[Cali Panthers Fan]

I like Backlund, always have, for whatever that's worth. Heck, 24/25 whatever, he's still quite young but you can start to see him hit his ceiling as an NHL player. I'm more concerned with his wildly inconsistent offense, and as others have pointed out, he's not ever going to be a top 6 forward on most teams. But I will say he's incredibly effective in his own zone and can be a good forechecker that creates havoc in the o-zone, yet rarely capitalizes on his opportunities. He's a good positional center, but poor at face-offs. He's energetic but gets pushed off the puck easily at times. Like many of our players, he has excellent elements to his game but some glaring holes as well. Overall, I love his attitude and his effort most nights. He is the kind of guy that does all the little things well but it doesn't show up on the score sheet.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that if he's traded, he will likely not get the return he should because he isn't a sexy player. In that situation, along with his age, I'd rather stick with him until someone literally steals his job away. It might not be too much longer anyway.

Argh…I don't know what to do with Backlund. He's a very vexing player.