Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
Easy on this stuff.
He is a career 40 point guy and its a very large sample size.
He was great last year, no question. He is elite defensively as well. In no way is he anything more than an average offensive player though.
Thats why many believe you have to be very careful with this deal and if it doesnt work for the Flames, you have to deal him and get a decent return.
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I guess you could call him a career 40 point guy, if you ignore the icetime, lack of PP minutes, slug linemates and games played for the first part of his career.
The last two years are the first years that he has played a full season. He put up 47 and 53 points despite getting the majority of his starts in the D zone and playing against the top lines on other teams.
Just imagine the points he could put up with Gaudreau on his line and the O zone starts the first line gets. I think he is an above average offensive player, he is just so elite defensively he gets used in that role, yet still puts up decent production.
Backlund is a rare breed in the NHL, the kind of guy who does EVERYTHING. Plays center, PP, PK, plays against the top lines every night, takes all the defensive draws. Guys like this are what every team wants. You need a guy like this to win. I have all the faith in Treliving knowing this team needs Backlund.
6X6 sounds about right to me. We shall see.