If Backlund could play like this all year, he would be a true #1 center. It makes no sense to criticize him for the ebbs and flows of a season. It's not like he was playing like an AHL scrub at the beginning of the year either. Backlund makes $3.5m a year, pretty much average salary for an average NHLer who is basically a 2nd/3rd line player. I'm not sure why people would expect him to maintain elite production over the course of an entire season.
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