Entering his second season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Sean Monahan will start the year back in his role as the team's top line center. Last year, he gave us quite a bit more than we hoped for. Can he do it again?
Just one year after being blasted for handing out this contract, the Blue Jackets have already seen him exceed the full value of the deal. Monahan's leadership and production were outstanding in year one of his five year, $27.5 million dollar contract.
In 54 games last season, he scored 19 goals, 57 points, carried a +19 rating and won 52.6% of his faceoffs. His efforts earned him a Masterton Trophy, which was handed to him by Meredith Gaudreau in a heart warming moment. This was easily one of the best overall seasons by a true center in franchise history. In fact, the only negative thing I can say about Sean's first season in Central Ohio is that he missed time due to injury.
This year, the expectations for the team are even higher. But, with that said, I think the expectation for Sean Monahan is to just keep being himself. A repeat of last season would be 100% acceptable. Though, obviously, we would want to see him have greater health and play in more of the games.
The reason I say that is because this team will truly take off once its true core really finds its way. Monahan's line with Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov was one of the best two-way forward units in the entire NHL. That's a great start.
But, if this team is going to get over the playoff hump and eventually (dare I say it?) compete for a Stanley Cup; they are going to do so on the backs of guys like Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson. That's what this roster is being constructed around.
So, in the meantime, they just need Sean Monahan to show up and lead the way in whatever role he's tasked. On some nights, that will mean chipping in a few points. On others, that could mean playing in a more secondary role, eating up minutes against top competition. After all, ideally, he's your second line center.
He's a very good two-way player, but more importantly; he's an invaluable presence within the locker room for this young team. He has been a terrific mentor for the young Fantilli as he develops down the middle. For these reasons alone, he's been worth every penny - and will continue to be for the duration of the contract. The production is just a big bonus.
One bold prediction: Sean Monahan will exceed 70 games played and score 30 or more goals.
Sean Monahan gets a bit of a bad wrap for his injury history, but it doesn't make sense to me. Really, until the 2021-22 season, he had stayed pretty healthy throughout his career. He's only played short of 70 games three times in his career, if you exclude the COVID-shortened year. That includes last season.
He's going to play within the top-six for this team. He's going to be on one of the power-play units. This team was very productive last season, so it's not much of a stretch to predict 30+ goals here, assuming health. Sean Monahan will absolutely be one of the most valuable players on the team again this year.