Who is the better Leaf defenseman?

[Cor]

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Is this even close?

It's Franson without a doubt.

That is why Carlyle plays him 10 minutes less a game and against the far easier competition!

 

[firstemperor]

Franson's been the better defenseman THIS year.

 

[Kingstonian84*]

I hate when people ask "who is better then so and so"- Phaneuf has strengths to his game that Frason doesn't have, and Franson has stregths to his game that Phaneuf doesn't have. However when it comes to matching up against the other teams top lines and mins/game it's crystal clear Carlye has a lot more faith in Phaneuf then he does in Franson.

 

[firstemperor]

I hate when people ask "who is better then so and so"- Phaneuf has strengths to his game that Frason doesn't have, and Franson has stregths to his game that Phaneuf doesn't have. However when it comes to matching up against the other teams top lines and mins/game it's crystal clear Carlye has a lot more faith in Phaneuf then he does in Franson.

The OP made this thread because he was mad at the notion that anyone can suggest Franson's efficiency, by some metric that normalized ice time, QOC, etc. would have been close to, or if not better than Phaneuf this season. Some guys just have an ego to grind.

I suppose the next time anyone has a disagreement over a player comparison, making productive threads like this will be the first thing to do. Fortunately, I hold the rest of this board to higher esteem.

 

[highoffglass]

Franson has been a great surprise this year... But Dion is our best. Not sure why this is even a discussion..

I hope neither are going anywhere... really like them both

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Franson is incredibly immobile. He'll get exposed on the top pairing. He's going to need high level positioning and stick work to be able to stick. There's a reason why Crosby attacked Franson's side every time on Saturday when he got put on the top pairing except for the one time Crosby got a step on Phaneuf. With how tight other teams play Phaneuf and Kessel, and Kessel's tendency to stay on the outside on the PP it's not shocking that Franson is putting up numbers. He needs to shoot more though. Good player but it's not close.

I've come to terms that Phaneuf won't get the respect he deserves. Maybe when the team is good.

 

[Epictetus]

This thread is going nowhere.

If you want to rationally discuss Dion Phaneuf, please see the Phaneuf thread.

Closed.