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Originally Posted by Poe969
My issue with this is that his numbers are inflated because of one above average year. He was basically a 40ish point player who had one year over 50 points and it doesn't seem like he'll get that this year. His one good offensive year likely won't be repeated by him again.
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47, 53, and on pace for 50. Which of these numbers qualifies as "basically 40ish"?
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And as for him ranking #53, if you look at the past few years of Stanley Cup champs or even finalists, where would he rank? Teams that go deep or win the Cup typically have better centers on their second line. I don't want the Flames to be like the rest of the teams in the league, I want them to win and to do that they need better value and more points coming from players.
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His #53 ranking is based on the accumulation of numbers from the last four seasons, but I actually think the past three seasons are a better measure for gauging how he might be expected to perform in the near future, and Backlund ranks #37.
As to your question about how this compares to supposed Cup-contending teams from previous seasons, it is obvious that neither the Flames nor any other NHL team will compare to the back-to-back champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The depth provided by Crosby and Malkin is unique, and will not be replicated by anyone.
The finalists from last year were the Nashville Predators, and their centres in that series over the same period rank #24, #84, and #96. (By the way, Sean Monahan ranks #16.) The 2016 finalists SJ Sharks rank #8, #12, and #42, albeit their top three scoring centres are 33, 38, and 28-years-old respectively. Backlund is nearly exactly the same age as Logan Couture, he is ahead of him in production, and unlike Couture who is the Sharks youngest scoring centre, Backlund is the Flames oldest.
The top-two centres from 2017 conference finalists on the same list rank #38, and #57 (Ottawa), and #14 and #51 (Anaheim). For 2016, the conference finalists rank #28 and #45 (TB), and #40 and #99 (StL) respectively.
Some of these numbers are obviously not consistent in large part because every team does not build the same way, and also because some of those players have changed roles (for example in StL and TB). But what I think these numbers do show is that Backlund is a very good top-six centre who would be a welcome addition to the second line of nearly every NHL team. He is still relatively young, especially in consideration of his surrounding cast of players.