Calgary Flames Forward Sean Monahan Is Having An Incredible 2017

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Sean Monahan, like other players on the Calgary Flames, had quite a slow start. But he’s definitely picked up his game and 2017 has been kind to the young center-man.

For the start of the 2016-2017 season, life wasn’t kind to Sean Monahan. Or to the Calgary Flames in general. They had quite the horrible start and just after one month, people had already questioned if playoffs were an option or not.

A big reason for this? The Flames expensive forwards weren’t producing. And that includes Monahan.

However now in 2017 so far, Monahan has completely turned his game around. December was kind to him, but 2017 has been amazing to him. Let’s look at his numbers month by month to see how much confidence he has gained in the new year.

NHL: Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames /

First ten games

In the first 10 games of the season, aka the month of October, Monahan had just four goals and no assists. This was tied for ninth on the team in terms of points. He also had just one powerplay point and a -5 rating which was tied for the worst on the team.

A problem for him was that he just wasn’t shooting the puck as often as he should. And it became evident that he started to lose some confidence, which is the reason he wouldn’t be shooting pucks. He kept passing when he should have just shot it on net.

He had just 20 shots in those ten games which is not exactly what you want from your top center-man.

Busy November

The Calgary Flames had a very busy November, playing 16 games in 30 days. And how about Sean Monahan?

Well, he still wasn’t performing or living up to his paycheck.

In those 16 games, Monahan had just two goals and four assists. To make matters worse, those six points in 16 games was tied for second highest on the team for points. Yikes.

He also had no powerplay points and was averaging not even two shots per game. Double yikes. At this point, the Flames special teams were struggling as well. For the month of November, they were second last on the powerplay with 9.5% and were 19th on the PK with 81.5%.

The Flames this month went 7-8-1, so not completely horrible, but not even over 0.500. So there’s really no chance for them to make playoffs.

Up until this point, from the start of October until the end of November, the Flames were 11-13-2 and Monahan had just 10 points in 26 games. He also was -8 which was third worst on the team.

Yikes again.

Dec 2, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames right wing Kris Versteeg (10) celebrates his first period goal withright wing Michael Frolik (67) and center Sean Monahan (23) against the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports /

Better December

December rolled around and somebody kidnapped the Calgary Flames and replaced them with replicas. Someone also killed Dave Cameron and replaced him with a Dave Cameron look alike because the Flames powerplay was now completely different and way way WAY better than it has been.

The Flames went 9-4-0 in December and at one point, were on a six-game win streak and seven-game point streak. They also made it into a playoff spot for the first time all season. At one point, they were even first in the Pacific division. You see what I mean by someone kidnapping this team and replacing them with replicas?

And what could be a factor for this successful month?

Well, I guess when your top, expensive forwards actually start living up to their paychecks, the entire team does well. Huh. Who would have thought?

In December, Sean Monahan had 10 points in 13 games, which I know isn’t ridiculously amazing or anything, but much better than the start to his season. But what was impressive is from November 28th until December 19th, he was on a ten-game point streak which is now a career-high for him. He had 12 points in that 10 game span.

And what about the special teams?

Well, from the start of December until the end of the month, they moved up 16 spots. They were second last on the PP at the start of December and by the end, they were 13th overall.

And Monahan? Well, seven of his 10 points were powerplay points. During that ten-game point streak for Monahan, the Flames went 7-2-1 and that’s when they had their six-game win streak. The Flames were also on an eight-game powerplay goal streak.

In December alone, the Flames were 34.7% on the PP which was highest in the league in December. Their PK was also quite impressive, being 88.5% which was third in the league.

By the end of the December, the Flames were 20-17-2, had 42 points, and ended the year in a playoff position.

2017

Alright folks, NOW we get into the fun stuff. Yes, I did just say folks because apparently I am a 60 year-old man. No shame if you are, just, you know, I’m not.

The start to 2017 wasn’t super spectacular. In the first five games, Sean Monahan had three assists in five games and no powerplay points. But then something happened to him on January 13th and he took off. Since then in his last ten games, he has nine goals and two assists. He is now at 99 goals and is, obviously, one goal away from 100 goals. If he gets one more goal before the season ends, he will be the youngest Flame in franchise history to reach 100 goals.

Also, just look at this beauty of a goal. This will undoubtedly be on highlight reels for goals of the year.

Since January 13th, Monahan is tied for most amount of goals in the league. Since the start of the year, he’s tied for third for most amount of goals in the league. The Calgary Flames are currently on a three-game win streak and keep climbing in and out of a playoff spot.

This may be because before this three-game win streak, they had a four-game losing streak where they officially fell out of a playoff spot. Now they keep going up and down and the standings basically change every day. However, if Monahan and the other expensive Flames forwards can continue to produce and live up to their paychecks, the Flames can keep their playoff spot.

Next: Flames First Month of 2017 - Recap and Review

Monahan may have had a slow start to his season, but he’s definitely regained his much-needed confidence. And with his 100th goal coming up, he will be one of the Flames best players in franchise history, mark my words.

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