Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Really how many teams were going to line up to give him a six year deal considerably higher than the Flames after the season he's had to date? I feel the Flames were competing against themselves here as I just don't see other teams valuing Backlund this high.
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Even if what you say is true, so what? What difference does this make in the next four years? Say the Flames signed Backlund for 4 years, 5 million per. What difference does that make to the team? The extra 350 thousand and the lesser term, how does that allow them to contend better in that same time period?
More importantly, even if they did get 4 years 5 million per, would you be happy? I suspect no. You would still complain. What is awkward is that this version of the Flames intended to contend and they are not quite doing it. So it is hard for some fans to be happy with the status quo.
I suspect the pessimism about this deal is not the term or the dollar figure, it's that the Flames do not have a better record than they do, and are making commitments to the same players that are on the ice now. But the problem is that there is no catch all solution. Either this team is going to figure it out or they are going to fall short of expectations. The only thing that could conceivably make a difference is coaching, which is a bit of a dog whistle but is also somewhat true. But personnel wise, the main players are in place. More scoring, a slightly different mix, sure. But the main pieces this current team are built around are here.
This version of the Flames needs Backlund. Subtracting him is not going to make the team better, even if some fans don't think he is good enough. Saving 500 thousand on his cap deal is not going to make a difference to the end result, either. It's one of those things. Backlund is an important player on the team that they can't afford to lose, but they are also not good enough. Letting Backlund walk, or trading him for a lesser return, or even signing him for less does not change the fact that this team has higher expectations than they are currently achieving. And that is infuriating. But they still have to sign Backlund. Because otherwise, it means upgrading more than just the 2nd line centre position, it means trading the current value players in the hope that they can be even better in the future, which is a massive gamble.