Sean Monahan 2020 and Beyond

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Mantha/Martha is a really flawed player. Even moreso than Monahan.

Stupid autocorrect

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

The point is scoring goals in the NHL is really hard, as he is one of the best at it, so we should keep him unless and until a very clear upgrade is found.

No.
All that means is we should get a good return.

What part of the Flames losing round 1 every year with little contribution from our top players is ok?

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

No.
All that means is we should get a good return.

What part of the Flames losing round 1 every year with little contribution from our top players is ok?

Monahan playoff ppg= .7 reg season ppg=.75

And since everyone apparently believes he brings only offense (I disagree), that should be enough to show his play hasn't significantly dropped off come playoffs during his career.

The same cannot at all be said about his most prolific line mate

[Monahammer]

I want to keep monahan until the roster has a center with at least potential to be better than him, otherwise we're boned.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I want to keep monahan until the roster has a center with at least potential to be better than him, otherwise we're boned.

Plus you know - your user name.

[bubbsy]

I know his family a little bit here in Toronto, and have followed him a bit since his junior days in Ottawa. I also met him briefly.

He's a great kid, from a beautiful family. I am a big monahan fan.

I unfortunately think he's got to move, which I think will benefit him also. I feel like his progression and growth has stalled a lot. He seems to have stopped carrying the puck at all anymore and is always deferring the puck to his linemates.

I would love to see the flames move him to the sabres for cozens. Think he'd be able to slot in better behind eichel and I think buffalo immediately becomes way more competitive.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I can't believe people are still trying this awful "not a winner!" line after watching Ryan O'Reilly.

This is what he said not long before he went and led the Blues to a cup:



He openly admitted he had become ok with losing and didn't love the game anymore. And then he turned it around and won a cup.

"Not a winner"... yeah, neither was O'Reilly.

Ovi was criticized as “not a winner” too, until he won the cup.

[Reign of Fire]

Playoff Monahan is Charmin' soft. Complete Ghost.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[kyuss275]

Put in other thread but what about Mony for Cozens? Clears cap space and we get a blue chip center back. Buffalo really wants a 2nd line center.

[GS Skier]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I want to keep monahan until the roster has a center with at least potential to be better than him, otherwise we're boned.

Exactly. Bird in hand. Monahan and Backlund may not get invited to the All Star game but every team in the league would be more than happy to give you their junk wingers for them. Then you'd all complain about Treliving not finding a "true" #1 center. Center is too critical to take a step back and no ones giving us a better center in trade.

IF trading Gaudreau nets a star center then great but trading Gaudreau is really only beneficial IF its to gain cap space from someone which rules out ideas like Wilson in Wash or Couterier in Phil. Neither team is in any position to trade for Gaudreau AND give us cap space.

Actually according to Cap Friendly neither team is in a position to do much of anything unless you want their aging over priced 30+ year olds. Wash has 10.4 to spend and only 16 players signed and Vrana needs a raise and they need a goalie. Philly is worse with 9 mil and just 14 signed and they'll need a goalie too.

So why cap space? If all the local arm chair GMs are so hot and bothered to sign Hall then its Gaudreau for cap space, a lower roster player and a pick or a its complete waste of time.

NJ and Buffalo are about it and Buffalo has no draft picks to speak of.

[TheSquatch]

Monahan's skillset isn't in question, or ought not be: he has a ridiculous knack for finding a postage-stamp sized piece of open ice and scoring from it. His in-close game is amazing. And he's really raised his face-off game recently.

But the rest of his game is mediocre, for many reasons. One is that he shuns any contact, he's just not a physical player in any sense. Two is that he's not a fast skater. Three, his defensive tenacity is not super high, you don't see him charging around his own end knocking people around or digging pucks out of tough areas (see point one).

So if he's a first line center, and on this team he is, he's got to be given linemates who will do the work he won't/can't do. Gaudreau is good at feeding a waiting Monahan, but Gaudreau isn't fast enough to break in alone, nor tenacious enough to retrieve pucks for him. So I'd like to see Monny on a line with say Tkachuk and Mangiapane, say, two guys who would battle for those corner pucks.

But I think the truth is on a really strong team, Monny is a third line center with a dangerous knack at the net. Look at Colorado, Pittsburgh, Boston, Vegas... where would Monahan slot on those teams?

Monahan's been owned by big fast mean centers for years. He just doesn't have the game to keep up with a Getzlaf in intensity or physicality. He's not a liability, but he's never going to take your team deep as a 1C. If the Flames scraped out of this Dallas series, Vegas or Colorado would both have licked them up in 4 or 5 games is my thought.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Put in other thread but what about Mony for Cozens? Clears cap space and we get a blue chip center back. Buffalo really wants a 2nd line center.

Buffalo seems like a good trade partner. Columbus, too.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Put in other thread but what about Mony for Cozens? Clears cap space and we get a blue chip center back. Buffalo really wants a 2nd line center.

Should get a right shot D too, like Montour or Miller.

Hard to imagine the Flames being competitive next season though if they trade Monahan and don't replace him with a decent top 6 center.

Buffalo needs a good 2nd pair LHD too. Maybe add Hanifin, he's Eichel's buddy and an American born D.

Monahan, Hanifin for Cozens, 8th overall, Montour/Miller

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

People talk like Monahan only ever had bad playoffs. I recall he was the only one that showed up against Anaheim 3 years ago.

And I don't get how people rag on Monahan, but give Backlund a free pass. Backlund wasn't good in these playoffs either. Why aren't we clamouring to trade him?

Hahaha. What the hell are you talking about? You obviously did not watch the games. Backlund was great in these playoffs.

[GirlySports]

Also Backlund lost his winger and had to play with Reider, which turned out ok.

[Itse]

Few thoughts in no particular order:

- I would try moving Gaudreau before Monahan. Wingers are just so much easier to come by.

- I suspect the wrist damage has permanently hurt Monahans ability to snipe, to an extent that we are not aware of. If this is the case, we should move Monahan now when he's still at peak value.

- It's borderline impossible to get a better center in a trade than Monahan. I think that's just an obvious fact. I guess a lateral trade for a better fit might be possible, but it's pretty unlikely. Since it's really unlikely that we could get even a center of equal quality, trading Monahan would basically mean a rebuild. (This to me is a neutral observation, I don't care whether this is what the team does or not.)

- The corona-situation likely makes trade attempts even trickier than usual. It might be literally impossible to trade him for anything close to reasonable value.

- I really wish we would have gotten Mark Stone. I feel like with him we wouldn't be talking about moving Monahan or Gaudreau, and would likely be still enjoying the playoffs. We'd need a linedriving superstar winger with them. (Instead I think we will overpay for Taylor Hall and end up deeply regretting it as he loses a step and his production drops off a cliff.)

[blender]

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Monahan is not the problem. Flames need to upgrade the center position, not dismantle it. Adding a top line center and slotting Monahan in at 2 makes the Flames very deep down the middle. I'd also argue that because Monahan would be one of the best 2nd line centers in the league, you wouldn't necessarily need an elite 1st line center. Someone like William Karlsson for example. Not that he's available, but I can't help but think a player like that could be out there somewhere.

And Backlund. What is it with fans that can't appreciate how good this guy is. If you want to tank for picks get rid of him because Flames are a lottery ream with him off the roster. He was our best skater the 2nd half of the season and playoffs and it isn't close. Not saying he will carry us to the promised land on his own, but every player that plays with him improves. In fact for all of the hype around Tkachuk I don't remember him doing anything useful when he wasn't on Backlund's wing.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I want to keep monahan until the roster has a center with at least potential to be better than him, otherwise we're boned.

That's the issue the GM faces. You can't move him out without a successor but you can't go deep in the playoffs with him as your first line center. I suppose if the Flames can sign a good possession player like Hall we can hope that he can carry Monahan to that elusive 2nd gear we have yet to see if there is one. It would be great to slot him as the 2nd line center but I don't know where you are going to get a top line center via trade.

[Brick]

Wherever Monahan plays next season, he should be on the 2nd line.

[really?]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I want to keep monahan until the roster has a center with at least potential to be better than him, otherwise we're boned.

As constructed the Flames are the definition of boned. Good enough to contend for the playoffs, but incapable of producing the speed and intensity necessary to compete in the playoffs. Keep doing this for a couple of years and they will have an overly seasoned roster, with greatly diminished assets. If management and the fabase don't realize this, we will get what we deserve.

I don't get the hate of Monahan by some. He's a good soldier, and stepped up his overall game this year, but he doesn't have the skill set to carry a first line. Is that a sin? If he's demanding to be on a first line or reluctant to accept a lesser offensive role, then that's a problem, but has anyone heard that is the case? It may be that he needs to be moved for the team to gain some picks/assets to retool, but getting rid of him for the sake of ridding the team of an anchor is foolishness.