Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
So he just woke up and forgot how to play then is what you’re saying?
It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact Gaudreau and Monahan were primarily a rush scoring tandem and now the opposition has taken that away because the Flames don’t have a puck carrying center who can navigate through the middle of ice and distribute more to the right wing leaving the left side (Gaudreau) to be triple teamed? That has nothing to do with it?
If I was you, I would start asking why, rather than just looking at some cherry picked numbers and jumping to rudimentary conclusions. If your assumption is that Gaudreau has somehow lost his game or forgotten how to be good, then I would ask you how a player like Eric Staal goes from scoring 13 goals as a 31 year old in Carolina to 42 goals as a 33 year old. Players have off years, just like Ovechkin too. It’s about figuring out how to adjust and rectify it.
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You want to believe he is still elite? Fill your boots. The numbers in every way, shape, and form say something very much opposite. The eye test is even more damning.
When I watch him, and it has been this way for
2 years now (not just an "off season"), i see a guy so afraid of contact that his game suffers drastically because teams know it. Literally will just leave the puck alone if he is about to make contact.
Why this has happened? Who knows? But it has and its not disputable.
Does that preclude him from finding his old ways again? Nope. In fact i would guess he will bounce back to some degree...but not on this club.
So I am not sure what you are even arguing....do you think the Flames should build around him or something?
Here is the reality of today
He has been in decline offensively for two full years.
He has one year left on his contract.
Are you suggesting he shouldn't be traded and the team gamble whether or not he decides to explore free agency and lose him for nothing?