Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
With the exception of that weird Ryan O'Rielly year, the Cup has gone to a team with a bonafide 1C (or two!)
Braden Point x2
Evgeni Kuznetsov + Niklas Backstrom
Sidney Crosby + Evgeni Malkin x2
Jonathan Toews x 3
Anze Kopitar x 2
David Krejci + Patrice Bergeron
Pavel Datsyuk + Henrick Zetterberg
Ryan Getlzaf + Andy McDonald
Is Elias Lindholm a #1 Centre? IMO no. Not because the production or defensive value isn't there, but because the transition game isn't there, and he's highly dependant on getting feeds from his winger. Stopping the Gaudreau line is as simple as stopping Gaudreau. That's fine if they're your second line playing against the other team's scoring lines and second pairs, but not so much if they're your best line and the opponent can gameplan for it by throwing their five best shutdown skaters after them.
Depth absolutely plays a part in winning championships, especially at 5-on-5.
But so does skill and playmaking through the middle of the ice against the other team's best players, because sometimes in the playoffs it's as simple as playing a tight checking neutral zone game. You need to gain the zone on the other team's Pietrangelo or Hedman with speed, vision, possession, creativity, and numbers. And fundamentally, it can't be a winger like Gaudreau doing it every single time because of how that play starts on the breakout, with the winger more stationary along the boards. You need the centre to take the pressure off of Gaudreau. Then, if the centre wants to drop it back to Gaudreau, awesome.
People have been pointing to the "Islanders Model" of structure and depth... and yet... the Islanders have Matthew Barzal as a 1C who is dynamic with the puck.
Further, we're a team using Trevor Lewis and Brett Ritchie as our 3/4 RWs. Is this really amazing depth, or is it average at best?
Maybe this year we make a run. And then next year? When Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Mangiapane, and Kylington are due for automatic raises? Then suddenly you have to trade away that vaunted depth.
Monahan having 0 5v5 points, 49.72% xGF is a waste of 6.3M of cap room... are you really suggesting this is effective? Or if you're saying it's Trevor Lewis' fault... then there goes your depth argument.
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I have been a fan of your posts for some time but the amount of negative your spewing is off the charts. As you point out all those teams also had the support for the number one Center or they wouldn’t have won? Exactly why I listed Edmonton and Toronto and the Now Eichel less Buffalo. Vegas doesn’t really sport a top five center hadn’t seemed to stop them?
My point was just like Vegas if you have three second lines your going to match up against anyone. Best center in the last twenty years hasn’t sniffed the second round.
You also for some reason want to completely exclude Monahan coming back from surgery which might have something to do with his slow start and playing with Lewis?
You also seem to ignore that I said we are just now seeing a possible top line defencemen coming into his own years after we drafted him. dube just coming into his own. Eat bread as well. I say the team has depth down the center you say we’re wasting 6 million on a fourth center? Agree to disagree on that one.