Maple Leafs 2018 - 19

Phaneuf is big and mean. You mean him?

....And slow.
The game has passed him by.
Dion will be fine, he's going to make between $8-9Mm over the next four seasons.
 
Dion Phaneuf is now a free agent. Does any team want him?

Time to start a new thread on the 2019-2020 Leafs? Firstly, they need to get bigger and meaner.

I was trying to save bandwidth by including two different issues in the same post. Didn't mean to confuse any readers.

Yes, I meant Phaneuf is a free agent.
No, I did not mean Phaneuf is "bigger and meaner".

I still remember when Dermott got hit and separated his shoulder. None of the Leafs did anything. The team needs to get bigger and meaner.
 
....And slow.
The game has passed him by.
Dion will be fine, he's going to make between $8-9Mm over the next four seasons.

I don't think Dart cares about speed. He just wants big and mean.
 
I was trying to save bandwidth by including two different issues in the same post. Didn't mean to confuse any readers.

Yes, I meant Phaneuf is a free agent.
No, I did not mean Phaneuf is "bigger and meaner".

I still remember when Dermott got hit and separated his shoulder. None of the Leafs did anything. The team needs to get bigger and meaner.

If not big and mean what are you saying? That Phaneuf is skilled?
 
Look at the size of the Blues defensemen.

Bortuzzo, Bouwmeester and Edmundson are all 6'4"

Gunnarson is 6'2", Parayko is 6'6" and Pietrangelo is 6'3"
 
It's tough to say. Chara has been a beast out there and if not for his age, would still be a top tier D-man for years to come.
It is definitely a more important quality for a defenseman than a forward as most teams are focusing on forwards with skill and speed. If there is grit it is a bonus. As well, because there is more speed up front, even the big D-men have to have mobility, otherwise they will be pylons, a la Phaneuf, who the game passed by.
 
Leafs don't have small defensemen but aside from Muzzin they are soft and Gardiner has short panic button.