Dion has always been an enigma. He started off with a blast in the NHL - was behind only Orr and Coffey for the most goals scored as a defencemen to start his career after 2(? can't remember if 2 or 3 seasons). He looked like a can't miss surefire future multiple Norris award winner. For those saying that Calgary screwed up in picking him, go back to his first season, and then his second, and then his third. Look at how good he seemed to be, and how fans of other teams were re-ranking him often at the #2 spot right behind Staal, with some fans even ranking Phaneuf ahead of Staal.
So, what happened to him?
Character issues, injuries, Mike Keenan and a lack of a tool box.
Character issues: We know these well. No need to go there.
Injuries: As Red John pointed out, his hip.
Keenan: "Semi-Retired Iron Mike Keenan" looked at how much players got paid, and their minutes were used accordingly. One can argue that Dion 'earned' those minutes with how well he started his career, but he was careless defensively and didn't much care to fix it (Warrener interview). Keenan never forced him to do better. Development stalled.
Toolbox: He has ALL the tools you want in a defencemen - great shot, decent passing ability, physical, decent skater, etc., etc.,
What is Dion now? A guy who gets a decent amount of success. A guy who will put up points. A guy who not only looks like a top-pairing defencemen, but IS a top pairing defencemen by all metrics.
What makes people question how good he is, is in fact the toolbox. ALL top defencemen make mistakes. Doughty. Weber. Giordano. Heck, you can find a lot of youtube videos with guys like Lidstrom getting embarrassed at times. It happens. It just seems to happen more often with Phaneuf. It makes him look unreliable, and for the most part, he is. I wouldn't want him on the ice protecting a 1 goal lead at the end of the game. In my opinion, if my #1 guy can't be trusted to be on the ice at the end of a game, he isn't a top-pairing defencemen.
Statistically, he IS a #1 defencemen by almost any measure. I just wouldn't want him to be the Flames #1 defencemen, as he makes the most boneheaded mistakes way too often. He seems to make worse mistakes more often than other top-pairing defencmen. Thus the constant arguments about him on this forum and other forums. If he was just as steady defensively as a Doughty, or a Weber, then there wouldn't be these long discussions about Phaneuf. All I know is that I would rather have Giordano and Brodie on the top pair in Calgary, and I wouldn't want Phaneuf on the other two pairings simply because of his perceived character issues.
|