, Phaneuf not speaking with the media following the loss is really insignificant and only a story in Toronto, because it's Toronto. When you look at the context of the game, it was probably one of the worst games I've seen from Phaneuf as a Maple Leaf. The team lost their 6th straight game, they're out of a playoff spot - the frustration must have been boiling. And then come the reporters after the game, waiting to get a word - he probably just had a "**** this ****" moment.

Bu honestly, so what? I understand he's the Captain, he's supposed to be the leader of this team, but what would have been the difference really if he had in-fact spoken to the media? What difference would it have made? We all know the kind of response he would give, something generic, and fans would still be pissed off.

This is really irrelevant, but only a story because it happened to the captain of the Maple Leafs.

 

[Parkdale]

Did Phaneuf even want to be the captain of the team? Or did Burke just sort of awarded him it in which case it would have been difficult for Dion, being the new big arrival, to refuse.

Regardless, Phaneuf not speaking with the media following the loss is really insignificant and only a story in Toronto, because it's Toronto. When you look at the context of the game, it was probably one of the worst games I've seen from Phaneuf as a Maple Leaf. The team lost their 6th straight game, they're out of a playoff spot - the frustration must have been boiling. And then come the reporters after the game, waiting to get a word - he probably just had a "**** this ****" moment.

Bu honestly, so what? I understand he's the Captain, he's supposed to be the leader of this team, but what would have been the difference really if he had in-fact spoken to the media? What difference would it have made? We all know the kind of response he would give, something generic, and fans would still be pissed off.

This is really irrelevant, but only a story because it happened to the captain of the Maple Leafs.

We are all entitled to our opinions here, but yours reflects the malaise that seems to permeate from this team. True, ultimately this is just a game for our collective enjoyment and there are much more important things going on in life, but if we lowly fans don't demand more, should we be expecting that much?? I expect much from the Captain of the Leafs and if he's not up to the task...he should just give it up to someone who treasures the honor more or it should be stripped from him.

 

[RaskY]

We are all entitled to our opinions here, but yours reflects the malaise that seems to permeate from this team. True, ultimately this is just a game for our collective enjoyment and there are much more important things going on in life, but if we lowly fans don't demand more, should we be expecting that much?? I expect much from the Captain of the Leafs and if he's not up to the task...he should just give it up to someone who treasures the honor more or it should be stripped from him.

So him giving a post-game interview and saying - we didn’t play hard enough, we made costly mistakes, we know we have to get going here, there are no excuses for the way we’re playing - would have honestly made a difference?

 

[Parkdale]

So him giving a post-game interview and saying - we didn’t play hard enough, we made costly mistakes, we know we have to get going here, there are no excuses for the way we’re playing - would have honestly made a difference?

I think it makes a difference for the Captain to stand up for his teammates who are taking the post-game heat on his behalf. Clearly, Phaneuf on reflection or on orders/advice from the Leafs/his agents thinks so also or else he would not have gone on the various media a day later to try to calm the waters. I realize that it would have been difficult for him to face the media after the game he just played...but then not all aspects of leadership are or should be easy.