Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
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.
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I would have agreed with this any time in Johnny’s career prior to two months ago, and now I’m not so sure.
Johnny is obviously the most talented player we have with the puck on his stick. However, he’s also 5 ft 8 and generously 160lbs.
As soon as Johnny has the puck, he gets swarmed. He’s not large enough to protect the puck with his body, so he has to dish it as soon as anyone comes near him.
Gaudreau is also the most explosive skater on the team, but as soon as he touches the puck, that advantage is nullified because he can be hit.
Johnny is tiny. He’s elusive. He can change directions better than 99% of the league.
He needs someone, or some two, to hold onto the puck and win battles. He needs to be able to disappear in coverage, and emerge all alone at the empty side of the cage.
Nobody can touch him without the puck, and precious few can skate with him. So get him open.
Gaudreau’s not the quarterback; he’s a wide receiver. Use him as such.