[united]

It's an interesting point in time with Monahan. In previous years, we have really small samples of Monahan apart from Gaudreau and his results suffered a huge drop - to the point you wonder if he can carry his own line. While there wasn't nearly enough evidence to come to a firm conclusion, it did point to Monahan being a large beneficiary of playing alongside Gaudreau. These six weeks without Gaudreau should help paint a better picture of what we have right now with Monahan, with the caveat being his slow start/possible unannounced injury.

The biggest disappointment to me has been Monahan's putrid defensive play so far in his NHL career. We all had hopes of Monahan filling or even coming close to his potential as the next Toews, given his two-way play in junior and his demeanor, however barring a big turnaround that seems a dream at this point. What he has proven tough is, due to his unique shooting technique and release, and also instincts, he will be a career elite NHL shooter.

Right now, to me, he seems to be trending toward a poor man's Stamkos (the centre version)...or even saying the centre version of Rick Nash may be better. That is, little to no defensive contribution, and not a great playmaker, but the ability to score in volumes despite the shortcomings. That isn't a bad thing - scoring is the hardest thing to do at the NHL level. He just doesn't seem to have the two-way game we had hoped for. Instead of a two-way centre, he's looking more like a pure one-dimensional sniper.

All that said, he is young enough to turn things around rapidly, and his release isn't going anywhere. I really hope his work in his own end picks up, because the first few years, amplified by this year's horrendous start, have been beyond poor.