It's not nonsense. I don't think the team values leadership over skill. None of the three guys you mentioned where brought in because of only skill and intangibles. Boruwer and Stajan were considered legit top 6 guys at the time and Hamonic was (and is) a terrific defender.
The point is that the skilled guys need some work on their compete level, including Johnny and Hamilton IMO. Tkachuk not so much - but he was born into it. IMO you want skilled guys with buy-in and leadership, otherwise you have Edmonton. Or Buffalo, arguably.
This is not to say that Johnny, Monahan, Hamilton, Jankowski, Bennett can't all improve their level - they can. Look at Hall. Look at Brett Hull. Look at Mackinnon. Look at Kessel. They all, IMO, improved their level of competitiveness. Johnny has it in him, we've all seen it. I think the others do too. I think it's been hard on Monahan in the last few weeks and we're going to hear about his injury soon.
But don't tell me the skilled guys brought it the last few important games - they didn't.
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