Quote:
Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus
Monahan is not a top line C though he just plays there, Gaudreau stirs that line and plays more like the center once they have the puck on offense.
Monahan would never reach 80 points again without a play making winger like Gaudreau.
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It's very simple: Gaudreau is more valuable with the puck on his stick than without it. Tic-tac-toe is wonderful when it works, but ~half of the time it isn't there and you have to put the puck to an empty space where your teammate has better odds of continuing the play than the defender has to achieve possession/clear the zone. If Gaudreau is the guy fetching that loose puck, the 60/40 puck battle odds become 40/60.
Gaudreau probably wouldn't reach 80 pts with Backlund as his C. And that's not a knock on Backlund.
Even if we landed the reincarnation of Joe Thornton in his prime, it's highly unlikely that a coach would put he and Gaudreau on the same line.
We know that Lindholm and Tkachuk can be ~PPG wingers. Mangiapane, Dubé, and UFA's are readily available to fill the void. We don't have the same backup plan or ease of replacement behind Monahan.
If we move Monahan without a real plan to replace him, we might as well tear it down to the studs.