Sean Monahan

Better than a point-per-game player as recently as the 2018-19 campaign, Monahan's stock is at an all-time low. He played 65 games for Calgary a season ago, managing just eight goals and 23 points. Thirteen of those points came with the man advantage, to give you an idea of how ineffective Monahan was at even strength. Needing to clear cap space following their signing of Nazem Kadri, the Flames traded Monahan to Montreal in mid-August. He is expected to be fully recovered from hip surgery by the time the season begins, although Monahan remains nothing more than a late-round Hail Mary from a fantasy perspective.

Hip surgery brought an early end to Monahan's 2020-21 season, in which he produced career lows in goals (10) and points (28) in just 50 contests. This came after a 48-point effort in 70 games the year before, so the veteran center has now seen two straight years in decline. It's a pivotal year for Monahan in 2021-22 -- on top of the recovery from surgery, his name has been dangled in trade rumors given the Flames' underwhelming results in recent years. For now, it looks like he could open the season as the team's No. 2 center. If he is able to regain his old form, the soon-to-be 27-year-old has 30-goal, 60-point potential, but there's enough uncertainty around him for fantasy managers to be cautious in drafting him earlier than the late rounds.

Monahan missed the 30-goal mark for the first time since 2016-17 last year, as the high-scoring center only posted 22 tallies and 48 points in 70 games. It was his lowest scoring output since his rookie campaign, and he also struggled defensively with a minus-16 rating. Monahan shot 13.3 percent and stayed healthy, so it wasn't an unusually poor effort compared to his typical pace. The 26-year-old will look to have a bounce-back campaign in 2020-21 -- fantasy managers have come to expect 30 goals and 60 points from the Brampton, Ontario native on an annual basis. He's still expected to see a healthy amount of power-play time, where he produced 16 of his 48 points in 2019-20. Monahan also averaged just under one hit per game last year, displaying a physical edge that had been missing from his first six seasons.

Monahan enjoyed a career year with 34 goals, 48 assists and 82 points in 78 contests last season, taking a large leap up from his usual 60-point output from the previous four campaigns. The 24-year-old pivot has topped 30 goals three times in his career, frequently acting as the triggerman for winger Johnny Gaudreau's sublime playmaking. However, the 2013 first-round pick will have to prove that 2018-19 wasn't a fluke in terms of total point production during the upcoming campaign. If he and his linemates, Gaudrea and Elias Lindholm, are able to remain steady, 30 goals and 70 points is a reasonable expectation for Monahan in his sixth season. The Canadian turns 25 years old in October, so there's a chance that there's still some untapped potential in his game that could push him into the 75-to-80 point range consistently.

Monahan, 23, has been a consistent point producer through his first five NHL seasons -- averaging 0.72 points per game in 393 career contests. Last season saw him notch his highest single-season mark (0.86), finishing the campaign with a career-best 64 points, including 31 goals. Also, he finished third in 2017-18 with 11 game-winning goals and sits fourth amongst active players in career shooting percentage (14.9), so the case can be made that Monahan is worthy of a relatively high draft pick, especially in keeper formats. At 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, he is a load for opposing centers to deal with even if he doesn't throw the body around as much as some may like. Extremely durable as well, having only missed 17 games total in his first five NHL seasons, Monahan's year-to-year point totals are as follows: 34, 62, 63, 58 and 64 -- expect the Brampton, Ontario product to wind up in the 55-65 point range in 2018-19. However, if all goes well for team and player, Monahan could wind up cracking the 70-point mark.

Despite the fact that he was Calgary’s leading goal scorer with 27 tallies last season, Monahan’s 58 points may seem like a disappointment to fantasy owners who drafted him expecting an offensive breakout. However, the statistical downturn was not entirely Monahan’s fault -- his 17:35 of average ice time was a stark departure from the 19:10 he averaged in 2015-16, and that surely has something to do with the fact that the Flames incurred a league-high 956 penalty minutes. Because the 22-year-old an offensive-oriented player and power-play specialist, as his healthy 3:01 of average ice time with the extra man will attest, he spent too much of the season riding the pine while his team killed off its numerous penalties. Considering that he actually managed to slightly raise his shot total to a career-high 199 despite the reduced minutes, Monahan could be in for a breakout into the top tier of offensive producers alongside Johnny Gaudreau on the Flames’ top line this season.

After two nearly identical campaigns with point totals in the low 60s, Monahan’s comfortably ensconced as a reliable NHL performer, but this could be the year that 2013’s No. 6 overall pick takes a giant leap forward. He’s still the top-line center in Calgary, meaning he retains the pleasure of making magic on offense with Johnny Gaudreau, and at the tender age of 21, Monahan is still reaching for his eventual ceiling. With the Flames likely to see significant improvement in net this year thanks to the presence of reliable veteran Brian Elliott, Monahan should see his rating spike back into positive territory, and stronger goaltending can lead to increased offense as well. There aren’t enough superlatives for his shooting, his playmaking and his grit, and the team context may finally be right for those attributes to propel Monahan to full-on stardom.

Monahan is one of the NHL’s rising young stars. Much like Jonathan Toews at a similar age, the 20-year-old is wise beyond his years. His vision is already elite and his unconventional shooting style -- he opens up square to the net and fires lasers, rather than transferring his weight from foot to foot -- makes his shot quick and his release hard to read. Monahan is also not one to sift around on the perimeter -- he's more than willing to go into the dirty areas to make plays. In fact, that’s where he pots most of his goals. His chemistry with Johnny Gaudreau and Jiri Hudler is like putting a flame to hydrogen, and that trio will be back together again for 2015-16. Just don’t expect a production leap like we saw between years one and two -- this season will be about consolidation and refinement.

Monahan's rookie campaign started about as well as possible, as the 18-year-old rookie raced to nine points in his first eight games. He cooled off considerably, but still ended up with 22 goals and 12 assists in 75 games -- quite the feat for a player his age. Monahan should only get better as he gets more experience, and the sky is the limit for the 19-year-old center. While the Flames may continue to bring him on slowly and start him on the third line to begin the season, it would be surprising not to see him in the top six by season's end.

The Flames' No. 1 pick has all the tools to make it to the NHL in relatively short time, as he can do everything on the ice. He burned up the OHL last season as one of its leading scorers and should make some noise again this season. Monahan isn't likely to see much time in Calgary this season -- as much as fans would like him to -- as he could use another season to refine his game. But stranger things have happened. We'll know more after the first nine games of the year. That's his "free" audition period before the Flames burn a year of eligibility with him. He might be too good to send back, particularly with the desperation the Flames have for offense.