Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
If we can gain a top line LW for nothing other than cap-space, it's a win.
So, assume we Trade Gaudreau to New Jersey for 7th overall and manage to draft Jamie Drysdale. He'd be instantly be on the fast track to being our best defence, and give us a young top four of:
Hanifin - Andersson
Valimaki - Drysdale
with this as our bottom two:
Giordano - ?
That's pretty dang solid - and yeah, perhaps Drysdale takes a year before jumping to the pros - but still, it sets the team up nicely.
Taylor replaces Gaudreau (Hall is a better all around 5 on 5 player), so I also think that is an improvement.
Bennett and Dube were also emerging in these playoffs - Bennett as a centre, that's huge. Re-work the forward group:
Tkachuk - Monahan - Lindholm --> that's pretty good 5 on 5, I'd argue.
Hall - Bennett - Dube --> this could be dynamite.
Mangiapne - Backlund - ? --> these two work well together
Lucic - Ryan - ? --> these two work well together
and lastly? Go out and pay Robin Lehner and Peter Laviolette.
That's the type of off-season I'd dream of. It re-shapes the culture pretty significantly and it sends a clear message to the team that you have to perform.
Throw away everything else though and just focus on Johnny out for assets, Hall in for cap. Our LW position improves (particularly in the playoffs), and we gain some prime assets from Johnny's departure. That's brilliant.
...barring Laviolette, Lehner and Hall all signing here though (dream upon dream upon dream)? Yeah, we're kinda boned.
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The #1 problem in this recommended line up still exists. Monahan as our number 1 C. Gaudreau is far from perfect but imagine playing with a centre who lacks speed, can't gain the zone, has limited puck skills and doesn't have great hockey sense. Gaudreau needs to play with another player who can take some of the puck carrying responsibilities, otherwise its to easy to shut him down cause everything operates through him off the wing.
Not that it will happen and it certainly isn't easy but the Flames need a number 1 centre who can dictate pace and skate the puck up the ice. Till then they won't see any post season success. Monahan is a #2 centre at best.