Too bad Steven Stamkos is still out as I was excited for the opportunity for many to see what moving a natural goal-scoring centre who is poor defensively, like Sean Monahan, to wing looks like when the team has a better two-way centre at its disposal (Brayden Point and Elias Lindholm, respectively).
Since moving Stamkos back to wing 16 games ago (16 he's played - he's missed some due to injury), Stamkos has exploded for 22 points with points in 15 of the 16, and 19 of those points having come at even strength where that line has been rolling opponents (54% CF, 58% xGF, 71% GF). The Lightning as a team accumulated 21 points during those games.
One notion that deserves dispelling is that Monahan (or Stamkos) would be a poor fit on the wing due to generating their offence down the middle. At the NHL level a great way to avoid generating offensive would be the two wingers and centre playing exclusively in their vertical channels - a function fit for bubble hockey and not much else. Teams generally play very fluidly in the offensive zone where staying in channels would render the cycle or Royal Road movement extinct. All players regardless of forward position generate the majority of their offence in the middle so I have no idea where that comes from. Monahan will have no problem getting to the middle of the ice regardless of position, this is about a complete 200-foot game.
Here are shot charts for Stamkos, Monahan, and noted goal-scoring winger Alex Ovechkin, for example. Stamkos and Ovechkin will slide into their patented one-timer spots from time to time, but the majority of their even-strength offence happens exactly where Monahan's does.
