The title of this column poses a serious question.
The short answer is, yes, it is probably time to sit the supremely talented but clearly underperforming Johnny Gaudreau.
But there’s a lot to unpack when you’re talking about giving arguably your most talented franchise player a bag of popcorn and a seat in the press box.
First, you have to ask yourself why you’re doing it. Leaving an offensive weapon out of the lineup after the team has gone six periods without a goal doesn’t really make a lot of sense on paper. After all, he and his partner-in-crime Sean Monahan are both suffering a real dip in shooting percentages at even strength this season — almost a 10 percent dip for Monahan and a more than an eight percent dip for Gaudreau from last year — and should inevitably climb.