Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
For the record, I don't think Monahan "can't" play down the lineup.
But I'm pretty convinced he's not the kind of center you need. It doesn't matter if it's a big center of the Thornton/Malkin mould or a tiny fast center of the Datsyuk/Point mould, the center position requires players who are able to lug the play out of the defensive zone with the puck on their stick. Monahan's go-to breakout is
a stationary, ~40 foot stretch pass to his wingers. It worked when we had Brodie essentially doing those puck rushing duties as a defenseman, but now we need a traditional center.
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Monahan has put up two straight years of being an outright bad player in this league.
I question whether or not he can be an effective NHL’er anymore. Could be the mixture of injury history and already poor foot speed, but he’s not a top-6 forward at this stage and can’t keep his head above water.
Big off-season for him.