Sean Monahan is fully healthy and ready to get the season going
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Thanks to off-season surgeries to fix some significant injuries, Sean Monahan is entering the new season in better health than he has been in "at least" three years.
"Seriously..."
Monahan pauses.
"Three years. It's been a long, long time since I've felt this good.
"It's time to get the show on the road."
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"There were times during the rehab where it was really frustrating, but I just had to remind myself that I was going to be back, feeling better and playing to my potential real soon," he said. "It was just going to take a bit of work to get there."
By June, after three months of rehab, he was back up to full speed and was able to train harder, instead of years past when he was dealing with some kind of lingering pain or mobility issues.
"I didn't really have too much down time, but getting home and seeing all my friends and family again, that gives you a pretty big boost," he said. "I can't wait to get back on the ice with the guys during camp.
Looking back at the injury-filled journey and the work he's put in to get to where he is now, the Brampton product feels a sense of relief.
"Honestly," an exasperated Monahan reveals, "it was awful feeling.
"Miserable, really.
"My body had finally had enough."
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All of it in sum made even the most mindless chores, like getting out of bed in the morning, "unbearably painful," but it was the rickety left wrist with its worsening, pliable tendency that bothered him most.
"I couldn't shoot," Monahan said. "Slap shots? No way. My wrister lost a fair bit of heat, too, but at least I could power through it sometimes.
"Most days it just felt like a piece of rubber."
He never let the frustration show publicly, but admits the toil would often take a toll mentally.
Crazy to think he played through all that for a season that was pretty much over in January. Looking forward to seeing him tear it up again.
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Can a healthy Monahan score 40 goals and reach 70 points? With a playmaker like Gaudreau and a legit RW in Neal, I really believe he can.
He's going to have a monster season if he can stay healthy.
I think so too but the added scoring depth should mentally help as well. The top guys will have less pressure and hopefully play more free. Peters and the coaching staff need to play a better style and let their ‘horses’ do what they do best.
Curious. If these were lingering issues, I wonder if there's a reason why he didn't seek surgical intervention earlier. Maybe it wasn't serious enough before, but crossed that threshold this year?
Curious. If these were lingering issues, I wonder if there's a reason why he didn't seek surgical intervention earlier. Maybe it wasn't serious enough before, but crossed that threshold this year?
This is probably the lack of drive Francis was talking about.
Kept missing his appointments. This story really should be about the 3 years Monahan has been lagging behind.
I can't help wondering why these seemingly obvious problems weren't dealt with before the season.
Because they were lingering pain and mobility issues, as he said. It’s not like they stopped him from playing and, as we saw, he still played really really well despite them.
Hard to say how bad the flare ups were, when they took place, etc. But I think for athletes, especially at that high of a level, if you can play through something and hope it gets better on its own, you do that 100% of the time. When it becomes undeniably obvious that’s not happening, you seek surgical intervention.
In his five season in the NHL Monahan is ranked 18th in goal scoring over that period with 138. In that same period he was 5th in game winning goals. On that list of top goal scorers in the last five year Monahan is the youngest player in the top 40.
In his five season in the NHL Monahan is ranked 18th in goal scoring over that period with 138. In that same period he was 5th in game winning goals. On that list of top goal scorers in the last five year Monahan is the youngest player in the top 40.
In his five season in the NHL Monahan is ranked 18th in goal scoring over that period with 138. In that same period he was 5th in game winning goals. On that list of top goal scorers in the last five year Monahan is the youngest player in the top 40.
Shows the potential he still has in him. He’s already a great player and is still young. If him and gaudreau can both have a full season together with both of them healthy... I think Monahan could easily hit 40+ goals and gaudreau could break 100 points. I also think any of the new potential right-wingers for that line could help make them even better. Neal, Lindholm, tkachuk, Bennett, Czarnik, or even someone like Foo or Eat Bread could all bring something positive to that line.
Sean Monahan is fully healthy and ready to get the season going
