Sean Monahan 2020 and Beyond

[Inglewood Jack]

Because five dozen post-mortem threads aren't quite enough, figured I might as well add to the pile. Monahan discussion is spread out everywhere at the moment, but maybe he deserves his own like the Johnny thread, since he's the other face of the current rebuild that began in 2013.

When I mock re-draft his year, I end up with Monahan pretty close to where he was originally picked (6th) so by no means is he a bust or a reach compared to his contemporaries. But in my opinion his current slot in the forward lines is no longer a great match for his skillset. He's got a knack for finding space in the slot to get a quick shot off that finds its way in, not a very common skill. He's also good at draws, and is ok in the D zone most of the time (ignoring last night's bizarrely indifferent coverage).

But at his current age, I don't know how much runway there is left to add significantly to that toolbox. He'll never have great acceleration/top speed, and I doubt that dynamic puck control is something he can just pick up with offseason practice. I want my #1C to be super puck hungry, confidently entering the offensive blue line and drawing opposition to him, while being an equal threat to set up a winger or wrist it on net himself.

Short of having a McDavid/MacKinnon/Matthews/Eichel land in our lap, there's no easy solution. So what's the best option to maximize Monahan's value to the franchise going forward? Choices that come to mind:

1. Keep him as #1C (winger situation pending the fate of Johnny)

2. Drop him to #2C where QoC will be lower and his deficiences aren't as exposed. Need internal promotion, or acquiring #1C replacement via blockbuster

3. Convert to winger, which is a bit wild this far into his career, but might be a better match for what he's good at

4. Trade for either another centre (retool) or picks/prospects (rebuild)

I'm personally ok with options 2 to 4, unless we can find some sort of magical skills coach that sprinkles skating and puckhandling fairy dust. What say you, fellow fans? Hopefully a night to sleep on the rage/disgust/numbness will allow for more productive analysis and debate. Or we can continue to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside, that's cool as well.

[dissentowner]

Get rid of him. I would much rather keep Backlund as our 2nd line C, he competes every game, he can skate, and he is a solid two way player. This year I saw a scared player in Monahan, I think the injuries and beatings he has taken in previous playoffs have made him gun shy about paying the price in the dirty areas to score. He was constantly bobbling the puck and trying to get rid of it asap when he was being pressured physically. It is bad when Johnny who is 5 foot nothing and 150 lbs soaking wet is battling in the boards and digging at pucks while Monahan stands back near the blue line watching unengaged. He is a mediocre skater, he can't keep up with his skilled linemates. When your #1 C's strength is shooting from the slot but is playing the perimeter instead because he is too scared to go into the dirty areas it is time to cut bait while his value is still there. He absolutely needs to go.

[GirlySports]

Yeah he's got to go. I talked to a friend of mine, Buffalo fan. He thinks Monahan would be perfect as a 2nd line center behind Eichel.


Think we can fleece the 7th overall pick off of them?

[Roof-Daddy]

I'm in the rebuild boat, but you need to get a good return for him or what is the point?

If the Flames go for a retooling and can add another really good top 6 C (like Couturier as per that one rumor) then you might as well keep him because he'd be fine as the two C or part of a really good 1-2 punch. Add Backlund and that's a solid 1-2-3 punch for a couple years. Would need to move Ryan though, that's too much cap invested in a 4th line C and the whole C core as a group.

[dammage79]

I want to keep Monahan. I think the playoff whiffs are fair to criticize but his impact overall on this franchise far exceeds that of a handful of playoff games.

You just simply do not trade your best center when the entire franchise has been without one for decades prior. Of all the players who deserve extra lives he is the 1st.

[Jore]

I'm not sure that Monahan would offer more from the 2C role than Backlund. You could convert him to a winger but you're still left with a large weakness in any championship team's most important position

[Geeoff]

Sean Monahan is a good regular season player, who excels at the regular season OT gimmicks.


So, you have to decide what the goal is. If Monahan is on the team, they are going to collect extra points.



So, if you're going to be competitive, acquire a center that drops him down the lineup. If you're gonna rebuild, he has to go.

[Azure]

If you can find a #1 C, Monahan would slot in nicely as 2C, with Backlund being 3C.

Otherwise I think it is unfair to expect him to play as the 1C. He's a good player, but not the driver of a line, and he needs better matchups.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Yeah he's got to go. I talked to a friend of mine, Buffalo fan. He thinks Monahan would be perfect as a 2nd line center behind Eichel.


Think we can fleece the 7th overall pick off of them?

Fleece? We have 3 centres picked 4th, 5th, and 6th overall and are calling a trade of Monahan for a pick that historically has a much better chance of being worse than Monahan than at his level in 3+ years (let alone better) as... a fleecing?

Jesus. Good luck to us.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Yeah he's got to go. I talked to a friend of mine, Buffalo fan. He thinks Monahan would be perfect as a 2nd line center behind Eichel.

I think so too. Make this happen GMBT.

[Huntingwhale]

I want to upgrade him rather then just getting rid of him because we're all angry. Fact is, this franchise has been looking for top 6 C's for decades it feels like. Occasionally we get some, only to want to run them out of town. I'm on board with trading Monahan, but only if we get something good back for him. Yes he has a terrible playoff record. But you still need top 6 Cs the rest of the season.

Trade him if a great offer is on the table. Keep him if nobody bites.

[Toonage]

"Sean Monahan: 2020 and Beyond" sounds like both the best sci-fi movie, and the worst sci-fi movie.

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I want to keep Monahan. I think the playoff whiffs are fair to criticize but his impact overall on this franchise far exceeds that of a handful of playoff games.

You just simply do not trade your best center when the entire franchise has been without one for decades prior. Of all the players who deserve extra lives he is the 1st.

I agreed with this sentiment as recently as yesterday before the game.

I don’t blame Monahan for yesterday’s outcome but he continued to be invisible and I think Johnny unrightfully takes a lot of the blame for the lines lack of success.

Given that we can play Lindholm, Backlund and Bennett at C I think we could manage it.

He just isn’t a dynamic player. He’s a good soldier but I don't think he has the skill set to elevate his game to another level.

[Vinny01]

Up until last night I didn’t think it was worth trading Monahan but I think he is going to be heavily shopped

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Toonage

"Sean Monahan: 2020 and Beyond" sounds like both the best sci-fi movie, and the worst sci-fi movie.

Just a regular boring sci-fi movie.

[Brick]

Get rid of him.

[SuperMatt18]

I think it depends on the return and his market value.

If he can be used to upgrade true number 1 center, or if he can get you a package that includes a top 10 pick, then you trade him.

But if the best offer you have is trading him to Buffalo for Rasmus Ristolainen straight up then you hold on to him because he's still a low end #1 center, or high end #2 center.

For example if the rumor that Gaudreau for Couturier is something that was seriously discussed is true then I think you could keep Monahan, and maybe look to move Backlund instead.

Couturier, Monahan, Bennett as your top three centers into next season starts to look pretty good.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I want to keep Monahan. I think the playoff whiffs are fair to criticize but his impact overall on this franchise far exceeds that of a handful of playoff games.

You just simply do not trade your best center when the entire franchise has been without one for decades prior. Of all the players who deserve extra lives he is the 1st.

It may be true that Monahan is one of the Flames best centres this millennium, but that just makes me sad to not have a particularly high bar for that lengthy period of time.

What I still haven't sent yet though is that urgent "get on my back boys, I'm gonna eff these dudes up" next level of competitiveness. Sort of like how under duress, a child can supposedly lift a car by pure adrenaline and survival instinct. His off ice persona appears to bleed into his shifts a bit too often.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I want to upgrade him rather then just getting rid of him because we're all angry. Fact is, this franchise has been looking for top 6 C's for decades it feels like. Occasionally we get some, only to want to run them out of town. I'm on board with trading Monahan, but only if we get something good back for him. Yes he has a terrible playoff record. But you still need top 6 Cs the rest of the season.

Trade him if a great offer is on the table. Keep him if nobody bites.

I agree with this. But a more sobering point in this discussion is that as bad as Monahan's playoff numbers are, he is still the Flames's leading playoff scorer going all the way back to 2014–15. He once again shared the team lead in post-season scoring this year.

Yeah, he sure has not been good enough, but my goodness there is a LONG list of players on the team who have easily been just as disappointing.

[Blaster86]

As an outside watcher, I've always maintained that in Sean Monahan was a winger he would be one of the best. As a center he's a slightly above average 2nd line center or a below average 1st line center with a terrible defensive acumen either way.

Move him to the wing, or trade him.