Johnny has been doing way better in this WC tournament, but I don't think it is because he is playing with 'elite talent'. It is because he has way more time and space right now, and there is nobody hacking and slashing at his wrists. The NHL figured out how to somewhat neutralize Gaudreau, and that is by taking his time and space away and hacking at him often.
With that being said, did he have a bad season? Or did he just have to take a small period of adjustment + injury + playing through some pain? My guess is the latter. His numbers aren't far off from the previous season in PPG. He did not have this horrible season.
What Johnny needs isn't another premier scorer on his line. He needs another serious nightly threat on another line to help spread the attention, and to help drive offence consistently to help the Flames win games. That is coming I think with Tkachuk and Bennett.
Speaking of which, I think Monahan needs to play with someone like Tkachuk on his wing (and preferably Versteeg on the RW), as I really believe that Monahan defers way too much to Gaudreau on the ice. Separate them, and you get two lines. Bennett can play that speed game with Gaudreau just fine.
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