A lot of posters on this board hated Monahan. Too soft, not a good centre, didn’t drive play, just a product of Gaudreau. Yet in his draft class he did just fine and he was a warrior
I didn’t hate him. But he was wrecked when they sent him to Mtl. They needed cap room and he was the obvious choice. I was actually surprised someone took him at the time.
Glad he’s doing better. Seemed like a standup guy.
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I'm not sure that too many people "wanted to get rid of" Monahan.
I'm for sure one of the "haters" in that I always thought he was utilized incorrectly and asked to play 1C when if he'd been a 2C he'd have been dominant.
He was never fast enough to be a "pure skill" guy, he's a bit of a mucker, the nickname of "garbageman" was apt, a lotta goals from right in front, from tough angles and with no space... he was incredible at it.
But he was defensively not very aware, and no kind of physical threat, so that made him a tough sell for me as a legit 1C in the league. Going up against guys like Getzlaff showed the holes in Monahan's game.
Which is not to say I hated him or thought he was bad at hockey. He just couldn't do the role that this club needed done. Imagine Monahan as a second line center and Backlund as a 3rd line center all those years. Wow. And that was what Sam Bennett was suppose to allow.
The "if this had gone right" picture for the Flames is so golden it's just sick. But it didn't.
Monahan could not play up to his contract at the end with the Flames and it was hurting the club. I’d argue there were several posters that tried to argue that away saying wasn’t true. And then we see the club had to pay a first rounder to trade him with just a year left.
I would hope nobody hated the guy, at least no one rational.
In this case, the Flames impatience was their undoing.
I didn’t hate him. But he was wrecked when they sent him to Mtl. They needed cap room and he was the obvious choice. I was actually surprised someone took him at the time.
They didn't "need" cap room. They wanted cap room to sign some terrible contracts.
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I'm not sure that too many people "wanted to get rid of" Monahan.
I'm for sure one of the "haters" in that I always thought he was utilized incorrectly and asked to play 1C when if he'd been a 2C he'd have been dominant.
He was never fast enough to be a "pure skill" guy, he's a bit of a mucker, the nickname of "garbageman" was apt, a lotta goals from right in front, from tough angles and with no space... he was incredible at it.
But he was defensively not very aware, and no kind of physical threat, so that made him a tough sell for me as a legit 1C in the league. Going up against guys like Getzlaff showed the holes in Monahan's game.
Which is not to say I hated him or thought he was bad at hockey. He just couldn't do the role that this club needed done. Imagine Monahan as a second line center and Backlund as a 3rd line center all those years. Wow. And that was what Sam Bennett was suppose to allow.
The "if this had gone right" picture for the Flames is so golden it's just sick. But it didn't.
I too was/am one of those people. I thought it was time for Mony to move on, given his lack of another gear and his injury history. I certainly don't blame him for not panning out into a #1C. That simply isn't his skillset and if anything I blame Bennett and the organization for not having Bennet turn out to be that #1 guy and Monahan the #2 (which he was perfectly suited for). I think wanting him gone was more the hope that the team could open that spot for someone else and shake up the core coming of a lackluster season. What WASN'T the plan was trading him away along with a first f'ing rounder with only a year left on his contract, for a 32 year old who caught lightning in a bottle on a cup winner for a stupid 7x7 contract. How amazing would it be now to have Monahan on his contract versus what we have with Kadri now. Sigh. Thanks BT.
Love Monahan. Hope the best for him. Habs fans are lucky to have him.
If you believe Calgary is an intense pressure filled environment that is too much for most NHLers, here's a guy that re-signed in Montreal for cheap.
The weather is no better,
The taxes are worse.
Maybe he'd have been happy staying and he could be part of the great Flames sell-off of 2023.
Montreal doesn't exactly have a ton of pressure at the moment they are clearly rebuilding. Anyway Monahan said it was time for a change...nobody signs cheap UFA deals in Calgary come on now.
There’s always pressure in Montreal. The difference here is that they have shown they have a clear plan and they’re executing it terrifically right now. I don’t agree with everything they’ve done, but the coach has them all on the same page.
last year and the start of this year anyway, that is likely changing.
Montreal has the same great plan as everyone else...suck and get good picks. Hope your older long term contracts go on LTIR. I mean you can talk the rebuild game but Carey Price could be in there making 10M right now. And if he was the Monahan deal wouldn't have happened among other things.
Monahan deserves success. But he was a less physical version of Huberdeau. Except he didn’t pass as well and had a very good shot. We got rid of one and kept one. Neither guy can play hard when they need to. Love that he’s doing well though in Montreal.
If anyone of that old core was to be the successor to Gio for Captain I would back Monahan any day. Quiet and composed leader who always gave 100% despite injuries.
Go Mony Go.
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If/when the Flames move on from Lindholm I wonder if there is any chance a reunion with Monahan could happen? I doubt it but I would welcome him back with open arms. I am so happy for him and wish the trade with the Habs never happened.
I was surprised he stuck with the Habs rather than join his buddy Johnny in Columbus where I am sure they would be together on their top line seeing their need for a center.
Favourite player. Brings a tear to the eye thinking the Flames assigned him negative value in a trade to allow them to sign a soulless mercenary looking for retirement funds, and the team no longer believed in a guy that never stopped believing in the team.
It's the move that will tarnish Brad's "legacy" for me forever.
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Such revisionist history on Monahan. Dude was Mr. Clutch and a hard game performer before the injuries. He was our highest scoring player in several playoff bouts. Don't know where the soft talk came from- even when injured he scored his goals from the dirty areas getting cross checked.
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