Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
The person who kicked this off disagrees with you, stating that VGK proved contenders dont need a world beating 1C. i agree, and further i think our centre depth is actually superior to vgk.
we cant acquire a better centre than monahan through trade, and Lindholm has done nothing at all to prove that he could be better in the role. trading monahan immediately makes the team worse. its a dumb idead.
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I don’t think it’s a dumb idea at all. Monahan has been this team’s #1 center for the better part of 6 years now and what we’ve seen is the same song and dance year after year. Bubble playoff team or first round fodder. Ask yourself honestly, what changes if this team goes into next season with basically the same team? It’ll probably be the exact same result, which would essentially be the definition of insanity.
I get you’re a fan of Monahan. But lets call a spade a spade here, what makes Monahan special is his ability to score goals, especially in tight. But his goal scoring dries up when it matters most and his overall game also tapers off during tight checking hockey. Sure, he’s outstanding playing run & gun with Gaudreau, but that’s not a style you ever see in the playoffs.
For the record, I don’t think Lindholm is a #1 center either. But nobody just gives away top #1 centers. You basically have to draft them; so the Flames are stuck with what they have. I know Lindholm has way less experience at center, but the things that Monahan does well, I think Lindholm does just as well plus extras. He lead the team in goals by a wide margin this season and would’ve hit 30 if the season wasn’t stopped. So you can’t say he doesn’t score enough.
The intangibles though is what separates him from Monahan. He plays in all situations, is hard on pucks, not afraid to get in the dirty areas, very sound defensively, always in the right position and he’s fast enough to get on the forecheck and back check.
Lastly, with Geoff Ward coming back, I don’t think the style he deploys is well suited for Monahan as it requires a lot of pace and Monahan’s skating is not a strength. He doesn’t get in on the forecheck fast enough and then he’s caught up way too high to do anything on the back check which just leads to a wide open neutral zone which means not enough back pressure and/or odd man rushes against. So in my opinion, on thisnteam right now, Lindholm > Monahan.