Practice notes March 24 - Monahan & Lewis to be scratched next game?

[flamesgod]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Backlund has been doing a superb job shutting down opposition top players on a nightly basis. Monahan has not.

Yup. Monahan isn’t even able to dominate other 4th liners at this point.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Before this year he goes AWOL for half a season every season and this year he has done it the whole year. He is not a 2nd line player, he is not the player he was offensively or defensively for that matter, and he makes at least 2.5M a year more than he should on a team that is tight on cap. I never said he was a bad player, I said he is a bad player for half a year and then outstanding for the other half up until this year. This year the bad player ended up staying. Why must some of this fan base always make excuses for veterans players when they fall off a cliff?

Backlund is an absolute gamer. When the stakes are higher, he ups the level of his game. Sure, he suffers from bouts of inconsistencies, takes the occasional night off and misses the net too much for my liking. But when he’s tasked to defend the elites of the elites, he revels in these matchups. Even Sidney Crosby himself has called Backlund difficult to play against. Now that’s a helluva compliment from one of the greatest players of this era.

Backlund was also in my estimation, the best player for the Flames in their 2020 playoffs. I thought he was instrumental in easily dispatching the Jets and he did some great work against the Stars despite Tkachuk’s injury. If the top line showed up for that series, maybe the Flames could’ve actually won the series.

Backlund has not fallen off, he’s usually good for about 40ish points a season and that’s about where he will finish. It’s not easy to defend the best players in the game while scoring at the same time and when he does do that, the Flames rarely lose. I expect him to be at his best in this year’s playoffs and under Darryl’s system, he should thrive in the post season. When he’s engaged, he can be a 2 way force.

[Northendzone]

I wonder what Monahan would be today, if he had been pulled from the line up last year early in the season and got surgery much sooner.

It would be interesting to know if that was ever a consideration and who makes the final call in those situations.

At this point I can’t help but think he needs to take a year off a fully recover

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

He didn’t fall off a cliff, his offense dropped without Tkachuk on his line, which is understandable. He was never given a chance on PP1, and he has been used intermittently on PP2.

He is a part of one of the best PK’s this year. He consistently plays more at the opposition’s end than his own, while playing against top competition. Not to mention that Coleman - Backlund - Mangiapane was one of the best lines this season.

I think that you have your opinion already made up about Backlund, so his mistakes get magnified. Meanwhile, all the good plays he makes get shrugged off. At his cap hit he definitely helps this team win more than the average $5M UFA forward.

I totally disagree. Jarnkrok can bring the exact same thing for under half Backlund's salary.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

That’s right. I thought the ideal linemate for him going into the season was Blake Coleman who has a ton of pace to his game and can forecheck effectively. But the coaching staff seems to have pinned him to Backlund for most of the season.

I could actually see a Mangiapane-Monahan-Coleman line being pretty good, but the problem is, Backlund in my opinion is the better option with those guys. So Monahan in the end is kind of SOL here.

There’s probably still the old Sean Monahan somewhere in the NHL, but I don’t think it’ll be under Darryl. Maybe a Clayton Keller, Blake Wheeler or a Jakub Voracek can get Monahan back on track. I’m sure some GM will give him a shot with a great playmaker and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets back to 20+ goals again.

Monahan is just a very weird player to me. He has a hard accurate shot, but a very small little window in which he can get it off. He’s a pretty good passer and has surprisingly good vision, but again seems to have a very limited window. His top speed is actually pretty good, but it takes him too long to get to that gear. He’s almost the exact opposite of Johnny in that regard.

He’s got a lot of good tools, but his components are seemingly incomplete. It might stem from his lack of agility and a poor first step. But it’s hard to pinpoint. The one thing he does have that could turn around his career offensively is his hockey IQ. He can play with top tier players and compliment them which not everybody can do. So, I don’t think this is the end of the road for him yet. Maybe his career goes the Sam Bennett route or it could just as easily end up going the Kyle Turris route. I don’t know how it’ll work out for him, but it’ll be interesting to follow.

2yeah, to me Monahan is a player like Kessel who has tools but needs complementary players to be successful. Monahan had Gaudreau which worked fine. Now that he’s not open that line he’s useless if he doesn;t have a similar linemate. I bet if he’s traded and put on a line with the right guy he rebounds to a certain extent (not that the trade is a bad idea).

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

I wonder what Monahan would be today, if he had been pulled from the line up last year early in the season and got surgery much sooner.

It would be interesting to know if that was ever a consideration and who makes the final call in those situations.

At this point I can’t help but think he needs to take a year off a fully recover

Still nowhere, there is little room for a soft center that can’t carry the puck or set up his line mates. If his quick shot is gone, he needs to transform his massive size into a big SOB but he won’t/can’t so his career is basically over

[Mindtravellee]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Still nowhere, there is little room for a soft center that can’t carry the puck or set up his line mates. If his quick shot is gone, he needs to transform his massive size into a big SOB but he won’t/can’t so his career is basically over

Bit harsh. Only one year out. We don't know yet if he can redevelop himself or if he can't change. Talent is there

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

I wonder what Monahan would be today, if he had been pulled from the line up last year early in the season and got surgery much sooner.

It would be interesting to know if that was ever a consideration and who makes the final call in those situations.

At this point I can’t help but think he needs to take a year off a fully recover

I thought it was reported that playing wouldn't hurt his recovery, but the recovery is expected to take a year? I think sitting him from time to time will help.

[GullFoss]

Monahan is skilled players and does somethings quite well- offensive positioning is strong, ability to see the see the game is strong, his shot is still fine, he still makes good passes. It's not all bad. He's clearly the most talented player on the fourth line and doesn't look out of sorts on the third line either.

So what's the problem? I actually think it's primarily battle level and compete. He loses a lot of 50-50 battles, he's easy to knock off the puck and doesn't try to get it back, he's weak on the backcheck as he doesn't finish checks, doesn't generate a lot of takeaways etc.

To me, that's fixable. There is no reason Monahan can't be a quality 3C or 4C in this league going forward.

[really?]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Still nowhere, there is little room for a soft center that can’t carry the puck or set up his line mates. If his quick shot is gone, he needs to transform his massive size into a big SOB but he won’t/can’t so his career is basically over

IF he accepts that the league has evolved to a point where a player's main skill is finding quiet ice and getting off a shot is of limited value, Monahan has the knowledge and size to redefine his game for a place in the NHL. When he came into the league the pace of the game afforded guys like Neal and Monahan to carry significant value, but once Vegas was able to gather a group of dedicated puck hounds, and other teams saw how this compressed decision making, the value of a hired gun diminished.

I get some of the frustration with the player, but he appears to be working to adapt to a new role, and if he continues to develop a bit more handle and gristle, he could carve out a second act in role where he could be an asset to a contender. Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen in Calgary as that type of player commands a lesser salary than what he is currently making, and that's a tough nut for most to swallow.

Of note, Gaudreau threw a bone to Monahan last night when he made a point to say in the pre game that there were guys sitting last night who can put the puck in the net. Good to see that guys continue to look out for each other, and I gather that the players respect how Monahan has handled the situation.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

2yeah, to me Monahan is a player like Kessel who has tools but needs complementary players to be successful. Monahan had Gaudreau which worked fine. Now that he’s not open that line he’s useless if he doesn;t have a similar linemate. I bet if he’s traded and put on a line with the right guy he rebounds to a certain extent (not that the trade is a bad idea).

I think Monny was that guy, he no longer is. His skill have deteriorated so much putting him with a Johnny like player will simply bring that other player down.

[GranteedEV]

Monahan would look good on the wing of a playmaking centre like Barzal or Pettersson

[kehatch]

What impact would Monahan have had last night VS the oil? We dominated five on five. Top line was buzzing, shut down lines were dominating, fourth line was pounding. Where does Monahan fit in with any of that?

[TheSquatch]

Originally Posted by kehatch

What impact would Monahan have had last night VS the oil? We dominated five on five. Top line was buzzing, shut down lines were dominating, fourth line was pounding. Where does Monahan fit in with any of that?

I had similar thoughts because I watched Carpenter all night. And what I came away with, not knowing Carpenter's game at all before this, is that he's much faster than Monahan, and much, much better on the boards. Carpenter won a lot of pucks, got a lot of pucks moving in the right direction out of tough physical spots, and Monahan just doesn't do that at this point. So whether Carpenter can ever score a goal, ever, all season... it's actually irrelevant, because he's bringing something that Monahan, who also isn't scoring, cannot bring, and that's physical battle. (Edit: Carpenter's effort on the Draisaitl goal is pretty poor, not sure if he was uncertain about who to pick up or what, but he didn't do ANY work at mid ice on that one).

I think it's very telling that we can take Monahan out of the lineup and not miss him one bit. Not. One. Bit. Not once in any post in any thread did anyone say "Oh man I wish that had been Monahan" last night.

My hope here is that Monahan, Looch, Lewis, Carpenter, etc can all rotate and get the rest they need, or healing. If Monahan isn't physically right, put him on LTIR.

But at this point the center depth on this team looks to me like Lindholm, Backlund, Jarnkrok (who plays a Backlundish game, only I think he's faster), Carpenter, Monahan.

I'm not interested in seeing Monahan on a wing, he's too slow, he doesn't have attacking speed, but more importantly, he can't get back into his own zone fast enough to make a difference on transitional attacking plays. It's 5 on 4 for 3 seconds.

[automaton 3]

I think Monahan’s skating has recovered to the point he could be a useful player. His “battle”level has to increase greatly though if wants to back into the lineup in the role that the team has available for him.

[Hack&Lube]

I saw something on reddit saying that Monahan and some picks were close to getting Hampus Lindholm from the Ducks. That would have been something.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Monahan would look good on the wing of a playmaking centre like Barzal or Pettersson

I doubt it

Johnny is a better playmaker and he couldn’t help him

[codynw]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Monahan would look good on the wing of a playmaking centre like Barzal or Pettersson

He can barely shoot anymore though. His wrists are just cooked.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

I doubt it

Johnny is a better playmaker and he couldn’t help him

He did help him. Monahan is physically better than last year, and Johnny got him a bunch of points. Same on the power play this year. Monahan is probably a 15-20 goal guy still, if he is with the right linemates. However, there are better options right now on this team than him to play with such wingers, and he is not a fit on the 4th line.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

I doubt it

Johnny is a better playmaker and he couldn’t help him

Funny how after a 9-5 win over their biggest rival, this is your only post.