Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Monahan is a nice player but as has been said in this thread he's no Crosby or Malkin and Conner Sheary scored 23 goals/53 points and happens to be the exact same age as Ferland. I know you love to bring up that Ferland got off to a late start to his career but that doesn't really matter in a sport where peak performance is tied to physical age regardless of if you started paying at 6 years old or 14 years old. Even if he progresses to say 20 goals and 35 points (being realistic not pie in the sky) that's not ideal production for a first line winger. Flames have five years left with Gaudreau on the roster and it would be a shame to waste those years with makeshift line mates.
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Some people are too hung on "1st line RW". It's a fixation that shows a misunderstanding of how teams stack their forward lineups in today's NHL.
The NHL doesn't work like that these days. PIT's most dangerous winger doesn't play on their 1st line (Kessel). You keep bringing up PIT but you keep ignoring the fact they don't have 1st line wingers on their first line either. The best teams often spread their talent among 3 lines and don't stack one line with the best talent. It's often effective because two skilled players often are most successful with a smart complimentary player as the 3rd player on that line. 2 skilled guys often need a player who does the dirty work and grinds the boards, stands in front of the net and screens the goalie.
Ferland isn't our most skilled winger. Instead of looking at the first line RW spot in isolation you need to look at our top 3 lines and how they are balanced. Instead of asking if we have a 1st line RW we should be asking if we have at least three 1st line players.
Gaudreau is a 1st line player. Monahan is a 1st line player. Backlund had borderline 1st line production. Tkachuk likely will be a 1st line player. Bennett may still end up a 1st line player. Flames have the skill to compete long term. For us it's concentrated more at C and LW. That's not a problem, its just how the team is constructed. For us the complimentary forwards are the RWers. That's not a problem. That doesn't prevent us from being a contender.
This insistence that the #1 RW needs to be a highly skilled player in order for us to compete is a myth.
If you really want a 1st line player on our #1 RW then just move Tkachuk there. Problem solved.