Interestingly, The Athletic just released its top 100 players in the NHL. The Flames have 3 players on the list: Matthew Tkachuk (top-end all-star), Mark Giordano (bottom-end all-star) and Johnny Gaudreau (top-end top-line player).
There are first and second tier MVP level players (7 players), then first and second tier franchise level players (18 players), then first and second tier all-star players (25 players), then first, second and third top line players (50 players).
So, the Athletic believes the Flames have about their proportion of players in terms of numbers, but the Flames don't have any high, high-end players (top 25 players). But Tkachuk and Giordano are top 50, and Gaudreau is top 67.
Anyways, the reason I placed this here is that Pierre Luc Dubois is ranked in the top 67 with Gaudreau, so the Athletic thinks Pierre Luc Dubois is on the same level as Gaudreau. Also, Monahan didn't even make the list, so the Athletic thinks Pierre Luc Dubois is far superior to Monahan.
Anyways, I think this means the Flames should be willing to offer a slight sweetener to Gaudreau to get PLD because of age and position. But the sweetener should only be slight. However, the Flames should be willing to offer a significant sweetener to Monahan.
I think a 1st round pick would be significant.
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