Quote:
Originally Posted by Rifleman
Someone somewhere posted that according to 'advanced' statistics, Toronto was better with him on the ice than not. I wonder how true that is?
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At even strength, the Leafs actually score more goals than they allow while Dion is on the ice. Possession-wise, they're better with him on the bench. That's pretty misleading though, as Phaneuf is given some of the toughest zone starts and competition in the league. Before Carlyle came along and started using him as a shut-down guy, he had break-even possession numbers and was still scoring at 0.5 PPG.
Clearly he's still a good player, and I believe he'd be quite effective playing second-pairing minutes against softer competition. Would I want him back on the Flames? 7 years is a long time...