Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski
I think CGY can win with Gaudreau with a style similar to the ‘16 penguins. Puck speed. Obviously CGY don’t have a Crosby or Malkin but it’s not like those guys carried the team with 2 pts/gm. Their team play moved the puck quick away from closing pressure. CGY can achieve this but it’s up to the entire team to :
-adopt this style (again) and move away from the chip and chase game.
-Players committing to the hard work required. Just aggressive, fast pressure everywhere on the ice.
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I don't think we have the players to play an ultra-fast aggressive style. Half our top 6 players are mediocre skaters (Monahan, Tkachuk, Mangiapane.) Since two of those are likely to be core players any shift to an ultra fast style would require a complete roster retool.
And based on this year and last playoffs Gaudreau isn't showing he's committed to the hard work required. Gaudreau wants to win badly, I don't doubt that. But he gets frustrated and when he does he tries to do it all and fails and hurts the team. I'm not sure he's ever going to move past that. I'm not sure he'll ever be strong enough to fight through NHL playoff checking and I'm not sure he'll ever be brave enough to do so either. Mangiapane is fearless and watching the two of them play is a real contrast.
I have a long history of not liking the soft, purely skilled players. It's quite evident in my posting history on this forum. It long predates St. Louis winning last year or even Gaudreau being on the team. I'm sure anyone who's been here a long time knows that. I argued pretty hard against drafting Alex Nylander in Tkachuk's year for that reason (wanted one of Dubois/Tkachuk bad and thought 1 dman would probably go before us which would let us grab one of them.) So I'm going to be harder on Gaudreau than your average Calgary fan as I much prefer players who play with some grit and physicality to ultra soft players.
What part of my Gaudreau take do you disagree with? Do you think he's played well this year? Do you think he's making good decisions with the puck? Has he looked dangerous 5 on 5 for any significant stretch this year? Is he helping in any way when he's not putting up points?