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Originally Posted by Strange Brew
Great post FDW. Glad you’re back.
Do you think Ferland is a legit too 2 line player or was his production this year a blip? I’m not convinced on him personally.
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I think he's a good complimentary power forward. He's never going to drive offence for a line but he can score, can pass, can hit, can grind. I think you can play him anywhere on the top three lines depending on how you wanna spread things out. Is he inconsistent? Yep, like almost all players. The truly consistent guys are tops at their position and obviously he's not a true 1st line player. I'd call him a good 2nd line power forward.
He's a good fit on the Gaudreau-Monahan line because they need a power forward because of Gaudreau's size and Monahan's lack of physicality along the boards. Personally I think Tkachuk would be an even better fit on the Gaudreau-Monahan line but maybe that is putting all your eggs in one basket. I do think Gaudreau-Monahan-Tkachuk could be one of the best lines in the league. I guess it depends if the Flames get another guy that can drive a line. If they do then you could try it.
Gaudreau-Monahan-Tkachuk
Ferland/Bennett-Jankowski-New Guy
whoever-Backlund-Frolik
I know some feel like we should trade Ferland. But IMO he's a good piece for the price we're paying. Tkachuk and Ferland along with the disappointing Bennett are the only physical players in our top 9 so we can't really afford to trade any of them. I like having a power forward on each of our top two lines in terms of line make-up. So Ferland and Tkachuk fit those roles. Is his inconsistency annoying? Yeah, but its unrealistic to expect amazing consistency out of non-star players. Most scorers are somewhat streaky. He's still a valuable piece for what he is and the price we're paying.
Long term I think still think Gaudreau-Monahan-Tkachuk makes the best line. But I understand why you might want to spread your top two offensive wingers (Tkachuk /Gaudreau) out over your top two lines. Still shocked that they've never actually tried Gaudreau-Monahan-Tkachuk though, its definitely a line worth trying. But there were many lines worth trying that GG never tried...