Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee
This may be seriously off topic / deserve it's own thread. But this Backlund rumour really got me thinking because I just can't understand why:
a) He's had spurts of very good (last year seemed quite effective), and spurts of not-noticeable / bad
b) why is he being used the way he is by Hartley (4th line? #### off). People don't succeed when you don't put them in a position to.
c) Why all of our seemingly encouraging prospects...bust.
And so it has me worried about a guy like Monahan too. Or all of them, really.
Maybe the solution isn't so much about how we can extract as much value from the asset (Backlund) as we can today by trade.
Maybe the solution is to take a very serious hard look at how we develop prospects and why it is not working and has not worked for years.
Otherwise the problem never really gets solved. Backlund, Monahan, Jesus Christ himself. The problem seems systemic within the organization. And no I'm not giving Backlund a free pass... because maybe he really is a bust. But isn't it odd that literally all of our prospects up until this point aren't able to break into the league and make a statement? Monahan... maybe... but I can still see the Flames destroy his career.
How many of you, when you saw this rumour, thought to yourself 'well if he ends up in some place like Detroit, he will ####ing dominate once Babcock gets ahold of him'??
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Pretty much exactly what I've thought. Just extreme mismanagement over his whole career. A couple years ago when he hadn't proved anything he was projected to be the first line center out of training camp. Now that he's actually showing signs of being a solid NHLer he's stuck with McGrattan and Jackman(or whoever replaces him). He got about 10 minutes on a scoring line with Cammalleri and Hudler and was involved in the two prettiest goals this team has scored this season, and his reward? Back to the 4th line.