Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
I know. I was taking issue with Andy & Rono and their ‘Woof’. I don't think Monahan deserves a ‘woof’ at all.
See, I think this is getting hold of the wrong end of the stick. It's far too early to be talking about Monahan's trade value. Can we at least get him in condition first? After all, he's not on the fourth line because Dube has been wowing the league on the third. Sutter has made it quite clear that he's bringing the guy back slowly, and he's not there yet.
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This is the same stuff I went through with James Neal 3 years ago. I said it time and time again very early on that I didn't see James Neal working out because there was no fit there.
It's the same story for Monahan here. Once the new top line was formed, the writing was on the wall. That's why I felt he needed to be traded this past off-season, because I knew he was going to struggle this season. Where's the fit? He's never been fast, never been agile. All the time in the world for him to recover isn't going to change the fact that he has always needed an elite playmaker like Gaudureau to produce.
Monahan has a hard time creating chances for himself and that's the predicament he's in right now, his current linemates aren't going to create magic for him to score in the slot, so his production will wane. But to me, for the minutes he's playing and the standard of what a typical bottom 6 center should produce, he has to offer at minimum, 20-25 even strength points right now. That's what a guy like Derek Ryan gave the Flames and with Monahan's contract and pedigree, I think it's fair to say he should be well above that. So he's got a lot of work to do to get to that point.
But regardless, the contracts for Tkachuk, Gaudreau and Mangiapane will be expensive next season. So there may not be an option other than to trade him. So no, I don't agree that it's too early to talk about trade value at all, because I believe it should've been done this past summer while his value was higher then it is now.