Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
I can't be the only person that believes Stajan would have more than one point this season if he was centering Bennet and Frolik? There's no excuses for Backlund anymore as he's not scoring and hasn't for a few seasons. If he's going to be a defensive checking center that's fine but get him off the 2nd line for crying out loud as he's killing Frolik and Bennett. It's almost as bad as when Brent had Comeau on the Flames 2nd line as when you need secondary scoring you simply can't put guys in your top 6 when offense dies on his stick. This team badly needs a 2nd line center with some offensive skill and Bennett isn't ready for that role and Backlund never will be.
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I agree with this. Stajan has arguably payed as well or better than Backlund this year (at both ends of the ice), and has better historical offensive numbers. Plus he's a significantly better faceoff man, and has a better +/- (which I think is a little more relevant between players on the same team). He's been placed on the 4th line the last two years and has accepted that role. But look at how the 4th line played without him last year, compared to with him. So, yeah he's older, and that's about it for me.
I like Backlund fine, but he's a bit miscast at this point. Colborne might be a better 2nd line centre at this point. He's got the same points in less than half the games, and looked fairly good in his return. Assuming your second line is a scoring/sheltered line and the first and third line takes on the top defensive minutes, I'd like a Colborne/Bennett combo there. Add Frolik for more two way play. Add Ferland or Jones for more offensive corner work.