[playmaker]

First of all, this thread is by no means meant to criticize Monahan or to throw in some crazy trade proposals.
In fact, I think all the recent attempts to obtain our franchise centre were meaningful and I like the current group. That being said, while each of them possesses some unique skill and contribute to an overall success in a different way, we still don't have a top tier guy in our system.
This organization failed to provide an elite centre for Iginla for 10+ years and I've been thinking whether we can afford this approach to Gaudreau.

I personally believe that Bennett is a great pick and can possibly squeeze into the tier 2 group but that's it.
Monahan has a killer offensive instinct but his footspeed and lack of intensity will most likely keep him far away from the top tier.
Backlund may be the only late 1st round pick in Flames history that has fulfilled the expectations but he's probably at his peak right now.
As for Jankowski it is obviously too early to tell but in the skating era I wouldn't bet on him as a franchise centre either.

The question is, can the Flames redefine the NHL genre by applying a constant pressure from 3-4 lines rather than relying on a franchise centre and a star winger ?

mods: I'd really like to see results of the YES/NO poll created for the question in the topic - if possible, many thanks.