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Calgary4LIfe · 01-06-2020, 07:53 PM

I say the Flames should retain him. He had a good start to his NHL career, and only now has he really been stumbling. Loads of players have a poor season in their careers, and many rebound well.

One thing that I do notice is that he seems to do a fairly good job at passing the puck and setting his line mates up for dangerous opportunities. I think it is time to move him to the wing and see if the reduced responsibilities will help him find his scoring touch.

I don't know... I look at the Flames and I see strengths and weaknesses. I have always believed in slotting players according to their strengths. Centre depth is the best it has been since the late 80's/early 90's (which was way better back then, but is actually quite strong now IMO). Why are the Flames not utilizing their strength? Monahan-Lindholm-Backlund-Ryan - that's really good centre depth, with Bennett, Dube and Jankowski on the wings who are also familiar (to varying degrees) of playing the position. Backlund is an EXTREMELY proficient - if not elite - defensive centre. Playing him on the wing seems counter-intuitive to me.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Tkachuk - Lindholm - Mangiapane
Jankowski - Backlund - Dube
Lucic - Ryan - Rieder/Rinaldo

Move the wingers around if necessary, and give more time to the 4th line. Ryan is a good anchor for the 4th line that you won't care too much in having the other team 'catching' the 4th line out, and Lucic is a decent possession player, not to mention both Rieder and Rinaldo bring strong forechecking/back-checking pressure.

So, with respect to Jankowski, I think it would be a rash and possibly short-sighted move to get rid of Jankowski. He is a strong PK'er, usually decent defensively (Greenway was difficult to contain and was fortunate to get a stick on that - not an error from Jankowski IMO - sometimes players make really good plays even when the opposing team did everything right), and he has proven himself to be a fairly strong depth scorer with the exception of this season. Most players have up and down years - you don't just disregard what they have done recently just because they are in a 'funk' currently, especially if the player is still relatively young or in their prime.

Sometimes patience pays off. Sometimes it doesn't. Jankowski's value wasn't huge last year, it has most assuredly dropped this season, and he doesn't make a silly amount of money given his position on the team, so the Flames can and should show a bit of patience when it comes to him.

01-06-2020, 07:53 PM	#242
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	I say the Flames should retain him. He had a good start to his NHL career, and only now has he really been stumbling. Loads of players have a poor season in their careers, and many rebound well. One thing that I do notice is that he seems to do a fairly good job at passing the puck and setting his line mates up for dangerous opportunities. I think it is time to move him to the wing and see if the reduced responsibilities will help him find his scoring touch. I don't know... I look at the Flames and I see strengths and weaknesses. I have always believed in slotting players according to their strengths. Centre depth is the best it has been since the late 80's/early 90's (which was way better back then, but is actually quite strong now IMO). Why are the Flames not utilizing their strength? Monahan-Lindholm-Backlund-Ryan - that's really good centre depth, with Bennett, Dube and Jankowski on the wings who are also familiar (to varying degrees) of playing the position. Backlund is an EXTREMELY proficient - if not elite - defensive centre. Playing him on the wing seems counter-intuitive to me. Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett Tkachuk - Lindholm - Mangiapane Jankowski - Backlund - Dube Lucic - Ryan - Rieder/Rinaldo Move the wingers around if necessary, and give more time to the 4th line. Ryan is a good anchor for the 4th line that you won't care too much in having the other team 'catching' the 4th line out, and Lucic is a decent possession player, not to mention both Rieder and Rinaldo bring strong forechecking/back-checking pressure. So, with respect to Jankowski, I think it would be a rash and possibly short-sighted move to get rid of Jankowski. He is a strong PK'er, usually decent defensively (Greenway was difficult to contain and was fortunate to get a stick on that - not an error from Jankowski IMO - sometimes players make really good plays even when the opposing team did everything right), and he has proven himself to be a fairly strong depth scorer with the exception of this season. Most players have up and down years - you don't just disregard what they have done recently just because they are in a 'funk' currently, especially if the player is still relatively young or in their prime. Sometimes patience pays off. Sometimes it doesn't. Jankowski's value wasn't huge last year, it has most assuredly dropped this season, and he doesn't make a silly amount of money given his position on the team, so the Flames can and should show a bit of patience when it comes to him.