Monahan: "Losing sucks and I'm frustrated with my play"

[Geeoff]

I really hope Monahan isn't injured. Seems to happen to him every March.

Also, the part about not being frustrated with performance seems to have been said by Gio and not Monahan?

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Yeah, I don't think he's injured. It's confidence or outside factors that are causing the slump.

I'm not sure why people jump to think he's injured? Monahan is reserved on and off the ice and him not playing well, not scoring is clearly magnifying everything.

If there were a significant injury here, the team would certainly not be leveraging him in important situations game in and game out. Not resting him for a period of time would also borderline on lunacy given how close we are to the playoffs.

He's just playing crappy or has something major going on away from the rink. Needs to find another gear.

[Coach]

Just stop responding to him.

Better yet, ban him. He's never added anything of substance to a discussion since showing up.

[Duffalufagus]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

I'm not sure why people jump to think he's injured? Monahan is reserved on and off the ice and him not playing well, not scoring is clearly magnifying everything.

If there were a significant injury here, the team would certainly not be leveraging him in important situations game in and game out. Not resting him for a period of time would also borderline on lunacy given how close we are to the playoffs.

He's just playing crappy or has something major going on away from the rink. Needs to find another gear.

I agree with this. He has two weeks to sort it out. He can do it. I think if he raises his play, the whole line will come alive. He's got to battle harder though. There isn't going to be much room out there going forward.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Duffalufagus

I think it has to do with expectations. Given how good the team is this year, people are looking for them to at least get to the conference finals. Anything less would be more disappointing than any of the previous playoff year disappointments.

We judge this team based on the elite standard they have set for themselves. And they are below that standard at the moment.

Speak for yourself, but considering that the team is as young as they are, that they have undergone as many changes as they have in the past three years, that they still have questions in goal, and that they have had such limited playoff success in recent years I for one will not be so despondent about a second-round exit. That's an acceptable milestone for this group, and anything beyond that this year is a bonus. The window is open for a while yet.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Duffalufagus

His point totals dwarf Barkov's. Second highest scorer from his draft class (MacKinnon).

Dwarf? It’s a 20 point difference in 60 less games. Barkov has a considerably higher ppg average and he’s proving his ceiling is on a completely different level. Barkov has Selke written all over him and will be hitting the 90 point mark this season. Barkov was the center I wanted in 2013 but unfortunately the Flames didn’t have a chance. Monahan and even Lindholm are carving out terrific careers, but Barkov is already one of the elite 2 way centers in the game.


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[The Boy Wonder]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

I'm not sure why people jump to think he's injured? Monahan is reserved on and off the ice and him not playing well, not scoring is clearly magnifying everything.

If there were a significant injury here, the team would certainly not be leveraging him in important situations game in and game out. Not resting him for a period of time would also borderline on lunacy given how close we are to the playoffs.

He's just playing crappy or has something major going on away from the rink. Needs to find another gear.

I think assuming this is even worse than assuming he's injured. He's a professional, and it is expected that he can separate his work and life to a level where it shouldn't impact his performance at his job. But assuming someone is under performing because of issues away from the rink is ridiculous.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

The issue with Mony is he is slightly one dimensional as a player...

But when the games tighten up, a guy who is 6'2" 200lbs should certainly be able to throw his weight around and use his size advantage a bit more than he currently does.

I don't care if he throws his weight around. But backchecking and skating hard without the puck would be nice. Any player can do that.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It's so ironic that you bring up a 31-year-old Nik Backstrom as a viable replacement for the supposedly deficient 24-year-old Sean Monahan considering the fact that Backstrom's ability and tenacity to win was openly questioned before he finally managed to win a Stanley Cup last year.

God, the direction of this discussion is mind-numbing. To return to the topic of Monahan's comments, I think he is saying all the right things. He wasn't great last night but he was most definitely better than in the LA game, and I think that is a step in the right direction. The playoffs don't start for two weeks yet. There is still time for this story to change dramatically before 10 April.

I didn’t say Monahan was deficient. I said if Monahan has subpar playoff runs through 2020, a trade + sign could be an incredible influx of assets. Backstrom, + + + would be a helluva way to add even more depth to this roster. Also, Backstrom has been a proven playoff performer and is an actual Stanley Cup champion, so he has shown he has what it takes.

It’s all just purely conjecture and discussion, not sure why your panties are always in a knot. Monahan has plenty of time to get back into form, but it’s a Thursday on a non game day, relax a little.


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[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It's so ironic that you bring up a 31-year-old Nik Backstrom as a viable replacement for the supposedly deficient 24-year-old Sean Monahan considering the fact that Backstrom's ability and tenacity to win was openly questioned before he finally managed to win a Stanley Cup last year.

Was it? Backstrom has long been regarded as one of the top two-way centres in the game. Strong play without the puck is almost by definition down to tenacity. Conversely, weak play without the puck is almost always down to lack of commitment and energy.

And play without the puck has very little to do with hitting. Many of the most effective defensive forwards in the game rarely hit. Bergeron, Backstrom, Couturier, Kopitar, Backlund.

I don't pretend to understand the mentality of elite athletes. But I do think half the star players in the NHL could be more effective players - in many cases dramatically more effective - if they were as engaged when the other team has the puck as they are when they have it. And I'd include Monahan prominently in that group.

[calgaryfox]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I don't care if he throws his weight around. But backchecking and skating hard without the puck would be nice. Any player can do that.

...only if they have desperation in their game. Haven't seen any desperation from 23 since January.

[Locke]

Love is throwin' the hate.

[Erick Estrada]

Monahan is always going to spark a lot of debate. He's a very good player offensively without a doubt as the statistics don't lie. He's going to get 30 goals almost every season but it's the rest of his game that's just so average. Backlund doesn't score as much but he is effective when he's not scoring in a checking role. Monahan is invisible when he's not scoring and ideally you want more of an offensive driver on your first line as I feel he owes a lot of his offensive success to Gaudreau. I'm not big on the hypothetical trades so I'm not going to get into that and my original post was more in regards to what the GM may do in the offseason as he's shown he's not afraid to make big moves almost annually as I'm not campaigning for Monahan in particular to be traded.

[Split98]

I hope the Dome explodes when he finally breaks through this. A long sustained "MONY! chant might be all that this guy needs to turn the corner

We jump to injury as that's what happened last year, and boy does his play look similar. But, he does also look shaken out there. A lot of what makes him clutch is confidence he can pick his spots. This slump between him and Johnny has gone on long enough that I'm sure he's doubting his looks right now.

These comments are what I think a lot of people want to hear from Sean right now. He plays a steady purposeful game that's tough to watch when he's off. It seems like a lack of competitiveness and care. But when he's on, he's in the right spots and planted there. You can definitely tell from this that it's bothering him too.

It's funny how glaring a problem it is when he's off - yet his contributions are heavily devalued when he's on.

[bettercallbettman]

So according to this forum and Eric Francis he’s injured. Is an injured Mony more valuable than an AHL guy?

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Monahan is invisible when he's not scoring and ideally you want more of an offensive driver on your first line as I feel he owes a lot of his offensive success to Gaudreau.

I think Gaudreau relies a lot on Monahan as well. They slump together and I don't think it is all on Monahan.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Dube

So according to this forum and Eric Francis he’s injured.

No. Maybe there are a few posters who think this but “this forum” is comprised of hundreds of individuals all with their own opinions. I would bet that not even close to the majority of posters here thinks Monahan is injured.



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[pepper24]

Monahan will be fine. It's retro night tomorrow. Feel the Thunder.

[bettercallbettman]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

No. Maybe there are a few posters who think this but “this forum” is comprised of hundreds of individuals all with their own opinions. I would bet that not even close to the majority of posters here thinks Monahan is injured.



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But he’s got no zip on his shot

[FlamesAddiction]

The thing is, no teams or players want other teams to think that a key player is playing with a nagging injury going into the playoffs. You can't take everything said as absolute truth this time of year.

In my opinion, he is playing pretty much the same now as he was before the "Smith illness" hit him. The "Smith illness" made it possibly a convenient cover excuse to keep him out to rest while not telling the media outright that he was injured. When he was out, his official status was quietly changed to "upper body injury", which again suggests that the Flames and Monahan are keeping their cards close.

It could also be a confidence issue as well. Injuries and confidence are not mutually exclusive.