Quote:
Originally Posted by Caged Great
A lot of you guys are really insufferable.
This is an underpayment by about 750K per season and the term isn't horrible, especially with defensive minded guys. They tend to be able to play well defensively regardless.
He is arguably the best overall forward on the roster, and the team is going to be better because of his presence.
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Everything you've written here is true for his last 3 or maybe 4 seasons. And it will likely be true for the next couple of seasons.
But for the next 6? I really hope so, but I'm not convinced. $5.35M/yr is a steep price for a defensive-minded third line centre on a team that lacks scoring depth.
A lot of people are saying this is good value for a second line centre, and I agree with that. I just have a difficult time seeing Backlund as a second line guy beyond the first couple of years of this contract. That's where the deal breaks down for me.
But I hope I'm wrong and he's putting up second line numbers for the next 6 years. Problem is he's barely doing that this year.