The Leafs Defense

[bustaheims]

He did play virtually every power play last year, however.  I don't know how much more the Leafs could do to maximize his offensive game. 

Well, a big part will be using him effective on the PP, instead of just having him out there. They never really had him set up for one-timers last season, because the PP setup with him on the left and Franson on the right, and they never rotated like they should have. The PP strategy they used last season took away Phaneuf's best offensive weapon.

 

[x.jr.benchwarmer]

He did play virtually every power play last year, however.  I don't know how much more the Leafs could do to maximize his offensive game. 

Well, a big part will be using him effective on the PP, instead of just having him out there. They never really had him set up for one-timers last season, because the PP setup with him on the left and Franson on the right, and they never rotated like they should have. The PP strategy they used last season took away Phaneuf's best offensive weapon.

I certainly agree with you that the power play rarely had him take many one-timers.  But the tenor of the NHL seems to be faster and quicker, especially with puck movement, and perhaps he is not fast or quick enough to justify having him play ahead of Gardiner and Reilly on the power play this upcoming year.

 

[Kin]

I certainly agree with you that the power play rarely had him take many one-timers.  But the tenor of the NHL seems to be faster and quicker, especially with puck movement, and perhaps he is not fast or quick enough to justify having him play ahead of Gardiner and Reilly on the power play this upcoming year.

Even then though, if you put him on the #2 PP unit and let him take those shots you might very well see better numbers.

 

[bustaheims]

I certainly agree with you that the power play rarely had him take many one-timers.  But the tenor of the NHL seems to be faster and quicker, especially with puck movement, and perhaps he is not fast or quick enough to justify having him play ahead of Gardiner and Reilly on the power play this upcoming year.

Puck control in the offensive zone never seemed to be an overwhelming problem for the Leafs on the PP. Certainly not to the point where I'd point to Phaneuf as being a detriment. He generally did a pretty good job of keeping the puck in the zone, and his shot is significantly better than any of the Leafs' other defencemen. He's their best weapon on the blue line. He should be paired with one of Gardiner or Rielly, not behind both of them. They'd both be great at setting him up for one-timers, but neither have the kind of shot that works that well for one.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

If he's not dealt I'd like to see them somehow work Phaneuf into more of an offensive defenseman rather than what they've been trying to do for a few seasons now with him.  Think if they do that his value skyrockets as well as he's always been a high-event offensive d-man, or at least he was until he was saddled with poor possession teammates and brutal zone starts.

I agree that the best thing for the Leafs is to try to maximize Dion's trade value.

He did play virtually every power play last year, however.  I don't know how much more the Leafs could do to maximize his offensive game.  Moreover, arguably Reilly and Gardiner should be the top two defencemen on the power play this year, but that is why Babcock gets paid the big bucks to make that assessment.

3 goals last year?  It is really not acceptable by anyone's standards, given the time that he spent on the ice last year.

And I was talking to guy who was an ex-pro defencemen a while ago who said that the problem with Dion is that he makes the other players on defence worse.  By contrast, Keith really is a fine player who makes the others on the blueline play better.  But of course Dion can't skate like Keith, nor will he ever be fast, IMHO, notwithstanding Babcock's plan for him.

I've posted this link a number of times before so I won't embed it, but this is an example of Phaneuf on the PP in Calgary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmQ8dhO7Ves

Unless I'm remembering wrong, he's never really been set up in Toronto to be the guy taking shots like that.  He probably took more one-timers in that clip than he has on the PP in Toronto (not really, but you know).  That's how he earned his offensive reputation - he came into the league when PPs were at a high (he averaged something like 5:00 PER GAME on the PP) and was continually set up to take one-timers.

In Toronto he's been mainly used to facilitate moving the puck back to the half-boards or over to the other D on his strong side.

 

[x.jr.benchwarmer]

Thanks for posting that link (again).

It seems that Babcock will be looking at playing Reilly and Gardiner on the power play  starting the year.  And seeing that 2nd goal that the Leafs scored in the Detroit game, it may be that the upside is better than in previous years.  The quick puck movement is so important in today's NHL, IMHO.

 

[jonlleafs]

Thanks for posting that link (again).

It seems that Babcock will be looking at playing Reilly and Gardiner on the power play  starting the year.  And seeing that 2nd goal that the Leafs scored in the Detroit game, it may be that the upside is better than in previous years.  The quick puck movement is so important in today's NHL, IMHO.

That just means we have no big shot from the back.  I would be ok with Rielly and Phaneuf on one pairing and then say Gardiner and Hunwick on the other.

 

[hobarth]

I don't think Rielly is better at any part of both defense and the PP than Gardiner, Phanny would appear to be improved if he was paired with better partners because he'd be freed to do his own job, only, and be freed to revive his offensive game. Rielly is still a work in progress, a very long process it appears, so I think Gardiner and Phanny would make for a better top 2 pairing.

 

[cabber24]

A link to the analytics supporting Phaneuf's suck:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/analyzing-dion-phaneufs-play-under-mike-babcock/

Last season, Phaneuf was one of the least-involved defencemen in the entire NHL, meaning that while he was on the ice, he was involved in very few plays offensively or defensively, on average. Only Roman Polak was involved in fewer events in the defensive zone than Phaneuf in 2014-15, and in the neutral and offensive zones, Phaneuf was the least involved overall.

I have always said although he's on the ice a lot he really doesn't do anything out there. Stands in front the Leafs net stationary spinning in circles watching the play. He really does seem to have crappy hockey IQ. I sincerely wondered if he should have his eye sight checked... not kidding.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

A link to the analytics supporting Phaneuf's suck:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/analyzing-dion-phaneufs-play-under-mike-babcock/

Last season, Phaneuf was one of the least-involved defencemen in the entire NHL, meaning that while he was on the ice, he was involved in very few plays offensively or defensively, on average. Only Roman Polak was involved in fewer events in the defensive zone than Phaneuf in 2014-15, and in the neutral and offensive zones, Phaneuf was the least involved overall.

I have always said although he's on the ice a lot he really doesn't do anything out there. Stands in front the Leafs net stationary spinning in circles watching the play. He really does seem to have crappy hockey IQ. I sincerely wondered if he should have his eye sight checked... not kidding.

Just a note on the article posted, Berkshire hates the Leafs, I mean he is literally on record as despising the club.

I've not spent long looking at the stats yet (I will eventually), so I'll just add that you need to sometimes guard against those who are throwing out a lot of numbers to suit a narrative they are trying to push.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Just a note on the article posted, Berkshire hates the Leafs, I mean he is literally on record as despising the club.

I've not spent long looking at the stats yet (I will eventually), so I'll just add that you need to sometimes guard against those who are throwing out a lot of numbers to suit a narrative they are trying to push.

Yeah you're probably reading into some of his tweets a little too much. He's a Habs fan, so he hates the Leafs like any Leafs fan hates the Habs. There's really no malice there or anything like that.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Just a note on the article posted, Berkshire hates the Leafs, I mean he is literally on record as despising the club.

I've not spent long looking at the stats yet (I will eventually), so I'll just add that you need to sometimes guard against those who are throwing out a lot of numbers to suit a narrative they are trying to push.

Yeah you're probably reading into some of his tweets a little too much. He's a Habs fan, so he hates the Leafs like any Leafs fan hates the Habs. There's really no malice there or anything like that.

You're probably right, he just seems to take such great delight in being a cock whenever he is discussing the Leafs.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

You're probably right, he just seems to take such great delight in being a cock whenever he is discussing the Leafs.

You never got the sense that Leafs bloggers on twitter do the same thing? They're all mostly just politely trolling each other.

 

[Kin]

I've not spent long looking at the stats yet (I will eventually), so I'll just add that you need to sometimes guard against those who are throwing out a lot of numbers to suit a narrative they are trying to push.

Hold on, I'm sure I can find a clever gif of someone laughing.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I've not spent long looking at the stats yet (I will eventually), so I'll just add that you need to sometimes guard against those who are throwing out a lot of numbers to suit a narrative they are trying to push.

Hold on, I'm sure I can find a clever gif of someone laughing.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

You're probably right, he just seems to take such great delight in being a cock whenever he is discussing the Leafs.

You never got the sense that Leafs bloggers on twitter do the same thing? They're all mostly just politely trolling each other.

A little bit of trolling is one thing, he is just relentless though, I guess it wears you down if you've been following his schtick for long enough.

 

[Kin]

I was wrong. I couldn't find one.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

A look at the Leafs usage of Hunwick.

http://theleafsnation.com/2015/12/11/5-things-the-usage-of-matt-hunwick

Personally, I feel like it's overly harsh on Honey, he has his moments out there, but those numbers don't look good either.