[Cali Panthers Fan]

So ok, Backlund is our best penalty killer, but that's not saying much. It ranks 30th in the NHL by a fair margin. I'm more interested in why everyone else has been so terrible, and then maybe how Backlund compares to the rest of the league with similar SH minutes.

He doesn't create enough offense for my liking. He has very limited abilities in the offensive zone, and he can't create a vigorous enough forecheck. Quite frankly, he also lacks tenacity when an opportunity presents itself in the offensive zone, which is a major reason why he isn't capitalizing more and putting up points.

Defensively he's good positionally, and he does create a good amount of turnovers in the neutral zone, but he's outmatched physically again down low in his own zone, and has trouble with battles in front of the net. If you're going to be a bottom 6 center, you better be able to win the down low game in your own end.

He's one of those guys that puts up good advanced stats, and he'll not kill you over the course of a season, but he isn't really a difference-maker when you need him to be. At least guys like Stajan and Jones can step up their games occasionally in crunch time. It's honestly been pretty rare for Backlund to do it, and he has much more capability than those two.

It's why I would like to see him moved once we have an adequate replacement. I'm thinking Jankowski or Bill Arnold will take that spot eventually. If not, an UFA with better size and face-off prowess will do just fine in that 3rd line role.