Quote:
Originally Posted by moon
There hasn't been one point in his career, not in Sweden, not in the WHL, not in the AHL and certainly not in the NHL that Backlund has looked close to developing into a top 6 player let alone a stud.
Not sure why people are so concerned about potentially losing (even though there is zero indication he is going anywhere) a guy that has shown not much at all offensively in terms of what a top 6 guy should show.
Maybe Backlund does leave and maybe he takes a crazy leap in play but it seems pretty pointless to worry about that and act as though him turning into something he has never shown the ability or potential to be.
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His play last season certainly indicated to me personally that he has second line upside. He played up to and past the levels of Berglund, Kopitar, Read, Ryan etc.. during the lockout, and then continued on to the NHL with a .5 PPG pace playing in a somewhat limited offensive role. I don't see that same confidence in his game at the moment, but that is to be expected with the way he has been handled as of late.
I don't think it's a stretch to say he has 50 point upside after his showing last year, but again opportunity is everything. Some players find that niche within an organization, and some don't.