[Thunderball]

To me, there's something very, very off between Monahan and Gaudreau. Both are high value assets, but both seem to have some key deficiencies. Going forward, if both are on the Flames in 19/20, they should be on different lines.

I don't think Giordano had a bad playoff series, but he certainly wasn't good, and he has to wear some of the blame as captain for the mental breakdown evident. I've heard he's a quiet captain, and that's clearly not a good thing when the going gets tough.

As an offseason plan, I think the first step is to know who was playing hurt. I suspect Monahan and Tkachuk were.

From there, I don't actively shop Monahan, Gaudreau, or Giordano, but I listen to every call from other GMs who might inquire. If there's a good player for player trade (in the case of Monahan or Gaudreau) or a good value trade for Gio, I'd explore it and accept for one of Monahan or Gaudreau (whoever gets a better return) and for Gio.

Assuming neither Monahan nor Gaudreau move, I think trying Bennett-Backlund-Gaudreau is worth a try, at least in preseason, if a #1 C isn't obtainable, with Lindholm, Monahan and Tkachuk on a second scoring line. Bennett has skill, can make space and enforce when guys target Johnny, Backlund can be a second puck moving, two-way option. The downside is none of them are key finishers, but there's something very wrong with the 13/23 chemistry and if they had a falling out, I'd explore other options.