Quote:
Originally Posted by dino7c
Same goes for anyone...but to say he shouldn't be part of the core moving forward is kinda silly...not to mention playing the worst hockey of his career he is still right there with the Flames scoring leaders sitting 2nd, ONE POINT behind Tkachuk
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Is it silly based on his play this year? Or is it a tough question that needs to be asked? I'm not saying he's definitely not part of the core but I'm saying his play this year has to make us question it. Tough decisions have to be made sometimes when you want to be a contender. I hear you talking regular season points last year and this year. I'm talking about is he good enough to get it done in the playoffs in order to win the Stanley Cup. Two very different things. I don't dispute Gaudreau's ability to get regular season points. I am concerned about whether he can step his game up in the playoffs. His performance in the playoffs last season was VERY worrying. His performance so far this season is VERY worrying.
He's one of the most valuable Flames IMO in terms of value. But will he be one of the most valuable Flames in the playoffs every year? If not then Treliving may have to consider cashing in on his trade value in order to find the types of players who can succeed in the playoffs when the going gets tough.
Does Johnny hate losing enough to do the things needed to take his game to another level? I'm not seeing it. I think he'll have more of this year to rebound and hopefully he turns it around. But I'm not optimistic with the way he's playing. Johnny's play this calendar year has forced this debate.
We upgraded our grit and compete and leadership (without losing skill) by turning Hamilton into Lindholm. It's looking like Treliving needs to upgrade our grit and compete and leadership (without losing skill) again. It's a tough ask but its needed to continue moving us forward imo. Skill we don't lack imo. But at times it certainly looks like we lack speed, compete, grit, work ethic, and strength. And we can't solve that just by fixing anything on the bottom two lines. It's pretty clear something is rotten on the top two lines. And both the eye test and the stats point to Gaudreau being a part of the problem this year, not the solution.
The onus lies on Gaudreau right now. Improve. Adapt. Overcome. He still has time to do it. But if he hasn't done it by the end of the season I think he may have played his way out of the core by that point.