Quote:
Originally Posted by united
Just before this season started, Jack Han offered some analysis to Kent Wilson on the Gaudreau-Monahan decline, assuming Lindholm would be on their right-hand side. For those unfamiliar, Han formerly held the following titles during a multi-year stint with the Maple Leafs:
- Marlies assistant coach (with then-head coach Sheldon Keefe)
- Maple Leafs scout
- Maple Leafs Hockey Operations Assistant
- Maple Leafs Player Development Analyst
I enjoyed the read though some will see the author and immediately dismiss it. For anyone else, the entire article is well worth a look but also note this is from December not today.
Obviously I don't give a #### about deferral to authority but I know there are a small number of posters who ridicule anyone who doesn't immediately do so. So, here we are. Han's analysis closely aligns with my own and that of others whom I respect: Gaudreau's shortcomings (turnovers and extreme contact avoidance) stand out to the casual puck-focused fan, while Monahan's shortcomings (complete indifference to defensive effort, poor in transition) are not as easily noticed as they are usually off-puck occurrences. In the end, both players are flawed however Gaudreau gets significantly more criticism from the casual fan because he has the puck far more often.
What is the harm in splitting them up at this point? Or at least trying 23 on wing. There is nothing to lose now, and in fact keeping them together deprives management of potentially useful information to use in future decision making.
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Jack Han is a ####ing genius. Everything he wrote is what I've been seeing in the Monahan-Gaudreau partnership ever since their inception (14-15). Their partnership is too one-sided and Gaudreau ends up having to do too much of the heavy lifting and is then ultimately blamed for the lack of success/execution (turnovers).
Defenses all hone in on him because they know our the game plan. If Monahan was better at holding on to pucks and breaking out of the dzone himself and through the neutral zone, the opposition would have to respect that option more and the dynamics of their breakouts would change drastically.
Alas, what we've been actually getting over the last couple years and every playoff series are F2 and F3 dropping back, tight gaps, Dmen stepping up on him, which has resulted in constant turnovers.