How do you feel about this team?

[Mobiandi]

Even our "fast" guys aren't that fast. Outside of Rieder the fastest forward on the team is??? Gaudreau maybe? Bennett? Mangiapane?

All decent skaters but no one really fast.

I think Backlund catches a lot of opponents off guard with his speed. He's pretty underrated in that regard, but yeah other than that we're pretty slow.

Gaudreau isn't bad by league standards but for a guy his size, he's kinda slow. If he was a little bit faster and a little bit better at breakaways he could be a top 10 player in the league

 

[JPeeper]

Even our "fast" guys aren't that fast. Outside of Rieder the fastest forward on the team is??? Gaudreau maybe? Bennett? Mangiapane?

All decent skaters but no one really fast.

Dube would like a word. He's easily our fastest skater.

And we're a slow team because no one cares. When we played to Peters system last year we were a fast team, when we played a run and gun style under Hartley we were a fast team. In a straight line Monahan is actually a fairly fast player, someone posted it a few years back and his straight line speed is the same as MacKinnon. The difference is Monahan's acceleration and edge work are no where near the same. No one will believe me because everyone is blind to how good and all the little stuff Monahan does well, but it's true.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

? But I think I had a totally different view of Bennett than most remember when he was drafted. In his draft year in the pre-season, I watched him do things with confidence in a way that made me believe he would quickly surpass Gaudreau as our most skilled forward. Somewhere along the lines, he sealed that off Baertschi style. I really don't think he is completely lacking hockey IQ. I think he can think at a fast pace, but has learned to second guess all of his instincts which slows things down, makes him seem like he processes things slowly and paint him into a corner decision making wise. I think he is seriously lacking guidance in bringing a vast skill set to NHL speed. Because he didn't get that either from line mates or coaching, his skills never were brought to NHL speed and still aren't. He easily showed something that should have been a superior version of 2C level Kadri or an interesting version of current hot streak Backlund. He needs better coaching and confidence to bring that out and I do think he will be able to achieve 1C in his career.

Your take on Bennett has always been my take. I'll never forget how explosive that Gaudreau - Bennett - Jooris/Frolik line looked, we've never had a line like it. It was kind of similar to the Sheary - Crosby - Hornqvist line that won the cup that same year, albeit far more raw.

 

[Mazatt]

I think the biggest thing about Monahan is that he is sorely lacking in edgework. All the best players in the league are able to leverage using their bodies and edges to maintain the puck or work around guys. Monahan doesn't really have that ability in his repertoire so he has to do bigger turns that are easier to read. He doesn't have any dangles for defenseman, only for goalies, and I think having better edgework/skating in general could fix that. I don't think I can recall a single time Monahan has ever done a move in general to get by a guy using east-west agility instead of north-south speed.

 

[Mazatt]

Brodie-hamonic back...

They’re gonna shoehorn the later with Hanifin when he gets back. Go f*** yourself ward, I’m actually livid rn.

I feel like apart of this is an overreaction? Like, you make the assumption that Hamonic would be shoehorned in with Hanifin even though this is a case where we have 4 proven top 4 defenseman (Juries out on Gus imo) and we're playing them in the top 4? Would I have preferred Hamonic with Forbort or something like that, sure, but this lineup decision says nothing about what will happen when Hanifin gets back. This is a move with logic behind it that makes sense and can be justified.

 

[DFF]

Islanders is coming on a big slump/losing streak. The Flames is the perfect medicine for them.

Look like coming in back to a dog fight again after this one. As somebody said, I wouldnt be too upset with a lottery pick.

 

[DFF]

I think the biggest thing about Monahan is that he is sorely lacking in edgework. All the best players in the league are able to leverage using their bodies and edges to maintain the puck or work around guys. Monahan doesn't really have that ability in his repertoire so he has to do bigger turns that are easier to read. He doesn't have any dangles for defenseman, only for goalies, and I think having better edgework/skating in general could fix that. I don't think I can recall a single time Monahan has ever done a move in general to get by a guy using east-west agility instead of north-south speed.

That and the bad habit of standing around waiting for Johnny to do something. Looks lazy most time when he is not scoring.