I can think of 3 examples this playoffs alone that he had a turnover on the offensive blue line or someone else did, and he was the guy busting his chops to get back, and prevented a scoring opportunity.
In his zone, he does what every other skill winger does, and hang between the blue and ringette line, supporting the far side and getting in lanes when it's on his side. Wingers aren't typically in the position to sacrifice their bodies on big shots, and Johnny would probably shatter if he took one from any NHL d man. He knows that. So he plays the smart positional play in his zone. I have no issue with this defensive zone coverage. He is usually not the reason they are scored on when the puck is in their zone. Where he is the issue is when the play transitions the other way, and he doesn't pick up the high guy who comes in.
This playoffs and this year, from my assessment, is that he was asked to be more defensively sound. He did that. But he couldn't marry that fact with being the creative offensive threat he has been in past seasons. He lost his chemistry with Monahan, by trying to do too much, and being too cognizant of his defensive responsibilities.
I'm by no means giving him a full pass this season, but I think there is nothing gained by trading him, unless it's for a kings ransom. I think we should give him this offseason to figure out the marriage between his natural skill set and the skill set he has honed this past season.
My prediction if he stays. He comes to camp ready and has figured out how to marry these two skill sets. We may not get 99 point season Johnny, but we will get 80+, with a good defensive awareness and better chemistry with whoever he plays with.
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