Gaudreau's decline as a goal scorer

[jonkaupp]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Who said anything about actual "numbers"?

The post literally above yours says ‘that’s why his numbers are down’

[JJFlash]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

He has a very good wrist shot but he always tries to make the fancy play. He could be a 30+ goal scorer every year if he shot when he had good looks but he almost always tries to make that perfect play. Amazing passer but he needs to be more selfish to reach his true potential.

Becoming too one dimensional. Pass first and tries to go 5 hole on the breakaway all the time. Has a good wrist shot when he has time but a different story when he is being leaned on. Does not show game breaking ability anymore. I am concerned that he is only a threat on the PP.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

What's scary is that Johnny hasn't played his best hockey yet and he's still over a point per game. Could be bad news for the rest of the league

This. I am actually surprised at how many points he has concidering i think there is still another level he can get to.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

First unit plays 1-3-1, and Gaudreau is one of the 3. You don't tell your best playmaker to park his arse in front of the net and stay there.

Who said anything about him playing in front of the net? This thread is about Gaudreau scoring goals, clearly playing him down low on the wing would make this thread go away, He has a quick accurate shot but a weak one so playing the point is silly. I think he had 4 or 5 goals at last years WC playing the off wing on the PP, that's where he should be.

[doctajones428]

Thread is about goals, gets piled on about points.

Makes sense

[SebC]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

Thread is about goals, gets piled on about points.

Makes sense

The point is that if he's getting the team more goals by passing, then it's an improvement rather than a concern. It's relevant to the discussion.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by robaur

Monahan isn't even a one-timer threat from the slot on the powerplay and that's the bare minimum requirement of having an elite shot.

Says who?

[ASP#26525]

Originally Posted by wired

Question for the seasoned vets of Calgary Puck.
Is this forum not designed to talk hockey?
Are members encouraged to add to the discussion?
If you don't like the topic, move on.
No need to be rude, or aggressive. Just ignore and move along.

I would like to add: Just ignore and add to the ignore list and move along.

The ignore list has improved my experience of this site dramatically. I still have to read some silly posts that people have quoted, but in general it is much more pleasant. I don't read a hockey forum for constant negativity, it is my time off to relax and enjoy my choice of entertainment! This is a game, and some people can get so worked up about it by expecting immediate, and consistently perfect, results. It can get so frustrating....but not as much as it could be, thanks to the ignore list!

[robaur]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Says who?

Says almost every guy I listed that's a 40 or 50 goal threat........

[---Hatrick---]

Monahan has an elite wrister. I actually can't recall a time where I've seen him let a good slapper go. Not saying he can't, but he obviously prefers using his wrist shot. He has a long exaggerated set up before he releases but if he has the time to do so, look out.
He's also shown he can get the shot off quickly when he's in those dirty high traffic areas which combined with his ability to find open space is what makes him so clutch

[Backlunds_socks]

I think the bigger issue is: Can Monohan and Johnny still take over games?

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Backlunds_socks

I think the bigger issue is: Can Monohan and Johnny still take over games?

Probably not.

They will never be Toews and Kane.

But IMO they don't have to be.

In a cap world, the margins are slim. You don't need to be an elite team to contend for the Cup, as no team today is truly elite.

The recent Cup winners have been flawed teams. Even the last Hawks team that one a few years back was flawed, and likely quite so. They won riding 3 d-men and a very good goalie.

Monny and Johnny are good enough to lead a fairly good Calgary team into the playoffs. And given some puck luck, they could go very far, even wining the Cup. Because all teams who win the cup these days get some puck luck.

[Love]

Originally Posted by Backlunds_socks

I think the bigger issue is: Can Monohan and Johnny still take over games?

Can Johnny?

Yes

Can Monahan?

If Johnny does

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Love

Can Johnny?

Yes

Can Monahan?

If Johnny does

I don't understand what Monahan has to do to deserve some credit. The dude pots in goals and we still take him for granted. He was easily the best forward in the playoffs last season. It takes a goal to get an assist.

[CroFlames]

It's fashionable to hate on our own players on CP.

Johnny has 11 pts in in 8 games played. CP response: Goal production is down, time to panic!

Mony: 8 pts in 8 games played, including 5 goals. CP response: Stone hands, can't skate, horrible defensively, longing for a "true" 1C. Time to panic!

I swear if Crosby himself was on this team, people would come up with bogus negatives against him. People throw around the word elite, but in reality there are only 2-3 elite centers in the league and probably about 3 elite wingers in the league. I'd say 2 elite goalies, and everyone else falls into the good or great player category. Flames don't have elite players - neither do the majority of NHL teams. They win with depth, and the Flames have this.

[Huntingwhale]

Johnny Gaudreau declines himself to a career year start

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by wired

Question for the seasoned vets of Calgary Puck.
Is this forum not designed to talk hockey?
Are members encouraged to add to the discussion?
If you don't like the topic, move on.
No need to be rude, or aggressive. Just ignore and move along.

The existence of an opinion does not automatically earn it the right to be respected.

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by ---Hatrick---

Monahan has an elite wrister. I actually can't recall a time where I've seen him let a good slapper go. Not saying he can't, but he obviously prefers using his wrist shot. He has a long exaggerated set up before he releases but if he has the time to do so, look out.
He's also shown he can get the shot off quickly when he's in those dirty high traffic areas which combined with his ability to find open space is what makes him so clutch

Monahan has the best wrister I've seen since Joe Sakic.

[Kovaz]

As far as I can tell, the biggest difference is just from the system change between Hartley and Gulutzan. I took a look at all of his goals from the last 2 seasons: 30 goals in 2015-16 under Hartley, and 18 goals in 2016-17 under Gulutzan.

EN Goals

• 2015-16: 2
• 2016-17: 2

OT Goals

• 2015-16: 3
• 2016-17: 1

I'm going to ignore these - I don't think EN goals matter when assessing goalscoring, and OT is the last thing I'd worry about with Gaudreau. That leaves us with 25 goals in 2015-16, and 15 in 2016-17.

PP Goals

• 2015-16: 6
• 2016-17: 2

The first big gap is here. Under Hartley, Gaudreau played on his off-wing on the PP, and spent a lot more time close to the net. Under Gulutzan, he's on his natural side and closer to the blue-line. Both of these contribute to his lack of PP goals. The 2 goals he did score were scored in tight, from the right side: the 5-on-3 goal vs Colorado where he faked going behind the net and the dangle around Hainsey against Pittsburgh where he scored on the wraparound. That leaves us with 19 goals in 2015-16, and 13 goals in 2016-17.

Next, I broke up even-strength goals into 3 categories: turnovers, transition, and sustained pressure. Should be fairly self-explanatory, but just to be sure: if a goal was scored from a chance immediately following a turnover, it's a turnover goal. If a goal was scored immediately following a zone entry, it's a transition goal. Otherwise, it's a sustained pressure goal.

Goals from turnovers

• 2015-16: 5
• 2016-17: 0

Goals from transition play

• 2015-16: 9
• 2016-17: 8

Goals from sustained pressure

• 2015-16: 5
• 2016-17: 5

Here we see another precipitous drop: in 2015-16 he scored 5 goals after turnovers, whereas in 2016-17 he didn't even get one. In terms of transitional play and sustained pressure, he's right in line with where he was previously, even slightly ahead considering he missed 10 games. When comparing the two coaches, I'd definitely say our forecheck under Gulutzan has been less effective - so that's at least partially to blame. I'd also suggest that teams are doing a better job line-matching against Gaudreau, so he's not spending as much time against guys likely to turn the puck over.

So I'd conclude that he's not likely to reach 30 goals again as long as we stay the same as we currently are tactically. However, I don't consider that a problem, since Gaudreau's still putting up points - it's just that his role has shifted into more of a pure playmaker, especially on the powerplay.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Who said anything about him playing in front of the net? This thread is about Gaudreau scoring goals, clearly playing him down low on the wing would make this thread go away, He has a quick accurate shot but a weak one so playing the point is silly. I think he had 4 or 5 goals at last years WC playing the off wing on the PP, that's where he should be.

Playing 1-3-1, there is no ‘down low on the wing’ position. Nor is there a traditional point. And you don't play him on his off wing to get more goals for himself when he's getting more goals for teammates by making plays from his natural side.

So far he's got 4 PP assists in 8 games, and the power play is dead average – 18.8%, 15th in the league – in contrast to the team's woeful 5-on-5 offence. I'd say Gaudreau's position on the power play is the least of the team's worries.