Quote:
Originally Posted by Teroy
But he doesn't need to carry Gaudreau on his back, he doesn't need to carry the play so Gaudreau can perform. It's time to give him a couple of wingers his speed who can feed him the puck. Let' see how JG does if he has to work instead of skating all over the ice with the puck. How the hell does anyone know where to be with his all over the place wanderings. Some of you expect Monahan to be first man back, control the puck, carry it into the offensive zone, dig in the corners, feed JG the puck and be in place to make the shot. Ridiculous.
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Gaudreau has to do all the heavy lifting on the line. Exiting the zone with the puck and entering the zone while still having control might be the hardest thing you can do. Not everyone has this skill except the very elite puckhandlers.
Ask yourself on a regular basis what Monahan does in a game, just skates and waits for Gaudreau to make a play, draw defenders and then hopes that he gets fed the puck wide open. That’s heavy lifting right there. Monahan isn’t capable of doing this for the rest of his linemates like elite centers can do. I’m not even sure he has the ability to create his own shot, that’s why most of his goals are scored within a few feet from the crease.
Also, to me, Monahan’a biggest problem is his play in the defensive zone. He’s big, but he plays just as soft as Gaudreau does. Can’t pin guys to the boards to stop the cycle, puck watches all the time and leaves his man wide open, too slow on the backcheck to break up odd man rushes. He looked completely invisible from February to April minus 2 games. I’m surprised you didn’t notice that.
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