[FanIn80]

Here are the distinctions, as I've fleshed them out:

ETL: "Generational Talent" relative to the organization. In terms of Calgary, think: McDonald, Fleury, Iginla, Giordano. These are the "era-defining" players of an organization. Not just Top Line players, but Elite Top Line players you can build your team around. These guys make third-liners look like top-line players. Conroy was a 3C, but when paired with Iginla, he was a 1C. Tkachuk is probably the next in-line after Giordano, but he's not there yet.

TL: This is "legitimate" first-line talent. They don't just produce points, they can drive the play and make their linemates better. Malkin, Tarasenko, O'Riley, Kucherov, Marchand, etc. You won't necessarily build your team around their identity, but there's no doubt they can control a game when they're on the ice.

T6: These are the guys that can produce "Top-Line" stats, but can't really take over a game on their own or drive a #1 line in the face of top defensive assignments. They can do everything a TL can do when they're on the second line against secondary defensive assignments, but when it comes to top-line duty, they're complimentary assets. A TL can elevate a T6 to being a TL, but a T6 can only BE elevated to TL if they're matched with an actual TL.

That's how I've fleshed it out, and hopefully it makes sense.

In my eyes, I see our big-4 as such:

Tkachuck: TL (growing into ETL)

Gaudreau: T6
Lindholm: T6
Monahan: T6

There's nothing wrong with a T6. In fact T6s and TLs will often produce similar stats... the difference is that TLs can do it with lesser players, while T6s need to be paired with equal or higher talent. Excellent against secondary opposition; can't get it done on their own against primary opposition.

Now one thing in our favour is that these guys are all pretty young still. An argument can be made that our T6s are growing into TLs, but I don't personally believe they are there right now.

Hopefully, this all makes sense.