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Lanny_McDonald · 12-22-2017, 07:01 AM

No one is saying Backlund is not a good player. Backlund is a very good player at this point in his career, and is an important piece to the success of the current Calgary Flames. But that is not what is up for consideration when it comes to signing him, or any other player. The issue is what type of player he is going to be in the future and how much that player is worth to the hockey team.

As it is, Backlund is a quasi number two/three center. There is no doubt in my mind that we are seeing, or have seen, the best that Backlund can produce. His strength will remain as a defensive forward, but he will be surpassed by Jankowski in the very near future on the offensive side of the puck. Jankowski also presents the potential to be better on the defensive side of the puck as that has been his strength throughout his whole development. So that means that Backlund is going to be at best a third line center in the big picture on this team down the line. That is what they should be paying for and what they should be budgeting.

Like it or not you cannot afford to overpay players in the league anymore. Look at the difficulty a contract like Stajan or Brouwer presents to the hockey team. You cannot have third and fourth liners making $5-6M a season, regardless of how well liked they are, how important they were to the team three years ago, or if they had a year where they garnered some Selke votes. You pay a player for what you think he is going to bring to the team in the future, not what he did yesterday.

Take the name out of the mix. If the Flames were in the free agent market and signed a player to be the third line center at $6M a year, this board would lose its mind. So why is it any different with Backlund? That is what this all boils down to. Determining what player you need to fulfill a specific role and paying him accordingly. There will be other centers available in the summer that can play the same role, at like a number way south of $6M. The team can not afford to overpay another player, no matter how popular he is.

12-22-2017, 07:01 AM	#4970
Lanny_McDonald Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2013 Exp:	No one is saying Backlund is not a good player. Backlund is a very good player at this point in his career, and is an important piece to the success of the current Calgary Flames. But that is not what is up for consideration when it comes to signing him, or any other player. The issue is what type of player he is going to be in the future and how much that player is worth to the hockey team. As it is, Backlund is a quasi number two/three center. There is no doubt in my mind that we are seeing, or have seen, the best that Backlund can produce. His strength will remain as a defensive forward, but he will be surpassed by Jankowski in the very near future on the offensive side of the puck. Jankowski also presents the potential to be better on the defensive side of the puck as that has been his strength throughout his whole development. So that means that Backlund is going to be at best a third line center in the big picture on this team down the line. That is what they should be paying for and what they should be budgeting. Like it or not you cannot afford to overpay players in the league anymore. Look at the difficulty a contract like Stajan or Brouwer presents to the hockey team. You cannot have third and fourth liners making $5-6M a season, regardless of how well liked they are, how important they were to the team three years ago, or if they had a year where they garnered some Selke votes. You pay a player for what you think he is going to bring to the team in the future, not what he did yesterday. Take the name out of the mix. If the Flames were in the free agent market and signed a player to be the third line center at $6M a year, this board would lose its mind. So why is it any different with Backlund? That is what this all boils down to. Determining what player you need to fulfill a specific role and paying him accordingly. There will be other centers available in the summer that can play the same role, at like a number way south of $6M. The team can not afford to overpay another player, no matter how popular he is.