Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
You make a reasonable long term offer based on where you believe Backlund will be in two years. If you believe he's going to be a consistent 25 goal 50 point player, then you pay him. If you think he is going to be surpassed by Bennett and replaceable by Lazar or Jankowski, then you move him. Frankly, I think we're seeing the best Mr. Backlund has to offer and this year was an aberration. The chemistry on his line was outstanding, but most of that credit goes to Tkachuk more so than Backlund. When Tkachuk slipped that line looked exactly like the third line it was advertised to be. That's where I think Backlund fits in around the league. He's a good 2nd line center for a mediocre team, but a good 3rd liner on an elite team. I see Backlund as I saw Staal in Pittsburgh. We know what happened to Staal when he was overpaid and given more responsibility. I hope the Flames do not make that mistake. Trade him while his value is at an all time high. You might actually be able to grab that top line RW or a top four defenseman were are missing.
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I couldn't disagree more.
If you took Bennett and Tkachuk and swapped them this year it would be Bennett's coming out party not Tkachuk as rookie of the year mention material.
In the playoffs Backlund had a bad back and Frolik had a bad wrist and low and behold Tkachuk was nearly invisible.
There's a reason Lance Bouma and then Joe Colborne had the best stretches of their careers and that's all Backlund.
I like Tkachuk and he's going to be a great player, but he doesn't have his rookie season without the wily contributions of Backlund.