Can the Flames win a cup with Johnny Hockey as the man ?

[Zoller]

Watching Mackinnon carry the puck across the blue line is a treat. The guy is so dynamic with the puck. And when you can carry the puck across the blue line as a center you have more options to dish the puck.

Monahan is not a guy who carries the puck across the blue line. He does not possess that kind of puck handling ability, nor does he possess the kind of shifty skating ability needed to "thread the needle".

Johnny is great at gaining an opponents blue line. But as a winger he has less options to dish the puck. The avs have picked up on the fact that our entire offence is based off Johnny gaining the blue line. They double and triple team him, taking away his time and space. They are able to do this because the flames don't have any other legitimate puck carrying threats on that line.

Incase anyone hasn't noticed, our second best player at gaining the blue line is Doc Ryan. That's a problem.

There is no doubt in my mind that having Johnny and Monahan as your 2 best forwards is not a cup winning formula. Johnny and someone else maybe, but not Monahan. Problem is those "someone elses" are few and far between.

[1qqaaz]

Yes, I think they can win a cup with Gaudreau as a man on their team. But I think it's obvious the team needs another high-end center. Not necessarily saying they should trade Monahan, but he has really been dragging Gaudreau down for months.

It would be nice if there was at least another option on the team. I wish they had given Lindholm more looks at center during the season.

And yes, Neal was bad during the year, and now awful during the playoffs. There's not much to be said on this. I think he should probably be a healthy scratch in game 5 as he has been easily the worst player on the team.

[FlamesFanTrev]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

If he's so badly injured that he can barely skate, shoot, or back-check, then he shouldn't be playing. Dube would be more effective out there.

If he's injured, why did he play the last game of the season against Edmonton?

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

What do you mean by "figure it out?" He's small and he's light. He's never going to be a Fleury or a St. Louis. He's not even going to be a Kane. The only way he can avoid getting rubbed out by opposing players is to evade them. Anad as we're seeing, he has less space and time in the playoffs because all players have less space and time.

Maybe if he dedicates himself to working out seriously, he can get a little stronger on the puck. But not much. He'll never be a guy who can beat opposing players one-on-one in a tight playoff game. So he needs the help of teammates to be effective, someone who can share the load of carrying the puck. Teammates who are my dynamic than Sean Monahan.

I'm not sure what else there is he needs to figure out.

Lots of small players in this league right now are able to fight through this stuff...why is he a special case?

And I'm not talking the purely physical side of things, im more talking the mental attitude of fighting through things and fer chrissakes, STOP with the histrionics every single time a stick comes near his hands. It's embarrassing and as we are witnessing, actually can cost the club a PP when an actual foul occurs. The officials all knw this by now as he has been doing it for 4 years.

Its poor leadership from your highest paid, and most skilled player. Period. Other top players are also very skilled but they work/think miles harder than he does to fight for their space. Sure he could use some others that do the same, but that does not exonerate him from doing it himself. He had the worst shift any one player has ever displayed in the playoffs the other night, and that simply cannot happen.

If he is unable to play any other way, then damn right he can ply that brand of hockey somewhere else because it is not playoff mentality hockey and you wont and cant win with it.

[Philly06Cup]

Hot Take: Teams that consistently win in the playoffs have elite two-way forwards.

Pittsburgh with Crosby
Boston with Bergeron / Marchand
LA with Kopitar
Chicago with Toews / Hossa
Detroit with Datsyuk
Anaheim with Getzlaf / Kesler

The Flames do not match this description.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Neal has been fine.
Entirely unspectacular, but OK.

We aren't paying James Neal nearly $6 million to be "entirely unspectacular". And unlike the other guys who aren't performing right now, Neal did nothing to earn his contract in the regular season either.

Czarnik should be in the lineup in Neal's place if Peters has any sense.

[sa226]

He has try too hard-itis. Im going to guess that he also is aware that he complains too much to the refs. But my guess is that he goes through stages where he is just putting his head down and trying to play, but then he takes a slash, a stick or whatever and just loses his cool. He is ultra competitive, but is still channeling it the wrong way.

He also seems to have developed tunnel vision this series. He has had opportunities where he has created space and guys are wide open, but he's forced low percentage plays.

To answer the silly question. Absolutely they can. He's not a guy who doesn't care. He wants to win, and win bad. Its just that I wish his learning process would fast-track a little bit.

[Scary Eloranta]

I think a better question to ask is can the Flames win with this core? Unfortunately the answer is no. Johnny is obviously not built for the playoffs and I don't think Monahan is either. If Monahan is hurt, I believe that would be like the fourth year in a row where he's been hurt at the end of the year. So he's either just too slow or he's just not durable or tough enough. Tkachuk is another core player who can't keep up to the playoff pace, or so it would appear. He may also have been hurt in Game 2. Backlund is in the second half of his career and we may start to see a decline in his game soon if we haven't already.

Not sure if you can include Bennett or Jankowski as "core players"? Bennett has at least shown some grit but Jankowski is a total waste out there and I don't see him ever improving as a player.

Defensively, Gio is bound to start showing his age one of these days but it looks like we have some decent young guys which is a positive - except for Brodie who will likely/hopefully be gone in the off season.

In the end, I don't see this team competing for a Cup in the near future, we'll probably just fluctuate from being a round one victim to missing the playoffs every other year. At the beginning of the year I never thought they'd make the playoffs so they over achieved there and got my hopes up yet again. I won't make that mistake next year.

[troutman]

We are just a pair of late goals from being up 3-1 in this series.

I'm not sure what to make of this team. Maybe just a few adjustments.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Rando

Think you move both in separate deals. Gaudreau to the Rangers for Mika Zibanejad, Filip Chytil 1st + 2nd?

No idea what to do with Monahan. Gaudreau will be seen as an elite talent with warts, Monahan's value could be all over the map. Perhaps you move him with Brodie for a signed Taylor Hall (more coming back)?

No idea.

Goal scoring is a still a premium skill and he has that.
Add to that a very good contract and you have a player with extremely high value.

[Corral]

The Flames are unlikely to trade either Gaudreau or Monahan in the next couple years no matter what happens on the ice - for obvious reasons. However, Monahan for sure is never being traded because it will always be remembered that he signed a team friendly deal for his most productive hockey years and he is exactly who the Flames brass want to be the 'leader' of their team - quiet, polite, good with the media and skilled.

Gaudreau on the other hand - sat out and missed some regular season games and signed his contract 'reluctantly' shall we say - and its no secret he wants to play in the East. He will be traded before his contract is up.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Corral

The Flames are unlikely to trade either Gaudreau or Monahan in the next couple years no matter what happens on the ice - for obvious reasons. However, Monahan for sure is never being traded because it will always be remembered that he signed a team friendly deal for his most productive hockey years and he is exactly who the Flames brass want to be the 'leader' of their team - quiet, polite, good with the media and skilled.

Gaudreau on the other hand - sat out and missed some regular season games and signed his contract 'reluctantly' shall we say - and its no secret he wants to play in the East. He will be traded before his contract is up.

He did?

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by FlamesFanTrev

If he's injured, why did he play the last game of the season against Edmonton?

Probably to fool Colorado into thinking he was healthy.

[SofaProfessor]

Originally Posted by troutman

We are just a pair of late goals from being up 3-1 in this series.

I'm not sure what to make of this team. Maybe just a few adjustments.

Smith has faced the most shots of any goalie in the playoffs. God forbid he comes back to earth because you can probably send Colorado to the second round right now and let the boys hit the course early if they keep up this effort.

Sure, some late goals have decided 2 of the 4 games but with about 50 shots on the board by that point, the Avs were due to score.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by transplant99

He did?

I thought he sat out in October a couple years back, before he signed his current deal? But maybe it was just preseason?

[Movechkin]

I think the Flames can win with Johnny. Its Monahan that they need an upgrade on. They need a second legitimate threat that can create space and offence and can be separated from Johnny when required to keep defences honest. Monahan is not that player. The problem is that the upgrade to Monahan only comes at the top of the draft, where the Flames are unlikely to be anytime soon. Unless they blow it all up, which also makes little sense.

[Jiri Hrdina]

You could also ask a different question. Do the Flames NEED Johnny to succeed?
If you could trade him for a true #1 (Barkov) so that Monny is slotted better - would you do that? Are the Flames better with a #1 centre flanked by Tkachuk and then a Sean in the two slot?

[Bonded]

It is really too bad that Bennett didn't turn out to be a top 6 centre. His projections are exactly what we are missing.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

You could also ask a different question. Do the Flames NEED Johnny to succeed?
If you could trade him for a true #1 (Barkov) so that Monny is slotted better - would you do that? Are the Flames better with a #1 centre flanked by Tkachuk and then a Sean in the two slot?

100% but who trades a Barkov for Gaudreau?

[BrennyBaller]

Originally Posted by Corral

I thought he sat out in October a couple years back, before he signed his current deal? But maybe it was just preseason?

Was preseason