Quote:
Originally Posted by devo22
yes, he was outscored by Anton Babchuk in 2010-11. But that has absolutely nothing to do with Backlunds play last season and in the games so far this season, and this is all that matters in contract negotiations going forward. He's improved a lot over the last 4 seasons, I don't think anyone would disagree. He was already a .5 PPG player during the lockout-shortened season and he was again last season. Plus, Backlund means much more to the Flames than just offense. It's his two-way play and his penalty killing that carries a lot of value IMO and the Flames have definitely missed him in that regard this season.
I don't think 4 x 4 for a player like is ludicrous at all in today's NHL (and judging from this thread, it doesn't seem like I'm alone on this), but hey, we'll see.
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Your the one that brought up previous career bests...not me. (as for this season...he has played THREE good games)
Yes I agree he is better than he was 4 years ago (as he should be at his age)...and maybe he is going to be what he has been the last 40 or so games played, but that is really all we have as a sample size that he is a guy that can be leaned on as a 2 way/2nd line player. Nothing wrong with making him earn a long term deal as no matter how we look at it, he has not been at that level for anything nearing a full season in consecutive games.
It just scares me to see long term/big money deals handed out at this point to someone who may or may not be who we think he is based on his ability to stay in the line up and show it for any length of time.