It's very important. Good teams are almost invariably strong at the center position. At the bare minimum, teams need 3 centers that are capable defensively. You can be a competitive team with just that. The more offensive skill you add on top of that, the better.
But one thing is for sure, you can't expect to be competitive by putting career wingers at the center position for long periods of time. There's no way a winger can learn the center position at an elite level without huge growing pains that will result in a lot of goals against and losses.
Last night was a great example of why the Flames are losing. They outworked the Ducks but the Ducks controlled the middle of the ice and won the game. The Flames deficit at center makes them have to work way too hard to even be competitive.
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As you can see, I'm completely ridiculous.
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