Phaneuf is a plug.

[MakeTheIronSing]

Yep.

I keep going back to those 3 days at the beginning of March that the Leafs had off, and despite having them off Phaneuf still missed the practice and game-day skate.

He's been ailing with something.

I do sympathize in that regard, but if he's hurting that bad, then simply put he can't be playing - he's a liability out there.

That's where I think coach Carlyle has to come in and either say enough is enough and scratch him, or significantly reduce his minutes.

Carlyle's system has absolutely worn Phaneuf down. The guy is breaking down and falling apart day-by-day

What a bunch of garbage. Let me tell you something. Every hockey player is injured in some way or another. It's a physical season that last months on end. Every player is out there is battling something that doesn't go away until the end of the season or even later.

Don't try and pull back on Phaneuf's play by saying "he's a victim of coaching" or "he's ailing something" because that's the case for everyone.

 

[yubbers]

If Phaneuf was on any other team, fans around here would be drooling over him

Agreed. Fans with the Hockley sense of a golden retreiver

 

[MakeTheIronSing]

Geez, many ppl here had DP as a top ten defender in the NHL just a couple of months ago?

Those people are now eating an all you can eat buffet of crow right now. Some people may be saying that. Some people never have. I'm glad not to be in the "many" in your mind.

 

[MakeTheIronSing]

That is a terribly scary thought defensively

Have you been watching this team this year? Every line is scary defensively, What's the difference who it is? It can't get any worse and people will be terrified if it gets better.

 

[diceman934]

No excuses for Dion from me.....

There are a lot of players playing hurt at this time of the year and to excuse his play because of a possible injury is wrong. He is good enough to play. Remember Gilmour playing with a injury so bad that he had to have injections every game....yet he still was the best player on the ice and it never effected his decision making.

Unless Dion has a brain injury, he has no excuses for his poor decisions. As for him not being available after the game.....what a joke as the captain of the team you need to hold your self accountable for the teams play on the ice. This is just another example of what a piss poor leader he is. This is not the first time he has done this....remember when Komi came out to talk and take the blame for the team.

 

[Raging Bull]

His mobility was never that great to begin with, but after the Olympic break he's been skating in sand. Some kind of groin injury would be my guess.

Not going to comment on his leadership because I don't know what he's like in the room, but I do agree he probably should have came out and addressed the media after his poor game last night.

 

[jimmycarter]

i think he has a permanent brain injury.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

His mobility was never that great to begin with, but after the Olympic break he's been skating in sand. Some kind of groin injury would be my guess.

Yeah, I wonder that my self. I of course then realize that his groin must be located between his ears.

 

[Raging Bull]

Yeah, I wonder that my self. I of course then realize that his groin must be located between his ears.

Well, lots of people think he's a (Edit)-head so maybe you're right.

 

[hockeyes]

The problem with Phaneuf is he is apparently always playing injured or playing too many minutes etc.

He isn't some high intensity physical juggernaut out there where you expect him to always be hurt due to his play style. He always slows down going into the corner to protect himself instead of making a quick play then bracing for a hit. He rarely lays a hit when trying to retrieve the puck, it's always just an attempt to pin so he can lean on a guy for a few seconds. That is assuming he isn't standing 3 feet away just watching the player and actually skated towards the puck. He almost never gets involved in anything after the whistle, he just tries to skate away or shove a glove and hide. Throwing the odd huge hit doesn't make your overall game physical.

I am not criticizing him for protecting himself, that is fine, but if you play like that and have an overall leisurely play style you can't always be injured and gassed unless your doing something really wrong in your conditioning.

 

[rustysvetz]

8 games left...the ball is in his court.

That's it. Injury or no, it's time for him (and the entire team for that matter) to, pardon my referencings those threads from last year, step up or get shipped out.

All that counts in sports is results, I understand that as well. I don't really subscribe to the believe that "he doesn't show up in big games" just yet.. though I can admit when a pattern seems to be forming and that is hard to ignore. I just want to give him that benefit because I've seen the play he is capable of and just how beneficial he is to our team when he is that Dion Phaneuf.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Phaneuf catches too much flak, but right now he deserves it. Sometimes he catches it when he doesn't.



If you think our defense is bad with Phaneuf, I'd be very interested to know what you think of it if he is ever traded.



Well, it's rebuild time folks. We had our chance, window is closed.

 

[richardn]

Trade Phaneuf to Philly for Luke Schenn at least he's not an over payed pylon. It boggles my mind how much money and term Nonis handed over to Phaneuf. He stopped playing the day he signed that contract.

 

[HockeyThoughts]

Yes let's all pile on the one defenseman who has carried our ridiculously poor defense core not only this season also over but the past 2-3 seasons. He plays all of ES/PP/PK and has played them quite well throughout the season. Every single one of us realize how bad the defense is and how our only truly consistent compotent pairing throughout the season has been Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunarsson. You don't think it takes a toll on Phaneuf having to shut down the top opposition at both ES and PK? Now he looks like he's recovering from an injury yet his minutes haven't tailed off. The onus should be on Randy Carlyle to entrust his other defenseman and redistribute the time a little more effectively.

Phaneuf catches too much flak, but right now he deserves it. Sometimes he catches it when he doesn't.



If you think our defense is bad with Phaneuf, I'd be very interested to know what you think of it if he is ever traded.



Well, it's rebuild time folks. We had our chance, window is closed.

Yes, one of the youngest team's in the league must now trade away all their players and start over again!

Brilliant idea!

Trade Phaneuf to Philly for Luke Schenn at least he's not an over payed pylon.

 

[blueberrie]

Yes, one of the youngest team's in the league must now trade away all their players and start over again!

Brilliant idea!

Who's left on our roster that will significantly improve? Rielly, Kadri and possibly Gardiner. No blue-chips in the system. If they all hit their max potential (unlikely) then the Leafs will possibly be a consistent playoff team.

This youngest team thing is overstated. All our leaders are in their prime and won't be getting better. Yet they can't even consistently close out a game/season, play half decent defence or make the playoffs.

Most people are advocating keeping the young guys and building around them. The clock is ticking for Kessel, Lupul, Phaneuf to show us any success in Toronto.

 

[MakeTheIronSing]

Phaneuf catches too much flak, but right now he deserves it. Sometimes he catches it when he doesn't.



If you think our defense is bad with Phaneuf, I'd be very interested to know what you think of it if he is ever traded.



Well, it's rebuild time folks. We had our chance, window is closed.

You're probably right.

The one thing that really bothers me tho is when people say, "if you trade Phaneuf there is nobody else" as if a trade goes one way with nothing in return. Trading him for a purely defensive defenseman and a prospect is better than Phaneuf imo.

Other possibilities though?

Marc Staal is a free agent in 2015. Along with Johnny Boychuk and Brad Stuart.

Staal is an instant replacement for Dion Phaneuf in pretty much every way.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Yes, one of the youngest team's in the league must now trade away all their players and start over again!

Brilliant idea!

I was kidding. We had no window.


Well sort of. Our group needs a rebuild of sorts. Possibly classified as a "retool"?

We need a stronger defensive presence, from defenseman to forwards to coaching/system. This much I think is obvious.

I don't mean we should trade Kessel, Kadri, Gardiner, Rielly, etc. (AKA the young guys) for picks, but I do think we need personnel changes because the level of collapses this team is capable of is staggering and frustrating, from Ron Wilson's 18-wheeler to the present day streak.

 

[Commander Clueless]

You're probably right.

The one thing that really bothers me tho is when people say, "if you trade Phaneuf there is nobody else" as if a trade goes one way with nothing in return. Trading him for a purely defensive defenseman and a prospect is better than Phaneuf imo.

Other possibilities though?

Marc Staal is a free agent in 2015. Along with Johnny Boychuk and Brad Stuart.

Staal is an instant replacement for Dion Phaneuf in pretty much every way.

Honestly I think Phaneuf is a better defenseman than he gets credit for on average (overrated by some fans when he's playing well, and then shat on by those same fans when he's not). That said, I'm not opposed to moving him. We need a culture change and moving him could be a big component of that if Nonis/whoever chooses that course of action.

He's not irreplaceable, but top pairing D are not easy to come by.


Marc Staal is still a solid defenseman, but he looks like he's not the player he once was.

 

[MakeTheIronSing]

Honestly I think Phaneuf is a better defenseman than he gets credit for on average (overrated by some fans when he's playing well, and then shat on by those same fans when he's not). That said, I'm not opposed to moving him. We need a culture change and moving him could be a big component of that if Nonis/whoever chooses that course of action.

He's not irreplaceable, but top pairing D are not easy to come by.


Marc Staal is still a solid defenseman, but he looks like he's not the player he once was.

So what you're saying is... we'd literally be replacing Phaneuf haha

 

[Commander Clueless]

So what you're saying is... we'd literally be replacing Phaneuf haha

Essentially, but it's all about the price.

 

[Pierre Gotye]

I don't agree with the Phaneuf criticism.

The guy has clearly been over-extended, and over-used.

The Leafs meanwhile, spend way too much time turning over the puck, and playing catchup with leads. That's not Dion's fault.

The guy is tired. He's worn out. I'm sure he's also playing injured on most nights.

The Leafs just suck. Hockey is a team game. Randy deserves the blame for implementing such a stupid defensive system that clearly doesn't work.

Nonis deserves a lot of the blame for adding or removing key pieces that helped keeping the Leafs competitive.

Grabovksi was a step-backwards
MacArthur was a step-backwards
Komarov was a step-backwards
Clarkson was a step-backwards
McLaren was a step-backwards

Ranger was a good addition
Bernier was a good addition
Raymond was a good addition.
Gleason was a good addition.

So what's wrong here?

 

[yubbers]

Yes let's all pile on the one defenseman who has carried our ridiculously poor defense core not only this season also over but the past 2-3 seasons.

Read that out loud to yourself

 

[MakeTheIronSing]

I don't agree with the Phaneuf criticism.

The guy has clearly been over-extended, and over-used.

The Leafs meanwhile, spend way too much time turning over the puck, and playing catchup with leads. That's not Dion's fault.

The guy is tired. He's worn out. I'm sure he's also playing injured on most nights.

The Leafs just suck. Hockey is a team game. Randy deserves the blame for implementing such a stupid defensive system that clearly doesn't work.

Nonis deserves a lot of the blame for adding or removing key pieces that helped keeping the Leafs competitive.

Grabovksi was a step-backwards
MacArthur was a step-backwards
Komarov was a step-backwards
Clarkson was a step-backwards
McLaren was a step-backwards

Ranger was a good addition
Bernier was a good addition
Raymond was a good addition.
Gleason was a good addition.

So what's wrong here?

Dion Phaneuf turns the puck over like the puck is made of anthrax and the opposition is a vaccine. He's to blame as much as anyone else. Added to this, he is the leader. What's the point of a leader if you're as bad as the rest of the team and turn the puck over the same way a rookie or 3rd liner does?

Again, "overstreched". Please. He's no different than any other player. They are all asked to perform at a high level. It's the nhl. Everyone is banged up. Everyone is fighting something.

 

[Sonofamitch]

NHL needs to adopt a guaranteed contract system like the nfl. This would allow teams to cut guys like Clarkson who don't play up to their pay, and maybe even Phaneuf down the road if he can't pick up his play.

 

[Paradoc]

Yup he totally is.