I personally think Gaudreau would be an awful fit on the Avs. He is simliar to Drouin with the lack of effort and tire fire defensively. Those kind of guys I dont see meshing well with Mackinnons no BS attitude and Bednars approach of you get what you earn for icetime.

That's a fair point, probily a major factor why it won't happen. Best case scenario mack's work ethic rubs off on him and we get a 80 point 2nd line winger who plays two way hockey, dare to dream.

Gaudreau doesn’t lack effort lol, what he lacks is linemates who know how to put the puck in the net in the playoffs. He’s a playmaker without a true finisher on Calgary. If you watched the Dallas series he was consistently beating or at least drawing over 2, sometimes 3 guys. Monahan’s used to him dangling through 3 or 4 and giving him a tap in in the regular season, but that’s unrealistic come the playoffs, teams buckle down more but he still creates space, just not quite as much obviously, nobody does in the playoffs. Give him someone who can get open given that much room (2-3 guys completely taken out of their way, meaning you just have to not be standing right next to the other dman or a backchecking forward smh I’m still mad Monahan kept doing that) and Johnny won’t have a problem slipping the puck through to create quality scoring chances.

As for the trade though, it would have to involve Newhook for sure. Adding Nichuskin, Burakovsky, or Timmins + a pick would probably finish the deal. Johnny’s a superstar and we’re a playoff team so there would have to be real incentive to move him.

Both have been miserable in the playoffs as well, disappearing. If you arent going to get scoring int he playoffs, you need guys who will work their butts off trying to make impacts some other way. Cant see them elevating their game to that sort of level. Avs cant really afford to mess around with talented but passengers

No he lacks effort, the amount of time he is getting called out for not back checking is a nightly occurrence wit him. That is effort issues.
Avs fans watched him all the previous playoffs as well, same issues, he didnt do any of that what you are claiming, He disappeared didnt engage in the play, didnt back check etc etc. The amount of times he stopped skating and shaked his hand trying to draw a penalty by complaining every time he got the slightly bit of contact...thats effort level, hes stopping on plays looking for the easy way out

The Avs employ Nichushkin who was the laziest player in the NHL before he took puck and went home for being called out. Don’t give me this “Johnny wants it easy” bs.

If you want someone who will backcheck there are plenty of options, but they won’t be as skilled offensively. Johnny’s appeal is that he’s one of the best playmakers in the league. He’s top 10 in points since entering the league 6 years ago. Not everyone has to be the perfect 2-way player lol, some guys are great defensively but have no vision and some guys, like Johnny, don’t play much defense but are incredible in the offensive zone with the puck on their stick. And Johnny did have some nice defensive plays this playoffs honestly, he came back and stole the puck several times, which I wasn’t expecting him to do as that’s not his role but it was nice to see that he did.

avs have better skilled players than him, They need complete players and Johnny is not that.

I live in Calgary I have watched him live more times than I can count over the years. Hes a talented player who doesnt battle He gets you to the playoffs but doesnt get you through the playoffs. And im not the only one who thinks that....majority of flames fans think that here, as well as that same phrase was said by Friedman on one of his latest podcasts. He is what he is...a talented but flawed player...so in no way is he going to demand a Newhook level prospect back for him

This might be the most pointless statement talking about Gaudreau ...how in the world does Nichushkin have anything to do with Johnnys playing style?

Nichushkin is an elite defensive forward who plays in a bottom 6 role.
Johnny is an elite offensive talent who plays on a 1st line

Talk about irrelevant comparison

I dunno man, I think it’s really missing the mark to blame Johnny for the Flames’s lack of success. It’s the easy answer but if you watch the games it’s generally hard to fault Gaudreau. He only maybe had one bad game this playoffs (excluding the last two periods of game 6, everyone played atrocious then but he was good in the 1st at least). They haven’t surrounded him with the talent every other playmaker on a top team possesses. If he had a guy like Connor/Laine (like Wheeler does) or Matthews/Tavares (like Marner does) I’m sure that guy would be a consistent 60 goal threat and Johnny would put up 100 points every year. Monahan’s a 1C in the vein of Duchene in that he can put up 20+ goals and 55+ points in a bad year, which Johnny can elevate to 30+ goals consistently and 70-80 points, but much as I love him, Mony doesn’t have that killer instinct of a top level goal scorer. Take the pressure off Johnny to do literally everything (he can probably still be the best player on the team, just get someone remotely close to his skill level lmao) and you’re cruising, but Calgary hasn’t been able to do that unfortunately

He’s not the sole reason. I never said that but he’s getting the stigma of he’s a guy you can’t win with, and that’s what the Calgary market is clamouring about him.

Avs don’t need 1 dimensional players, they are past that

I’ve said Johnny is a gifted offensive player but there is no sugar coating that he does have the habit of giving up on plays by not back checking and being soft on the puck.

That's not nearly enough for a superstar like Gaudreau

Stigma is a stupid reason to not like a guy. Evaluate how he plays in his role. You have Nichuskin or Kadri to do the backchecking, let Johnny run the offensive zone. Look at the Isles for example, I don’t expect Cizikas to put up points, just like I didn’t expect Barzal to drop the gloves with Hathaway when he was challenged in round 1. Saying Cizikas sucks because he only has 2 assists this playoffs or that Barzal is soft and bad because he wouldn’t fight is silly. One’s an energy 4C PK guy and the other is a talented offensive threat. If you could add a bona fide top line 100pt threat playmaker for a reasonable price I don’t know how many teams would refuse but I’m thinking it’s approximately zero. Look how many teams want Hall and he’s won like 2 playoff games in 10 years, and is literally worse than Gaudreau. Maybe they want him because the “stigma” associated with him is that his team wins the first overall pick every year lol

Dude are you unstable or something, I said he was a bad fit on the avs bc of his lack of effort playing defensive detail,

This is about Johnny being a bad fit on the avs, that’s it. What are you ranting about

Him not being a fit Is not saying he’s a bad player, it’s just that he wouldn’t woke well with bednar and how the avs deploy their forwards. Yikes settle down

Lol

You proved my point with response; it’s like saying a player who plays on the ducks is a dirty scum bag bc the stars employee Corey Perry

Nah Nichushkin was poor defensively until this season. He even packed his bags and left because he didn’t want to put in the effort but you’re bashing Johnny because he scores too much for your liking or something. I’m honestly not sure.

If everyone the Avs get has to be defensively detailed they’re gonna have a rough time finding guys, particularly high skill guys. I have a hard time believing that’s a dealbreaking factor for a guy of Gaudreau’s calibre and if it is then you need to re-evaluate your expectations. If Colorado wants a push over the edge, an extra 80-100 points seems like a solid way to accomplish that.

He is one of the most mercurial players I have ever seen. In last years playoffs against the Avs he literally was pouting and seriously played with zero effort defensively. Literally he is one of the last players I would want on the Avs. @coga16 is right MacKinnon and for that matter Bednar would be on his ass non stop because literally he looks like he has about as much interest in playing defense as Melnyk is interested in handing out big money long term contracts. He is a truly awful fit for the Avs.

He would be getting 4th probably 5th in ice time out of the forwards, no one is getting 80-100 points In that role

Dude you’re really not getting it,

No no he wasn’t, he always has great underlying shot suppression numbers, but hey you do you

You bring no value to this convo bc reading comprehension is an issue for you, stating a guy would be a bad fit bc of his inability to play defenses and his lack of effort isn’t bashing him, it’s a legit critic that many flames fans and including experts who cover the game share about him.

Are you just fan Boying or something

Yes the guy before this season who’s corsi rel was even or negative had great shot suppression numbers.

You said Johnny doesn’t fit the Avs because his poor defensively and doesn’t give effort. I reminded you that Nichushkin, the guy who’s defensive numbers aren’t as good as you say and who up and left because he didn’t want to give effort, is an Av. I just pointed out the hypocrisy in your claim. That’s all.

lol he’d be at worst your 3rd best forward, probably 2nd come on now. Rantanen’s fantastic but he has yet to beat the 99 points Gaudreau did last year, and he plays with MacKinnon, who is obviously significantly better than Monahan.


The Avs had 3 guys on him at all times, which seems ridiculous but it contained him effectively, and thus Calgary’s entire offense so it was a good strategy. If he had a linemate that could do something with that space he’d be a lot more successful (the other team would either have to commit less guys to him, giving him space to make plays, or get burned by his linemate). I don’t get the obsession with playing defense, he’s one of the most skilled players in the league, let him succeed in that role and let Kadri or Nichuskin or whoever else handle the defense

While we're doing insane trade scenarios for the fun of it...

Flames get Mackinnon; Colorado gets Monahan + 2020 1st + Pelletier or MEP

Flames go on to win the next 4 cups yay.

That’s just a ridiculous statement “the Avs had 3 guys on him at all times”, that’s beyond hyperbole straight into the realm of delusion. That doesn’t happen in hockey. Tkachuk was BY far the best player in that series for the flames, Gaudreau was somewhere near 6 or 7.

You want to know the obsession with defense? Defense isn’t fun to play, it isn’t sexy. But you do have to make an effort. And that is what matters. MacKinnon isn’t great at defense, but at least he puts in a reasonable effort. And if you aren’t at least willing to make an effort at both ends you aren’t ever going to be a champion especially ESPECIALLY if you are the best player on your team. Personally I wouldn’t trade anything for him because I wouldn’t want him and his playoff disappearance routine on my team. 10 pts in the last 19 playoff games, and a lack of interest in playing defense is just someone not worth investing in trading for.