Happy New Year Dion

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Is there any other team in the league that would take this contract without the Leafs paying a LARGE portion of it? Give me a break.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

I personally don't like him for what he did to Michael Sauer and ruining his career, but he's a very good defensemen who can pitch in on both ends and play both sides. Likely would have gotten more on the open market.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The one problem with that is the Rangers have plenty of depth on Defense. They have no need for Dion. In fact Del Zotto is trade bait.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

If they wanted to swap Girardi and Phaneuf, while eating some of his salary, I would do it in a heartbeat.

 

[dash]

Is there any other team in the league that would take this contract without the Leafs paying a LARGE portion of it? Give me a break.

Presently no, but 3 or 4 years down the line, that contract will likely look pretty good. I think you have to keep in mind that Dion is a No. 1 defenseman on the Leafs, but he's not a No. 1 defenseman league wide.

/He's like JayBo, not a No. 1 defenseman, but a darn good number 2 guy and a great fit in St. Louis.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

If they wanted to swap Girardi and Phaneuf, while eating some of his salary, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Please do. The Isles will make sure Carkner is dressed against the Rangers 6 times per year just so he can scare the shit out of Dion.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Presently no, but 3 or 4 years down the line, that contract will likely look pretty good. I think you have to keep in mind that Dion is a No. 1 defenseman on the Leafs, but he's not a No. 1 defenseman league wide.

/He's like JayBo, not a No. 1 defenseman, but a darn good number 2 guy and a great fit in St. Louis.

Debatable for sure, guy logs 20+ minutes a night, very good in the defensive zone and has some offensive skill. He's a top 20 defensemen in the league.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Presently no, but 3 or 4 years down the line, that contract will likely look pretty good. I think you have to keep in mind that Dion is a No. 1 defenseman on the Leafs, but he's not a No. 1 defenseman league wide.

/He's like JayBo, not a No. 1 defenseman, but a darn good number 2 guy and a great fit in St. Louis.

I just don't think he's worth that kind of money. Dion isn't the punishing defender he was in the early part of his career. There are plenty of guys who are probably thrilled to see him get this contract.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Please do. The Isles will make sure Carkner is dressed against the Rangers 6 times per year just so he can scare the shit out of Dion.

Good to see you judge a guys whole career off of one play. :rollseyes:

 

[dash]

Debatable for sure, guy logs 20+ minutes a night, very good in the defensive zone and has some offensive skill. He's a top 20 defensemen in the league.

I think that's where we will have to agree to disagree, I think Dion is below average in the defensive zone.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Debatable for sure, guy logs 20+ minutes a night, very good in the defensive zone and has some offensive skill. He's a top 20 defensemen in the league.

Big deal. Andrew MacDonald logs over 20 minutes per night for the Isles and he makes 550K. I'm not saying MacDonald is as good as Phaneuf, but I don't think they're that far apart. Of course Dion has had a lot more hype & was a high draft pick unlike MacDonald.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Big deal. Andrew MacDonald logs over 20 minutes per night for the Isles and he makes 550K. I'm not saying MacDonald is as good as Phaneuf, but I don't think they're that far apart. Of course Dion has had a lot more hype & was a high draft pick unlike MacDonald.

I don't think A-Mac is anywhere near the player Dion is and that's no disrespect to Mac at all, think he's a good player, but he's also not a legit #1 D man.

I think that's where we will have to agree to disagree, I think Dion is below average in the defensive zone.

I guess so, buddy. I actually think his defensive play has gotten a bit better since being a Leaf. Also don't forget, he is the Captain and leader of the team, of course they're going to overpay to keep him.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I don't think A-Mac is anywhere near the player Dion is and that's no disrespect to Mac at all, think he's a good player, but he's also not a legit #1 D man.



I guess so, buddy. I actually think his defensive play has gotten a bit better since being a Leaf. Also don't forget, he is the Captain and leader of the team, of course they're going to overpay to keep him.

I'm not saying AMAC is a #1 defenseman, but I don't think Phaneuf is either. The difference in salary is staggering.

 

[Cobiemonster]

I'm not saying AMAC is a #1 defenseman, but I don't think Phaneuf is either. The difference in salary is staggering.

Completely agree - they have to pay Dion that money because he is their number one d-man, but on some other teams he wouldn't be number one

Andrew MacDonald is a very good top four defenseman, if the Flyers let Kimmo and Mesz walk this offseason, the Flyers should get A-Mac ASAP

 

[dash]

I guess so, buddy. I actually think his defensive play has gotten a bit better since being a Leaf. Also don't forget, he is the Captain and leader of the team, of course they're going to overpay to keep him.

I don't think it's even that much of an overpayment, though, Dion is a wildcard, at times he looks very good and at other times, he makes you scratch your head. I just think that if you're looking for Dion to control the game like a Duncan Keith or like Zdeno Chara used to (he's taken a step back in my opinion), then you're going to be disappointed.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I don't think it's even that much of an overpayment, though, Dion is a wildcard, at times he looks very good and at other times, he makes you scratch your head. I just think that if you're looking for Dion to control the game like a Duncan Keith or like Zdeno Chara used to (he's taken a step back in my opinion), then you're going to be disappointed.

Sorry, dash I just think if a team is going to pay a player 7M that player better be one of the best at his position. I just don't see that in Phaneuf at this stage of his career. Good for him though. He got a sweetheart of a contract.

 

[dash]

Sorry, dash I just think if a team is going to pay a player 7M that player better be one of the best at his position. I just don't see that in Phaneuf at this stage of his career. Good for him though. He got a sweetheart of a contract.

I think you're going to see 7M dollar contracts become the norm for 2nd tier players in the next few years. Which makes what the Sedins signed for in Vancouver just a sweet bargain for Vancouver.

 

[esls79]

Dion may be a second tier d-man, but he's got a first tier wife to look after these days - I hear those can get expensive.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I think you're going to see 7M dollar contracts become the norm for 2nd tier players in the next few years. Which makes what the Sedins signed for in Vancouver just a sweet bargain for Vancouver.

The league still has a salary cap. Every player on the team can't be paid that kind of money. Teams are still going to have to pick & choose a bit. Montreal is going to have a lot of fun signing Subban that's for sure. YIKES.

 

[dash]

The league still has a salary cap. Every player on the team can't be paid that kind of money. Teams are still going to have to pick & choose a bit. Montreal is going to have a lot of fun signing Subban that's for sure. YIKES.

That's true, but I think what you're going to see is the top tier guys (let's say 3-4 players on each team) earning $8m or so and the 2nd tier guys (next 4-5 guys) earning $6-7 million per season. That's not out of whack if the salary cap goes above $90 million in three to four years (which has a good chance of happening). The top end guys will start get their money, it's the 3rd and 4th lines guys and 5th-6th defensemen that will get squeezed when it comes to contract time.