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Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Way to cherry pick the one team with a
situation of having two #1 centers.
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Okay, then I'll "cherry pick" a few more center pairs that would push Monahan/Bennett to third center or "2A/2B". And by Monahan I mean when he's not sitting between two extremely creative playmaking wingers and shooting at wide open nets:
Johnson/Stamkos
Carter/Kopitar
Bergeron/Krejci
Datsyuk/Zetterberg
Thornton/Pavelski
Getzlaf/Kesler*
*Hate him all we want, but at his peak he was a better player than Monahan has been yet.
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I don't like the chances of any team winning a cup with Backlund as their #2 center but that's just my opinion.
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Not being a #2 center on a cup contender does not mean his cieling is a #3 center. Generally around 24 of 30 teams ever year are not cup contenders. So not being one of the six best #2 centers (most of which are #1 centers playing #2) does not make him a #3 center.
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he's really not an offensively gifted player.
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He's not a first line talent or an explosive player but he is certainly offensively gifted. You don't become your team's best possession driver without offensive capability. He's a good passer, a good goal scorer, strong at zone entries, great at creating breakaways, and a good decision-maker. The way people treat his offense you'd think he was interchangable with Stajan.
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If you are building a really good team you have him penciled in as your 3rd line center.
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That depends on how a team is constructed as a whole. No, Backlund in between a bunch of 3rd line wingers is not good enough for a championship while Malkin probably is. But lines need to be taken as a system and your center doesn't need to be your best forward on a line. You do need strong centers especially at the #1.
Backlund is a good enough part to always be part of a strong 2nd line to never be a weak link. Just to toss out a few top 6s I think would be pretty damn good with a Backlund:
Sharp-Toews-Hossa
Saad-Backlund-Kane
Gaudreau-Monahan-Nash
Hudler-Backlund-Tofolli
Steen-Backes-Oshie
Schwartz-Backlund-Tarasenko
Now does having Bennett (eventually) push Backlund out of the #2 center spot? Yes and he might push Monahan out of #1 too.