If Phaneuf gets a 7 year extension, that will be a terrific thing for him, and not so much for the Leafs, IMHO.
His skating is still average at best. (Realistically he doesn't have much of a chance at all to be picked as one of Team Canada's top 6 defencemen because of that fact alone, IMHO).
He does not generate, offence, notwithstanding all of his minutes on the power play. In fact, if the Leafs do get a new coach, rhetorically, how could he improve offensively, given all of the time that he has had on the power play to date?
He doesn't have agility, (some of his turns after getting beat are reminiscent of an ocean liner), doesn't have good hands, lacks a finely tuned hockey IQ, and his shot is certainly a good one, but it is not in any way better than any other defencemen in creating scoring chances. In fact, Gardiner and Franson are better options right now, even, as the starting defencemen on the power play IMHO.
And, looking at his defensive play this year, I would agree that it has been better than it has in previous years, but realistically the bar has been set somewhat low.
His plus-minus over the past 4 years has been a minus every year. He was the Leafs' fourth-worst player in plus-minus in the playoffs last year against Boston. (Frasor was actually tied for 14th best in the NHL last season at +18, but is now of course deservedly a healthy scratch largely because of his skating).
He was voted the most overrated player in a poll with 30 current NHL players (and Steen was voted the most underrated I believe).
And looking at give-aways, even this year, he is among the NHL worst. He is ranked with 29 give-aways, which is the 45th worst among some 868 players in NHL this year.
Of course, any stat may be construed in any manner of supporting or disproving an argument. And he has played a huge number of minutes this year. In fact, it seems that after he is out on a shift over 1 1/2 minutes, he is just gassed, and is really a liability, and that this has been a pattern over the last several years for him.
I would argue that if the Leafs are convinced that they want to use them as their number 1, that his play be restricted on the power play as well as the penalty kill, and that the length of his term be restricted to about 4 or 5 years, as he will not be getting any faster, and will be that much slower in 4 - 7 years from now, IMHO.
And the clincher is that the Leafs would not have as much trouble trading him in the future or buying him out if his play hampers the Leafs, especially towards the end of his contract.
But is seems that the Leaf management is committed to signing him, and there won't be much that will be done to change their position. Hence, the need to mitigate the potential damage, IMHO.