TSN: Dion almost signed? Mod warning post #277

[hockeyes]

because a timeout would have stopped that onslaught.

Jesus.

No but it might have let the team regroup instead of standing around gasping for air.

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

Where was our leader in game #7 against Boston???

Oh, yeah, letting Chara and company come back from a 4-1 lead with under 11 minutes left in the 3rd period.

What did our leader do to prevent Lucic from scoring that goal from in front of our net? Oh, yeah, NOTHING!

That's LEADERSHIP.

Twenty-nine captains fail every year.

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

lupul or bolland would be my choices.



sometimes you need your best players to step up and every time dion tries that it backfires more then anything. he hasn't done any of that this season which is why he looks good.

I guess there's two ways to look at this. Either (1) Phaneuf just ain't captain material or (2) the captain-myth is ridiculous and Phaneuf is a better player when he plays within himself instead of trying to do too much and "carry the team on his back."

Every championship hockey club has loads of guys who can step up and make a series-defining play. If it happens to be the captain, I guess that's "true leadership"?

 

[Daisy Jane]

I dont understand this idea that Dion is a bad captain or that someone else would be better in that roll.

He is probably the best 2way player on the team, he plays the most minutes. He is always willing to face the media no matter what happened during that game. He seems very well liked and respected by the rest of the team. He has personally called FAs to lure them to Toronto.
He may not be the greatest captain in the league but I dont see what evidence there is to show that someone like Lupul or JVR, the 2 names I see suggested the most would do a better job.

Because Lupul is pretty & well spoken and also pretty. Duuuhhh.

Dion is a very good captain, for what we see.
And something I think what most people need to realise is that by Dion being a Captain - it allows people like Lupul (who is pretty, well spoken and also pretty) to take on more "leadership actions" (one could say - Lupul is Roberts to Dion's Sundin. Sundin Captain'ed, Roberts led. Until you know Roberts left and Sundin took a crap team all on his back for the next 4-5 years after that).

if the only thing Dion wants is a .500 raise (he's 6.5 right now?) for seven years - in a guaranteed rising cap world - you take it and run. The end. the UFA class isn't that hot - and I don't think next years is either.

Okay -after checking capgeek, Marc "Team Canada" Methot is available. we should clearly wait a year and sign him. [actually - 2015's UFA class is kinda decent].

anyway - Dion is good. and you build around him. if something awesome happens and we get someone better than him, and he's your 2nd defenseman (or your THIRD?) that's still a good thing.

 

[34]

All Captains are terrible leaders until they win a cup.

Not always, Sundin was an amazing Captain! The guy was awesome on and off the ice. He lead by example.

#13

 

[Warden of the North]

Look i'm a leafs fan & i'm against giving a long term deal to dion. It's not because he is a bad player but because we will never, in a million year, win anything while he is our best D man/captain

Who says hes always going to be our best dman? What if Reilly surpasses him in a few years?

 

[34]

Who says hes always going to be our best dman? What if Reilly surpasses him in a few years?

You got that right Sabre... and Reilly will easily pass him.

 

[yubbers]

I bet you cant name a single defenseman who has been better than him defensively this year

In 06 /07 you would have had a hard time naming a forward that was much better than Blake offensively.

 

[ECanuck]

Leadership needs to come from the captain but from many others too. If our team does have a big leadership void then it is a sign of a much bigger problem that just Dion's roll.

It is probably a big part of the reason Bolland was brought in over the summer.

Wolf pack mentality.

The only times teams look very bad is when they are not playing together. The confidence level is low. If a team scores two goals they think the game is over. If they score 2 goals they think the other team is going to come back.

Leafs have the wolf pack mentality for the wrong reasons.

Play hard and play together. The intimidation will eventually fade.

 

[frankthetank91]

You got that right Sabre... and Reilly will easily pass him.

What makes you so sure? Phaneuf was better than Rielly at his age.

 

[yubbers]

because a timeout would have stopped that onslaught.

Jesus.

Ya. Trying to slow things down and kill an opposing teams momentum never works. We'll of course never know if it would've helped but it was plain stupidity any way you look at it

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

In 06 /07 you would have had a hard time naming a forward that was much better than Blake offensively.

Yeah, it might be hard to think of any forwards on the Leafs that were better than Blake that year.

 

[tamle]

Because Lupul is pretty & well spoken and also pretty. Duuuhhh.

But did you see the guy's acting skill?

Exhibit A:


Stay tune for Exhibit B (on HBO)

 

[34]

What makes you so sure? Phaneuf was better than Rielly at his age.

I don't hate Phaneuf at all. I think he can be effective but I don't believe he is a $7M/player. BUT that is just my opinion. I love Dion @ $4.5M/5 years but not $7M/7 years.

If you watch Reilly skate already at 19 y/o the kid is amazing. Will he make mistakes... Of coarse he will, he is 19. His hockey IQ is already very impressive and he has a nice first pass out of our zone. I think this kid will be a real stud in years to come! Dare I say PK Subban good.

 

[Al14]

That is on the team as well. This is a team game. Quit blaming all on phaneuf.
Plus he was banged up..
Sure blame dion. Do you know what team is?

I guess not

The team reflects its leadership! If the $6.5M dman, and team captain, can't be bothered to cover, and attempt to prevent a goal through hard work, why should teammates making far less money put themselves out? This is a fact of human nature!

Phaneuf definitely exhibits some lazy tendencies from time to time. This is observed by some of us as fans, and you can bet his teammates see it too.

 

[The Thin White Duke]

I don't hate Phaneuf at all. I think he can be effective but I don't believe he is a $7M/player. BUT that is just my opinion. I love Dion @ $4.5M/5 years but not $7M/7 years.

If you watch Reilly skate already at 19 y/o the kid is amazing. Will he make mistakes... Of coarse he will, he is 19. His hockey IQ is already very impressive and he has a nice first pass out of our zone. I think this kid will be a real stud in years to come! Dare I say PK Subban good.

Man..

Wisniewski and Carle got more than that, with a lower cap, and they're not half the defensemen that Dion is. I get that some people don't think he's worth 7x7, but how are you going to replace him? Any UFA that's as good as he is will cost 7/year, any trade to get an RFA close to his level is going to completely gut our assets, and drafting someone as good as him will take at least a couple years of bottoming out and even then you have to wait for the player to develop. Phaneuf is simply the best fitting option at this point in time, and if 7x7 is what it takes, pay the man his money.

 

[Al14]

Who says hes always going to be our best dman? What if Reilly surpasses him in a few years?

If Rielly surpasses Phaneuf, he'll want to be PAID! Let's hope we have cap space when, and if, that happens!

 

[cyris]

Who says hes always going to be our best dman? What if Reilly surpasses him in a few years?

Wouldn't that still be a good thing?
Having 2 great Dmen is better than having one.

 

[DaveT83*]

DION was a problem child in Calgary - he was run out of that organization.

Whats the best way to take a poisonous employee and make them a more productive member of your team? You give them more responsibility.

Dion's captaincy was nothing more than that.


Sign and trade this bum for anything thats offered.

 

[cyris]

You got that right Sabre... and Reilly will easily pass him.

I dont know about easily. Dion Phaneuf is a very good player. Rielly certainly has the potential to be better at his absolute ceiling but few prospects meet their absolute ceiling.

 

[cyris]

DION was a problem child in Calgary - he was run out of that organization.

Whats the best way to take a poisonous employee and make them a more productive member of your team? You give them more responsibility.

Dion's captaincy was nothing more than that.


Sign and trade this bum for anything thats offered.

Yes they made him the captain for years just so they could wait till his value was lowered because he was an impending UFA and then trade him.

Makes perfect sense.

 

[ECanuck]

If Rielly surpasses Phaneuf, he'll want to be PAID! Let's hope we have cap space when, and if, that happens!

7 Million could very likely look like 4 million in today's cap by the time Rielly will want to get paid.

 

[cyris]

Because Lupul is pretty & well spoken and also pretty. Duuuhhh.

Dion is a very good captain, for what we see.
And something I think what most people need to realise is that by Dion being a Captain - it allows people like Lupul (who is pretty, well spoken and also pretty) to take on more "leadership actions" (one could say - Lupul is Roberts to Dion's Sundin. Sundin Captain'ed, Roberts led. Until you know Roberts left and Sundin took a crap team all on his back for the next 4-5 years after that).

if the only thing Dion wants is a .500 raise (he's 6.5 right now?) for seven years - in a guaranteed rising cap world - you take it and run. The end. the UFA class isn't that hot - and I don't think next years is either.


Okay -after checking capgeek, Marc "Team Canada" Methot is available. we should clearly wait a year and sign him. [actually - 2015's UFA class is kinda decent].

anyway - Dion is good. and you build around him. if something awesome happens and we get someone better than him, and he's your 2nd defenseman (or your THIRD?) that's still a good thing.

hmmm I could be misreading this but I get the impression you think Lupes is pretty???

The UFA class always looks stronger when your over a year out. Teams cant sign guys to an extension until they are in the last year of their deal so a lot of those guys will end up getting resigned. Methot would be a great addition but he is probably going to be resigned before he gets there.

I'm starting to like the idea of Dan Girardi more and more. Local boy who is a RH shot, used to playing first pairing mins and plays a tough physical game.

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

Who says hes always going to be our best dman? What if Reilly surpasses him in a few years?

If Rielly plays less than 40 games this year, his UFA years will not overlap at all with Dion's rumoured contract. (Otherwise, it's only a one-year overlap, obviously.)

Also, if the cap is $71M next year, it's not unrealistic that it hits $80M with the Rogers TV contract a couple of years from now. 30% of capspace ($24M of $80M) is a "fair" amount for your defensive corps. (Edit: personally I'd go above 30% for a good group of 6 guys though. Save money on the bottom 6 forwards.)

With Gunnar at 3.3M, that leaves close to $10M for the your other two top four D-men, and $4M to split between your 5 and 6 guys.

 

[Pyromaniac3]

I'm starting to like the idea of Dan Girardi more and more. Local boy who is a RH shot, used to playing first pairing mins and plays a tough physical game.

Question, does local boy want to leave a good thing and come to worse team just so he can play in his hometown?