Sean Monahan could earn more than Elias Lindholm, says Renaud Lavoie

“We could even debate how Sean Monahan is better than Elias Lindholm.” That’s how TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie began his column on BPM Sports’ Le Club du matin show on Thursday. After a ton of laughter from the show’s other contributors, Lavoie took the time to explain his point of view.

According to Lavoie, the most important aspect to watch is Lindholm’s offensive production, which has been declining in recent years. After his career-best season of 82 points in 2021-22, his offensive production has indeed declined.

The fifth overall pick in 2013 racked up 64 points the following season and is now on track for a campaign of around 53 points. On top of that, Lindholm’s 42 goals in 2021-22 may sound impressive, but they were, for the most part, scored in fluke situations, according to Renaud Lavoie.

The TVA Sports journalist doesn’t take anything away from Lindholm, who is a better defensive forward than Monahan. His +61 record in 2021-22 was a very impressive one. However, he doesn’t believe that Lindholm should necessarily be worth more than Monahan this season.

Lindholm has a $4.85 million contract, while Monahan costs less than $2 million ($1.985 million). Lavoie also believes that Monahan can add more to a team’s atmosphere than Lindholm. Although both players are the same age (29), he believes Monahan acts as a better team leader and has been appreciated in Calgary and Montreal.

Lavoie didn’t offer an example of what Monahan could bring to the Habs, but Mathias Brunet of La Presse gave his opinion on BPM Sports.

Even though Lindholm brought back Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick to the Flames, Brunet thinks Montreal will get about the same out of Monahan as they did out of Ben Chiarot.

The return for Sean Monahan should be similar to what we got for Ben Chiarot according to @mathiasbrunet! pic.twitter.com/BhLQHoqR5N

– BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) February 1, 2024

So we’re talking about a first-round pick and a second-round prospect. That doesn’t sound like much when you compare him to Lindholm, who’s about the same level as Monahan, according to Renaud Lavoie.

On the other hand, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun seems very optimistic about Kent Hughes. Now that Lindholm is off the market, Monahan has become the most coveted center on the market. He expects the Rangers, Bruins, Jets and Avalanche to try to negotiate with Hughes to acquire Monahan.

From @PierreVLeBrun & @reporterchris – Examining what could lie ahead for the ##Flames and #Canucks and their rosters, the market for Sean Monahan heating up, and how Connor McDavid’s fingerprints are all over the changes to the Skills Competition: https://t.co/pT8P63WxMZ pic.twitter.com/Mnqdq5mcmX

– TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) February 1, 2024

With the best available player on hand in a high-demand market, LeBrun believes Kent Hughes will find a way to fetch a good price for himself.

With 35 points in 49 games, Sean Monahan is on track to have his best season since the 2018-19 campaign, when he collected a total of 82 points in 78 games.

The Rangers are among the teams interested, and Craig Button offered his opinion on a potential deal bringing Kaapo Kakko to Montreal for Monahan during his appearance on The Sick Podcast.

Craig Button: I would make that trade in 3 seconds!!!#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast pic.twitter.com/3dsACobepj

– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) February 1, 2024