[Jeff Lebowski]

They way I look at it is which skillsets does the team have and how to best deploy them? I'm rehashing some things from my past posts but putting all into one post here.


I understand the frustration with not advancing far in past 2 playoffs with expectations high. What I keep seeing is people saying both Monahan and Gaudreau (but really all the top guys) haven't produced. These 2 guys are singled out.


However I see people adhering to 'if Monahan is your 1C you won't go far' Gaudreau is the best offensive player but he carry the team.


I can understand this too. Iginla was the best player, scored the most points and in the playoffs the team literally climbed on his back and he literally fought his way through the competition (2004 run). Its a very familiar archetype. But one I think should be re-examined to the modern game where you just want to get the absolute most out of your talent.


In the playoffs, I saw Gaudreau immediately get 4 guys closing hard on him the instant he would gain possession. Fans wanted him to take the hits to fight through it - I guess the thinking is if he gets 90-100 pts he must have gained muscle and his body transformed. He should hit the weights and get legs like St. Louis (but when Roger Millions suggested the same thing to Cammy, the reply was Gaudreau is not built like that and his elusiveness was a great asset and really taking hits would just end up injuring him. as Burke said, "he's not small, he's tiny."


When the space is limited and teams are closing with that many guys (4) on Gaudreau the plays don't get made, the confidence goes down and it has downstream effects like poor performance on the PP. Things just don't click.



'Monahan isn't like Mackinnon. Monahan gets garbage goals and doesn't skate like Mackinnon ' are common refrains from fans. They say he's one dimensional and largely invisible - I think he's made good improvements in defence and skating but compared to Mackinnon it's difficult to see.


I think the things that solve these issues (if trades are too lopsided or hard to work because of cap issues) is to look at how to deploy your skillsets better to overcome the areas (which every player has) that aren't as strong.


Fundamentally I think CGY has to remove ego and put players where they are going to succeed. This entails changing the centre position. In today's game you need centres who can cover the ice - skating speed and mobility, distribute the puck, break down defences and just control and compete hard in the rink within the rink (centre lane).


The lines should be:
Tkachuk - Backlund - Gaudreau
Mangiapane - Lindholm - Monahan
Lucic - Bennett - Dube
new players (I can't even remember)


Backlund and Tkachuk are going to take the pressure off Gaudreau. They are going to take the puck from the defensive zone through the neutral zone and give it to Gaudreau once it's in the offensive zone where he can maximize his shiftiness, vision, passing and smarts.


Backlund is at the top of his powers, he's a leader and he's really smart and adept at skating those routes that start deep in his end and he gets to the offensive zone.


Tkachuk on the boards removes Gaudreau from having to be the guy on the wall that has to get the puck out when the puck is rimmed to him in the d zone. When I watch, I see CGY move it up the left side much more than up the right side:
Gio, Hanifin, Valimaki are going to start behind their net and go up their strong side or give it to the centre: Backlund.


Lindholm in the middle gives you more mobility, more explosive skating in the middle. Monahan is not slow but his first step doesn't back people off - defensively this mobility is needed.
Lindholm is great with his stick defensively and strips guys - I want him, Backlund and Bennett working the middle of the ice especially in those 3 on 3 game within a game battles both offensively (centre plus his wingers) and defensively (centre plus his defencemen).


People thought about Gaudreau for Konecny as a trade. Mangiapane reminds of a poor man's Konecny.
Putting Mangiapane on that line gives it something they were lacking. Monahan on the RW will still use his skillset for production (I could see loads of one timer goals) plus he can still take his strong side draws. I also want Monahan to use his frame better - to engage more. If he gets in on the forecheck with the same effort Lucic uses, he's going to be able to help the team more. His passes can be small ones on half the ice. *Lucic needs to fight his buddies on other teams too - his paycheque entails fighting and intimidation as well. He can't say they wouldn't fight me - he has to involve himself. He's a Flame now. I liked him all year except when he played against his friends. That has to change.


Monahan with Gaudreau are amazing (especially off the rush) but they sometimes fall into patterns: Gaudreau carries the puck and drives the line. Monahan looks for quiet ice. Instead of getting rid of them just move them around.



The bottom line is evaluating the talent on your team but utilizing it better : put people in situations to succeed and not fall into these tropes on what best players should do, what roles they have to fulfill to fit some archetype. Maximize and optimize your team's strengths. Again not saying don't tweak things but don't feel like you have to move people for the sake of change only. Make deals that make you better and if the market is going against you - find a way to use what you have more effectively until the market shifts to your favour.


I love the team - I think it's really talented and versatile. Value your skillsets appropriately and don't fall into these problematic mental models.