Anyone is available for the right price... but Backlund's value to us is HUGE. Not only can he do everything well, he excels at driving play and shutting down other team's best lines. The 3M line was one of the best lines in hockey this year.
Another aspect of his value that is often overlooked, is that he shelters our young centres like Monahan and Bennett. Without Backlund logging the difficult assignments, it exposes Monahan (most likely) or Bennett, and I don't think either of them are quite ready for that. We take for granted that Backlund allows Monahan and Bennnett to develop at a much slower/safer rate that will help their development in the long run.
|