Backlund is extremely important to this team and if the Flames want to contend in the next coming years, they'd be wise to re-sign him. We may have to overpay a bit, but he's the most important center on this team. Monahan and Jankowski have not shown me enough defensively to be effective shut down guys. The Western Conference is full of high end centers and we need to be strong down the middle if we want to be competitive.
I get the dollar value may be a little high, but Treliving has saved a lot of cap space by signing other guys to value deals and Backlund will still be an excellent trade chip if Jankowski ever moves ahead him in the lineup. Retain the asset and get something for him down the road if need be. All I know is, this team is not better without Backlund.
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