You are one of the most statistic oriented posters on the site,
Except I'm not dependent on stats. I If you think I am then you're not paying attention. Being able to use statistics to support observations is not "statistic oriented" whatever that means.
I do like exploring things like ice time and scoring chances. I'm interested in micro stats like royal road crossing passes and player zone carry-ins. They're stats, but not the counting stats that are used to prop up a Monahan. Someone looking at goals, assists, and faceoff wins is different.
so why is he the only player you "see for what he is" in this regard?
He's not the only player I see for what he is.
Monahan is however, a player who puts up better counting stats than the value of his play on the ice. This is common for players slotted in too high a role.
A few years ago we had a similar dissonance between Paul Byron and Joe Colborne, with Byron playing better and Colborne "producing" better. Well we all know how that turned out.
There are other players on the Flames and leaguewide whose counting stats are in dissonance with their play.
It's not a surprise Monahan puts up good stats - he's a top-six quality passer and an excellent, excellent shooter with a knack for getting open.
However the counting stats lead to this perception that he is a number one center, when the stats don't actually say anything about his contributions as a center. People point to faceoff percentage but we know that doesn't mean much especially outside of special teams.
If people can't separate production from positional responsibilities that's on them.
The stats to me say that Monahan is a
forward who can score 40 / 40 if you put him with good players. Which is a good thing and nothing to be ashamed of. James Neal is a forward who scored 40/40 when he played with Malkin. Again, nothing to be ashamed of. But it's insufficient criteria to talk about things like driving play or
positional responsibility.
Those same counting stats to many Flames fans on HF make them say Monahan is trending right there with #1 centers like Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar, Patrice Bergeron. As a Flames fan I wish that were true. But I have to be honest and I admit that Gaudreau and Ferland drove that line and Monahan's contributions to the line did not extend past scoring. Doesn't mean I am saying Monahan had a bad season.
Go around the league and it's no question he doesn't drive the play like a first line center. Watch Barzal. Watch Couturier. Watch Point. Watch Matthews. Watch Eichel. Watch Karlsson.
So when I say that our team would be better off putting Monahan in a role where he can continue to use his offensive skill, without dragging the team down with his lack of effectiveness as a center, it does not mean I "hate" Sean Monahan. If I, for instance since this is a CFHF meme, slot him at 3RW, it does not mean I think he is a third line talent just as it does not mean James Neal is a third line talent, it means I want the Calgary Flames to be successful and part of that is having a highly talented scorer on your third line. I think Monahan is currently a better player than Neal. But I also think that a line of Gaudreau-Bennett-Neal would be more successful than a line of, oh, Dube-Monahan-Lindholm because line A has the superior player at center responsibilities, while still having a sniper in Neal who isn't going to do much as far as driving play. And yet Dube and Lindholm could still get Monahan the puck enough that they'd be a solid second scoring line (third line in terms of role, because the Backlund line is always the "second line" in that sense.) Since Dube is better at center responsibilities than Monahan, I would have him be the center, so a line of Monahan-Dube-Lindholm would be more effective than a line of Dube-Monahan-Lindholm. So I would move Monahan to the wing to maximize effectiveness. Now you've got an amazing second scoring line that plays with tempo thanks to the center.
Now back to Ferland, I think Gaudreau and Ferland were a dynamic duo last year. The weakest link was at center - and the weakest link should never be at center which is the most important forward position. So if I think Ferland is going to be better with a more dynamic player at center (Sebastian Aho), that is because the weakest link is now at wing (Teravainen) instead of center (Aho).
But someone like you, all you read is "This guy's opinion is worth that of a second grader because he doesn't slobber all over the great and infallible Sean Monahan"
Monahan is a top six forward capable of producing on a top line. But that alone's not enough to evaluate him as a player. If you refuse to think beyond that first sentence your opinion is the one that is worth that of a second grader.
