Phaneuf is not a top 20 dman but in toronto he is #1
Why he was on canadas long list no clue he would look foolish on big ice
Is nonis trades him great but losing him as a ufa would be stupid
Nonis will be critized either way
- moe64

I think Girardi can be had far cheaper and is just as effective

I think Girardi can be had far cheaper and is just as effective
- Bieksa#3

True
Would love him
Cant remember last time we had a good defensive dman

It's hard to crack the lineup with 5 superstars ahead of you on the depth chart...Vancouver was wise not to deal Edler for that top 5 pick!
- GardinerExpress

Did no nuts tell you Vancouver got offered that

True
Would love him
Cant remember last time we had a good defensive dman
- moe64

Look at the current production of Dion and Bieksa. Look at their career production. They are pretty comparable. KB makes 4.6. Your gonna give neon 7 plus mill over 7 yrs?

True
Would love him
Cant remember last time we had a good defensive dman
- moe64

IMO Toronto has talent put the make up of their team is awful. To many offensive defense men and not enough defensive.

Everyone trashing Dion on here (including the idiotic Canucks fans) have not been watching Dion play. HE IS A TOP 20 D-MAN IN THE NHL. Is he the best? no. Should he be on team Canada? no. But he will get at least 7 million per year. This is fine in my books because in 3-4 years the cap will probably be 15 million higher...

You are all just jealous that he is rich, plays in the center of the hockey universe and is married to Elisha...

this..Dion is not the problem, the bottom pairing has been miserable all year with the combination of Rielly, Danger Ranger and Fraser. If we had another steady stay at home type to play with Rielly, we would be fine.

If we win Saturday, we catch Detroit and could move 6 points clear of the bubble teams chasing us, so not all doom and gloom
- GardinerExpress

Bingo

Get Dion a good partner and we have one of the best 1-2 dmen in the league...

Everyone trashing Dion on here (including the idiotic Canucks fans) have not been watching Dion play. HE IS A TOP 20 D-MAN IN THE NHL. Is he the best? no. Should he be on team Canada? no. But he will get at least 7 million per year. This is fine in my books because in 3-4 years the cap will probably be 15 million higher...

You are all just jealous that he is rich, plays in the center of the hockey universe and is married to Elisha...
- Hockey_Reverend

And just look at all the suits the guy owns...

Everyone trashing Dion on here (including the idiotic Canucks fans) have not been watching Dion play. HE IS A TOP 20 D-MAN IN THE NHL. Is he the best? no. Should he be on team Canada? no. But he will get at least 7 million per year. This is fine in my books because in 3-4 years the cap will probably be 15 million higher...

You are all just jealous that he is rich, plays in the center of the hockey universe and is married to Elisha...
- Hockey_Reverend

Im okay with him staying or going
Toronto is criticized more than any team
This league is too good and he cant turn toronto into a team like LA or st louis on his own
I wonder how he would look on those teams. Likely pretty good
Like i said we cant lose him and get nothing back

Nonis will sign him. if you look at the moves he's made since taking over (trading draft picks, signing Clarkson), he's clearly in "win now" mode. letting Phaneuf walk would be counter-productive to that strategy and make it look like he's just making this up as he goes.
- DoubleDown

Nonis is trying to win now, but not at the expense of the future of the team. Which is why when all the injuries and suspsension to the top 3 C's on the team happened, he went out and brought in Holland over a veteran player.

Letting Phaneuf walk isn't counter productive to his plan. It would be no different than letting Grabo and Mac walk or get bought out in the summer, and trading for Bolland. If Nonis feels keeping and retaining Phaneuf will do more harm than good for the team long term, then he won't hesitate to let him walk.

This would be like saying that the signings of Briere and Parros means the Habs are in win now mode, so it would be counter productive if they don't sign all their veteran UFA's this summer.

Im okay with him staying or going
Toronto is criticized more than any team
This league is too good and he cant turn toronto into a team like LA or st louis on his own
I wonder how he would look on those teams. Likely pretty good
Like i said we cant lose him and get nothing back
- moe64

Good point and question. How would Dion look on LA paired with Doughty or Muzzin. Or St. Louis with Pieterangelo or Shattenkirk.

I would bet pretty good. After all, he's had Gunnarson for 3 years. The above would be significantly better.

Everyone trashing Dion on here (including the idiotic Canucks fans) have not been watching Dion play. HE IS A TOP 20 D-MAN IN THE NHL. Is he the best? no. Should he be on team Canada? no. But he will get at least 7 million per year. This is fine in my books because in 3-4 years the cap will probably be 15 million higher...

You are all just jealous that he is rich, plays in the center of the hockey universe and is married to Elisha...
- Hockey_Reverend

waaaaaaah leave brittany alone

IMO. Im no Leafs fan. But to the Leafs yes. He's worth what ever they can get him signed to. They dont have one Dman better than him. Most people saying no will look at theyre own favorite team and think he isnt. Then I would agree. But this is about what hes worth the the Leafs. Theyre far worse off without him. He's gonna get paid.

Nonis is trying to win now, but not at the expense of the future of the team. Which is why when all the injuries and suspsension to the top 3 C's on the team happened, he went out and brought in Holland over a veteran player.

Letting Phaneuf walk isn't counter productive to his plan. It would be no different than letting Grabo and Mac walk or get bought out in the summer, and trading for Bolland. If Nonis feels keeping and retaining Phaneuf will do more harm than good for the team long term, then he won't hesitate to let him walk.

This would be like saying that the signings of Briere and Parros means the Habs are in win now mode, so it would be counter productive if they don't sign all their veteran UFA's this summer.
- systemtool

Its easier to let forwards go esp when you have some in the pipeline to come up than it is your top ice time and best dman. Those forwards werent your best.

If Dion's agent is asking for $50 million, over 7 years, Nonis should counter with 8+8+8+7+6+5+4+4 = $50 million over 8 years, for a cap hit of 6.25.

Make no mistake though, if he becomes available as an UFA in July, there will be 30 teams in on it, and a few GM's will offer $8 mill per x 7 years.

If Dion's agent is asking for $50 million, over 7 years, Nonis should counter with 8+8+8+7+6+5+4+4 = $50 million over 8 years, for a cap hit of 6.25.

Make no mistake though, if he becomes available as an UFA in July, there will be 30 teams in on it, and a few GM's will offer $8 mill per x 7 years.
- The Shrike

And then he can be the worst signing of the summer.

Kinda like Clarkson was to us this year.

IMO Toronto has talent put the make up of their team is awful. To many offensive defense men and not enough defensive.
- Bieksa#3

Hey, if they could teach Niedermayer how to play defense in New Jersey, then Randy should be able to do it with Gardiner.

And then he can be the worst signing of the summer.

Kinda like Clarkson was to us this year.
- Pikey Fan

He proved his worth in New Jersey, so I'd like a longer look at him before I jump to any conclusions yet. If they want to counter guys like Lucic though, this is the type of player they need, otherwise they might as well just lay down and let the train run them over.

They need to resign Dion. He's a sure thing as a guy who can play all situations and log big minutes. Girardi could step in, but who's to say he signs here? Do we want to give up assets for him? No, you pay Dion and you move on; the team is worse without him and the alternatives are no guarantee at all.

Hey, if they could teach Niedermayer how to play defense in New Jersey, then Randy should be able to do it with Gardiner.
- The Shrike

The Leafs have the potential to be a perennial winning team.

Moving Dion is in the best interest of the team. He has been miscast since day 1 in Toronto - he is not "C" material. His offensive numbers are going to continue to decline as evidenced by this year - 12pts.

Do Leafs fan want him as their Captain for the next 8 years at 7M+ with a presumed NMC clause.

The "C" belongs to Lupul if he were to stay healthy

Dion can you bring you an "A" level prospect, serviceable NHLer and a 1st or a move for a top line centre

The Leafs can use his cap money savings to get another top 6 forward and
invest that savings with someone that will go hand in hand with the $64M man

Rielly will become your top 1 - 2 Dman with the likes of Gardiner, Gunner, Franson, Liles for next year and a couple farmhands moving forward coupled with a signing of a $3,4 or $5M Dman in the offseason could prove fruitful for the Leafs.

Why would they want to get handcuffed by signing Dion to an 8 year NMC contract?

Look at the current production of Dion and Bieksa. Look at their career production. They are pretty comparable. KB makes 4.6. Your gonna give neon 7 plus mill over 7 yrs?
- Bieksa#3

No they aren't. Dion's career avg is 40 points a season. Biesksa has never hit 40 ever and he's older.

Max length, not max $


7M is a good deal. It's barely a raise in NHL terms, and the team isn't tight on cap by any means.

He, Bolland and Riemer are the only important guys not signed beyond this season, and there's plenty of room to get them all, plus another top defender to play with Phaneuf, or at least help reduce the amount of time he needs to be on the ice.

Not keeping him is a massive, massive step backwards.
- Feeling Glucky?

The team will never get better by resigning the same crap. Dion is not leader and that's exactly what this team needs

Phaneuf is not a top 20 dman but in toronto he is #1
Why he was on canadas long list no clue he would look foolish on big ice
Is nonis trades him great but losing him as a ufa would be stupid
Nonis will be critized either way
- moe64

Easily top 20. Every stat says so.

Dion is very, very underrated.

Want to save $? Re-sign Dion and trade Franson and let Bolland walk. Franson is playing like poop this season. It's amazing to me how great Dion is playing and how much crap he gets. Move Franson. His value is still strong.

The Leafs have the potential to be a perennial winning team.

Moving Dion is in the best interest of the team. He has been miscast since day 1 in Toronto - he is not "C" material. His offensive numbers are going to continue to decline as evidenced by this year - 12pts.

Do Leafs fan want him as their Captain for the next 8 years at 7M+ with a presumed NMC clause.

The "C" belongs to Lupul if he were to stay healthy

Dion can you bring you an "A" level prospect, serviceable NHLer and a 1st or a move for a top line centre

The Leafs can use his cap money savings to get another top 6 forward and
invest that savings with someone that will go hand in hand with the $64M man

Rielly will become your top 1 - 2 Dman with the likes of Gardiner, Gunner, Franson, Liles for next year and a couple farmhands moving forward coupled with a signing of a $3,4 or $5M Dman in the offseason could prove fruitful for the Leafs.

Why would they want to get handcuffed by signing Dion to an 8 year NMC contract?
- MTL1

Thank you.
If only the foolish could understand the above