Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
I would equate Backlund to the same level of player that Staal was in Pittsburgh. When push came to shove Pittsburgh didn't hesitate to move Staal, because they knew where the salary structure was headed and Staal's demands were headed. I think they made the right decision. I would think that if pushed, Treliving would not hesitate to move Backlund. This is not a slight against Backlund. He's a very good player and is one of those pairs that the Flames obviously leverage to make the forward lines work. But you have to recognize where he fits in the big picture and in the long term. There has to be a number that the Flames are comfortable with, and any more you have to move him. I think that number is $5Mx5, max, and that might even be pushing it considering the trajectory of young Mr. Tkachuk.
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I don't think that this is an accurate comparison at all given the circumstances between the Penguins' cap situation and what Backlund's value to the Flames.
The Penguins had to deal with almost 30% (17.4M) of their cap being eaten by both Crosby and Malkin alone whereas the most that the Flames have to deal with is 13.5M between Giordano and Gaudreau. Even if you add another player to the equation of each teams' big 3 (Letang and Monahan respectively), the cap difference is still significant enough that very few teams can look to Pittsburgh as a comparable.
Backlund exists as the current #2 for this season and possibly the next. As it stands there's still a lot of question marks down the middle between the likes of Bennett and Jankowski. Great potential that could absolutely propel this team into contender status but major what if's remaining to be seen.
On the more subtle thought of Treliving not giving in to contract demands, I do wonder about that. He does seem to be the type to reward players appropriately and get solid contracts from key signings in the past but as any GM does, there's always been that extra little bit that the fans might not agree with. A couple extra years on Gio's deal, a little too much for Bouma's deal...I believe that Backlund's camp is going to work something out on something that is in the 32m range, whether it's 4.57m over 7 years or 5.33 over 6. A little bit much for a bit too long than what we as fans would find idea, as is the case for a lot of tricky contracts like this.
Last note, comparable I tried to look at the multiple centers who were in that top 6 two way role and signed extensions around 28-29. Most signed until they were at least 33, taking around 7+% of the cap when they signed. Anything below 5M would be a steal.