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Part 1: Dion Phaneuf: Underrated if anything

WeWantACup

WeWantACup

Registered User
Oct 15, 2011
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Toronto
www.wewantacup.com
Over the last couple of years, if you’ve listened to what fans and media alike have had to say about Dion Phaneuf, you’d probably run yourself mad.

http://www.wewantacup.com/headlines/1702-part-1-dion-phaneuf-underrated-if-anything

dion%20p%202.jpg
 
Funny, everyone calls him overrated and hates on him, and as soon as there is a whisper he could leave Toronto, it's all "he is a very good player, and not many D would be an upgrade" and ****

(Not WWC specifically, just generally in the media)
 
I love Phaneuf, I hope we can sign him long term at what he's making or slightly less.

I'd be a bit ticked off if he got a raise.
 
As usual, someone using stats to prove an invalid point. There's so much to his game that he doesn't do well, where there are no stats attributed to it, that the truly elite players in the league actually do well. It's a shame there are so many that lack objectivity.

He's completely overrated by the majority of people. People talk about him as if he's deserving of 25 minutes a game in the olympics. there's a lot of grey area in hockey, and stats can be deceiving. on a team that lacks established top tiered talent on the blue line. he's option 1 of 1... There's your stats.

I remember when McCabe was one of "the top 10 dmen in the league"

/end thread
 
Very glad to have Phaneuf on our team. Happy to see some positive "press" about him. :)
 
He's a top 10-15 defenseman who is constantly derided as being overrated.... which makes him absurdly underrated.

There are few other players who could handle such tough minutes and still be in the top ten for scoring amongst defensemen, let alone throw some of the biggest hits of any defenseman, fight, be used extensively in all situations and wear the 'C' for the most popular team in the league.... all while paired with the likes of Korbinian Holzer and Mike Kostka.
 
Lets be honest. He's a defenceman every team in the league would love to have. It still absolutely astounds me that we were able to pick him up for what amounted to a bunch of scrubs. It's the kind of trade that would have been rightfully laughed at if someone proposed it on hfboards.
 
Jeff O'Neill on TSN radio a few days ago said that Phaneuf wouldn't even be in Chicago's top 4, and that Leddy and Oduya are both better defensemen. Stuff like that just makes you shake your head and wonder how some of these mouth breathers get hired to be NHL analysts.
 
I'm sure Dion Phaneuf will always have a mixed following. He does some things really well and he does some things quite poorly. For example, he seems to get caught without his feet moving a lot and he doesn't have great hands. But he has a big upside with his physicality and shooting (when its on target). How people see him probably depends on how important they think those skills are.
 
He's a better shut down defenceman than Oduya/ Hjaalmarsson and can produce well offensively as well.

I'd take him.

Ironically, he's overrated and yet we can somehow use him to acquire a #1 centre as well.
 
Phanuef is good when he's not playing 30 minutes. He seems to hit a wall anywhere after about 25 minutes and just makes boneheaded plays. We all saw in the regular season how good he can be, and then we all saw when the minutes went up how he can struggle. We need another guy of his caliber or better to help out and eat those minutes in the playoffs.
 
The problem with Dion is just as his scouting report said. He is both amazing and terrible. When he is on he is on, when off he is off. He can play 24 mins of outstanding hockey the go to crap for the next 2 and lose a game for you.

He honestly should be a 20min player, the extra he doesn't move his feet for.
 
No team, will ever win the cup with phaneuf as the no 1 d, if you are ok with permanent mediocrity then you are ok with phaneuf. Most Toronto fans only know mediocrity and seem easily fooled by anything approaching a shinny penny. No team will ever win with him as the number 1, not unless he vastly improves physically and gets a brain transplant.
 
GrabsOverHabs said:
I'm sure Dion Phaneuf will always have a mixed following. He does some things really well and he does some things quite poorly. For example, he seems to get caught without his feet moving a lot and he doesn't have great hands. But he has a big upside with his physicality and shooting (when its on target). How people see him probably depends on how important they think those skills are.
Click to expand...

I think part of the problem is that he's not the easiest personality to like - he's a bit hard to warm up to...and b/c of that, it's easy to zone in on the negatives about him as a player...to a degree, Kessel experiences the same problem (although, Kessel is much better at his position than Phaneuf is at his own).

The thing about Phaneuf is that whether or not he is, in some abstract sense, a #1D, he's undeniably the Leafs #1D and they don't have anyone available who would readily replace him - and someone like Letang, in the absence of Phaneuf, would make the Leafs' hole at D bigger, not smaller.

The_Chosen_One said:
He's a better shut down defenceman than Oduya/ Hjaalmarsson and can produce well offensively as well.

I'd take him.

Ironically, he's overrated and yet we can somehow use him to acquire a #1 centre as well.
Click to expand...

I just want to point out that Hammer and Oduya aren't on the same level - Hammer's much better. I agree that Hammer's not as good as Phaneuf - but he also has an AAV of $3m less. However, in a more general sense - if you're talking about as a replacement then, no - Hammer certainly wouldn't be able to replace Phaneuf. Value for contract is a completely different question - but the question doesn't really matter if there's no one who can replace Phaneuf.
 
holden57 said:
Phanuef is good when he's not playing 30 minutes. He seems to hit a wall anywhere after about 25 minutes and just makes boneheaded plays. We all saw in the regular season how good he can be, and then we all saw when the minutes went up how he can struggle. We need another guy of his caliber or better to help out and eat those minutes in the playoffs.
Click to expand...

It would help if he shortens his shift lengths. Part of that however is from the poor play from the forwards in getting the puck out.
 
Phaneuf is underrated because he's constantly called overrated. I'll never understand how a guy can be called overrated when nobody thinks highly of him in the first place.
 
I'll be honest, I'm not Phaneufs biggest fan, He often appears lazy in his own end and his hockey I.Q (specifically his defensive I.Q) seems to be pretty low.

With that being said, Phaneuf is probably the MVP on the Leafs, If Phaneuf gets injured we literally have no one on the roster who can expect to replace the minutes he logs.
 
wulfio said:
As usual, someone using stats to prove an invalid point. There's so much to his game that he doesn't do well, where there are no stats attributed to it, that the truly elite players in the league actually do well. It's a shame there are so many that lack objectivity.

He's completely overrated by the majority of people. People talk about him as if he's deserving of 25 minutes a game in the olympics. there's a lot of grey area in hockey, and stats can be deceiving. on a team that lacks established top tiered talent on the blue line. he's option 1 of 1... There's your stats.

I remember when McCabe was one of "the top 10 dmen in the league"

/end thread
Click to expand...

Why use stats when you can counter with conclusive evidence like this.
 
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