Jonathan Bernier:
Jumping right into the heat of the fire the Jonathan Bernier talks are heating up. The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has a difficult decision to make regarding Bernier and his future with the Leafs.
As of now Bernier is an RFA and has filed for salary arbitration, he only has one year left as an RFA and will become a UFA after his next contract expires. This is why it’s so important to make the right deal for Bernier now, not next year. Toronto needs to either commit to Bernier being their goalie for the rebuild, or not. To me, a one year contract for the Leafs is a complete and total mistake; they must sign him for at least two seasons to keep his trade value high and ensure he has less leverage for a massive payday if he were to find his game. The puck is in Toronto’s rink with Bernier, so either we ink him in now for years to come, or we try to trade him to a team in need of a goaltender.
Without a doubt the Toronto Maple Leafs are rebuilding. Trading Kessel solidified that and any and all speculation of this so called “hybrid-rebuild…. If Toronto plans to keep Bernier as their rebuild goalie that is great, we will hope for the best. If they chose to trade Bernier now and get a package somewhat similar to goalies traded this offseason, I will be more than content with Reimer getting the job done this season.
Robin Lehner brought in the 21st overall pick and centre David Legwand.
Martin Jones brought in the Sharks first round pick in 2016 and prospect Sean Kuraly.
Antti Niemi brought in the 193rd pick in the 2015 draft. (Different scenario than Bernier).
Cam Talbot brought in a return of the 57th, 79th and 184th pick, but also gave up the 209th selection.
As you can see, there are some quality returns on young goalies with high potential and NHL careers ahead of themselves. Bernier would have to fall into this category being only 26 years old. Jonathan may be 30 years of age before the Leafs are starting to compete.
Bernier himself may not want to sign a multi-year deal as perhaps he doesn’t want to be sticking around for years of rebuilding in Toronto and wants to compete on a team, and now. There is a good chance the Leafs will have to over pay Bernier to lock him up for more than one season. One thing is certain; arbitration is looming.
In conclusion, it would be best to sign Bernier for a three year deal around 14 million dollars and see how things unfold with the net minder. This would keep Toronto’s options open, either trading the young goaltender, or keep him through the rebuild and hope he has a handful of great years ahead of himself when we are finally able to compete with the contending teams.
Dion Phaneuf:
Dion Phaneuf on the other hand is already signed on a big deal that doesn’t expire until the 2020/21 season is complete. That’s six more seasons of hockey; I don’t know if Phaneuf or the fans can fathom another 500 games of Dion in the blue and white.
Dion is thirty years of age and should still have a lot of gas left in the tank. We can all agree that Phaneuf hasn’t lived up to the expectations of a Toronto Maple Leafs Captain. We can also agree that Phaneuf has had some atrocious partners since playing in Toronto. This would be fine, if he wasn’t on the top pairing versus the best players of the opposition.
You don’t see the likes of Duncan Keith playing with AHL players, nor do you see Weber or Doughty playing with ‘scrubs’. So why is Dion partnered up with players who are mostly not playing in the NHL anymore, and is cut little to no slack? Well, that’s because we watch all of the games and we see Dion spacing out in ‘lala’ land from time to time. He gets burned on the wide-side far too often, misses the net more than he should and seems to have troubles clearing out players in front of the net.
Could it be fatigue? Could it be he isn’t playing’ his game’? Whatever the case may be, if Toronto plans to keep Captain Phaneuf around for six more seasons the Leafs sure better get Phaneuf a quality partner to play with. Gunnersson being Dion’s best partner in Toronto over the years shows complete and total mismanagement and lack of hockey intelligence from the Leafs upper management.
The Leafs had to give up 1.2 million in salary on the Phil Kessel trade for the next seven seasons. They have 1.8 next year on the Gleason buyout, and then 1.3 for the next two years after. If Toronto moves Phaneuf in a trade, they don’t want to take another seven years back of salary unless the return was most glorious. Phaneuf just may be here for the long haul whether you like him or not. Could it be possible that Babcock can bring life back into Dion’s career in Toronto? After all, he did coach Lidstrom in Detroit for years; who’s likely the best defensemen in this hockey era.
As the 2014/15 season went on, I was frustrated with Phaneuf’s production and overall performance. The whole team was in shambles after the Christmas break. But I will certainly give credit to Dion’s efforts down the final stretch when the team was absolutely pathetic; he at least showed some character and put forth more effort than most of the players on the team. Hopefully Babcock can find Phaneuf a quality partner to play with, one that will help Dion, and one that Dion can help develop.
I have faith in Mike Babcock to bring out the best in Dion Phaneuf.
What are your thoughts on Bernier and Phaneuf?
Thanks for reading.