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Originally Posted by mrdonkey
He’s a top line guy for a team looking to just make the playoffs, sure. But he’s decidedly middle of the pack across the league. Is the goal to be a middle of the pack team?
To win it all in this league you absolutely need to have at least one centre capable of taking over a game when it matters. Monahan is not that player, and the Flames have not had that kind of center since Nieuwendyk.
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Sean Monahan has played a lot of NHL hockey, but he is still young enough that I don't think we entirely know what kind of a player he is. Sometimes players take years to figure out how to play and succeed in the playoffs, and if all that Monahan is missing is the requisite intensity and tenacity to get to the open ice a little quicker, or to hold off a forecheck then I feel pretty good about his ability to get there, and it is way too early to be making these sorts of blanket dismissals.
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The Langkow comparison is probably closer than many are willing to admit. He’ll put up points when paired with a real difference maker, but for the most part he’s a complementary player who’s just along for the ride.
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Oh, god.
Sean Monahan is not a complimentary player. We don't get to see everything he is capable of doing because he has played so much with Johnny Gaudreau, who is the primary puck carrier and distributor on that line. It's not because Sean Monahan is incapable of doing it, it is because they are so comfortable with one another in these respective roles, and because it tends to work.