Sean Monahan Will Never Really Leave the Calgary Flames
Every NHL team has players who leave but never really leave. They move on to another city. They put on another jersey. But for the fans who watched them grow, they remain part of the story. For Calgary Flames fans, Sean Monahan is one of those players.
Monahan turned out to be exactly the type of player Calgary needed.
When the Flames selected Monahan sixth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, they were looking for something they had been missing for years. A young center who could grow with the organization. He was a player who could become part of the future. And for a while, that is exactly what happened.
Monahan arrived in Calgary and immediately looked like he belonged. As a teenager, he scored 22 goals in his rookie season. Over the next several years, he became one of the most reliable goal scorers the Flames had. From 2014-15 through 2018-19, Monahan averaged more than 60 points per season. He was a big part of the Flames’ best years during the Johnny Gaudreau era. The two became one of the most recognizable combinations in Calgary hockey.
But hockey has a way of asking a price.
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Eventually, Monahan’s injuries started to pile up.
And this is where Monahan’s story becomes more interesting. Fans often look at statistics and wonder what happened. A player scores 30 goals one year, then the numbers drop. The assumption is that the player changed. But sometimes the player is fighting battles nobody outside the dressing room can see.
Monahan kept playing. He kept trying to help his team. But eventually, his body needed a reset. When Calgary moved him to Montreal, many wondered if the player Flames fans remembered was gone. He wasn't. He was just trying to find his way back.
The Flames dumped Monahan’s contract, and the Canadiens took a chance.
The Flames no longer knew what Monahan could become. The Canadiens were willing to find out. In Montreal, Winnipeg, and now Columbus, Monahan rebuilt his career. He showed that he still had the hockey sense, the skill, and the determination that made him a sixth overall pick. In 2024-25, he was recognized with the Bill Masterton Trophy, an award that celebrates perseverance and dedication to hockey.
And maybe that is the perfect way to describe Sean Monahan. He was never just the player who scored goals with Johnny Gaudreau. He was the player who kept going when things got tough.
The Flames will always be connected to Monahan, no matter where he plays.
The Flames will always be connected to Monahan because they remember the beginning. They remember the young center arriving with so much promise. Now they get to appreciate something else: the comeback. In 2024-25, he was better than a point-a-game player with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 54 NHL games, he scored 19 goals and added 38 assists, for 57 points.
Sometimes hockey stories are not about becoming a superstar. Sometimes they are about a player refusing to disappear.