Quote:
Originally Posted by 868904
I agree with you that we shouldn't blame Gaudreau solely for not producing in the playoffs. He needed another guy like him to help out. Monahan, Lindholm just aren't offensive drivers on their own. They are good support pieces.
I'm not sure Tkachuk is an offensive driver on his own either. I think he got too much credit for his offense while playing with Backlund who I think is underrated.
I disagree with you about the production of the trio at the end of the season. Other than the Montreal games, the opposition wasn't really playing for much. It's easy to put up points when the other team isn't trying it's hardest.
I'm not sure where you stand on what this team needs to do, but I think the Flames should keep Gaudreau (within reason) but also need to acquire someone who is better or at least equal to him in terms of producing offense. I said it in another post, McDavid is better with Draisatl around. Mackinnion is better with Rantanen around. Crosby is better with Malkin around. I don't think Gaudreau is at the level of McDavid, Crosby, Malkin or Mackinnion, but I do think he's at the level of Draisatl and Rantanen.
Maybe Eichel is the answer.
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Yes, I would agree with you that Lindholm is more of a support player in terms of the offensive side. He lacks the dynamic qualities that makes him an true elite #1 center. But his details away from the puck are absolutely elite. He’s fantastic at checking and defending. His one timer is pretty good as well, he goes to the hard areas of the game and wins all kinds of puck battles. So he’s really important piece to any line because marries the defensive to the offensive side, keeping it all connected.
I would also disagree on your point that Tkachuk isn’t a bonafide offensive driver. I think he definitely is, maybe not on the rush side of the game, but he’s so good at getting the puck out of his own zone, he helps to keep that line from being hemmed in defensively. He also cuts to the middle and has excellent vision. Down low, I don’t think there’s a better player on the team below the hash marks, so he drives the cycle game on that line which helps to keep the opposition pinned in the Dzone.
The games I understand down the final stretch didn’t mean much. But even then, individually speaking, opposition defenders still don’t want to get scored on, so they’ll still defend. It’s not like they just laid down and died, allowing that line to score. But more importantly, when the games were on the line and must win territory, these guys were by far the best line on the ice. Shift after shift they created offensive traction, setting up the line after to be in a good position. So even though the production wasn’t top end, they still looked good. I would argue Matthew was still struggling with confidence as he was hitting the post a lot and missing passes, so he wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.
My position is that this team could use a Jack Eichel no doubt. But I don’t want to punch major holes in the line up while giving up a ton of futures just to add an oft injured center. If it was up to me, I’d keep the current top line intact while creating another reliable scoring line. Darryl’s defensive game should hold steady, so they don’t to sell the farm for a McDavid or Matthews. Just something they can count on for secondary scoring.