Quote:
Originally Posted by N-E-B
Maybe I’m crazy but I think Monahan is better than every single centre on the St. Louis Blues (yes, including O’Reilly) and they just won the Stanley Cup. The Flames need to upgrade at #2C, Monahan is a solid 1C. No, he’s not Crosby but very few teams have a player of his caliber and none of them won the cup this year.
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That's a very interesting opinion. I suppose it's what metrics/attributes of play you are comparing when you say 'better'. I would argue that Monahan may be
better in areas like scoring than all the blues' centers. However, I would consider o'reilly, schenn at the very least are better defensively, along the walls, and driving transition with the puck on their stick.
The OP of the "Reimagining the Top 9" thread here makes a very interesting point that Monahan may have gotten away with deferring to Gaudreau for much of his career for carrying the puck up the ice, playmaking, etc. If Peters decides to try separating Monahan/Gaudreau, perhaps we will get to see Monahan grow these aspects of his game. In his draft year, Monahan was ranked as one of the, if not the, best play maker in the OHL in his draft (by OHL coaches if I recall correctly). Maybe he's gone under the radar in this regard, as he's playing with one of the truly NHL elite as far as playmaking goes, but would be forced to do more when separated from Gaudreau.
I also find that o'really & schenn are better skaters and/or higher motor type players, making them more effective 2-way players.