Monahan has always been an interesting case ever since we drafted him. Since his rookie year it was clear that he had an elite shot and was especially dangerous in the slot. As Gaudreau and him developed chemistry it was awesome to see him increase his offensive production and at times, he's looked like a consistent #1 Centre. However all of this success has come without an ounce of tenacity or a "mean streak" which is without a doubt, not who Monahan is as a person or a player.
I don't doubt for a second that Monahan will take his offseason training seriously and I would be shocked if he doesn't come back to training camp with an extra gear but is this enough to propel the Flames further into the post-season next season when teams play focus on shutting him down?
I'm not here trying to cut down Monahan or say that he's doomed to never succeed in the playoffs as a Flame, hell i have a Monahan jersey. But, regardless of how Monahan's offseason goes I just don't see the him as being able to truly elevate his performance come playoff time without that edge that we see in other top Centers around the league.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not going to be quick to give him a pass on these last playoffs just because he's working on his awful skating stride, and IMHO don't believe this will be enough to change our fortunes in future possible post-seasons, UNLESS we have a true game changing centre to compliment him on the depth chart. Now unfortunately I'm not sure if we can acquire one of those without Monahan going the other way in a trade.. but picking up a more competitive Centre through FA like Kevin Hayes or acquiring a Kadri through trade are possible options are the only way I think it's sensible to keep Monahan as our #1 C.
Again, nothing personal but a great regular season team is one thing, a threatening playoff team is another entirely and for me the most important position other than goaltender is #1 C
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