Practice notes -- 02/20/2020

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Rando

Where would you put Monahan on that depth chart?

I dunno. But I think Lindholm has shown to be a better center than Monahan and I think Backlund has shown to be a better shutdown center than Lindholm.

I guess if I had to make a parallel, the 2012 Kings come to mind where Jeff Carter got shifted to the wing while Kopitar / Richards were the 1-2 punch. And if Monahan isn't comfortable on the wing, I wouldn't be opposed to shopping him for a good natural right winger of a similar caliber.

[1Nite]

I think for tomorrow's game if he is ready to go, having Ryan on the 4th line would be a good way to ease him back in if he is not quite 100%, guy is pretty valuable, not the biggest or fastest, but just a smart player.

[Hey Connor, It's Mess]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I like

Lindholm
Backlund
Bennett
Ryan

more than either of those but it'll never happen.

This organization is allergic to trying Monahan at wing for any meaningful length of time.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

What? No. Mikael Backlund is still the Flames second- or third-best centre. If he is not playing down the middle then his gifts are wasted.

He is disqualified because he has a kid.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by Bingo

With Bennett getting some traction on the third line, and the fact that Ryan was great last year leading the fourth line and playing special teams I wonder if we'll see a mix up on the bottom six going forward.

Lucic - Ryan
Bennett - Dube

pairings?

Hard to break Bennett out of that line that's been somewhat productive though. Tough choices.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hey Connor, It's Mess

This organization is allergic to trying Monahan at wing for any meaningful length of time.

Monahan's offensive game is down the middle. I don't know that I see him busting in around checks on the wing. I think he best D is played in the middle as well - he's not bad at slot coverage. But I think he's not quick enough to play D on the wings, or physical enough to win defensive battles on the half boards.

Whereas Lindholm is fine at C but he's also a good forechecker and defensive zone skater.

FWIW, Monahan is also better at faceoffs. But that's just starting position.

[TheScorpion]

I cannot see Monahan having any success at all playing on the wing. He plays the definition of a north-south game and basically every goal he's ever scored has been from right in front of the net.

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Hey Connor, It's Mess

This organization is allergic to trying Monahan at wing for any meaningful length of time.

I think it is for good reason, he looks out of place on the wing. He is a center and has been for a long time.

If we have to push anyone down to ensure Bennett gets a shot at center it should be Ryan. Those lines can interchange, hell give Bennett more time on the PP and with Tkachuk on the wing with him and see what he can do. He seems to be playing better at center, it is may be time to give him more minutes.

So I guess once Ryan is healthy, we run this.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Backlund - Mangiapane
Lucic - Bennett - Dube
Jankowski - Ryan - Reider/Rinaldo

If one line of the middle lines is playing better than the other give them more time in games. If Bennett continues to play well at center, then swap him and Backlund. In theory, Tkachuk, Bennett and Mangiapane when Bennett is feeling it would be hard to play against and gives us a great one-two punch with two bottom lines who can shut down other teams top players.

[Calgary4LIfe]

You have to keep Monahan at centre. He has been without a doubt Calgary's best offensive centre in at least a decade.


I think you give priority to the guys on the roster that are likely to be in the organization the longest. Monahan, Lindholm, Backlund and Bennett. Ryan is a better centre than I ever thought he would be, and I have absolutely zero complaints about his game. He is, however, not a young guy.



I would go with either:
Monahan
Backlund
Bennett
Ryan
Keep utilizing Bennett as a centre, and eventually with time, he will push Backlund down to the third line, if things go well. If not, well, you still have your best centres slotted for the most success in the short term and long term.


Or


Monahan
Lindholm
Backlund
Bennett


Once again, keep Bennett pushing Backlund. You have 2 scoring centres, a third line centre who is elite as a shutdown centre and is still capable of putting up good numbers, and a hard-nosed centre that you hope develops into more.


That's what I would roll with. Like Lindholm, Bennett just needs a long stretch playing with capable players to develop him as a centre. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but right now (small sample size) he is showing that it is working, and it is in the Flames' best interest to keep seeing if it works long-term or not.

[heep223]

^ I think Ryan could make a good bottom six winger. He's quick and it's useful to have a playmaking winger, particularly to play with someone like Bennett who is dumb as a post but has good skill and tenacity.

[jaginla]

Keep Lube together