Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobra
Yes I agree another Flames center with a little to no success in the playoffs.
Some say he has good Corsi numbers but they dont matter when you continually lose. Results are what it is all about in Pro hockey.
Minus 11 in 30 playoff games....ugh. So bad!!!
You cannot fill much needed top 6 forwards and top 4 defenseman when you pay unsuccessful 3rd line center man over 5 million.
I know I would way rather play head to head against Backlund than Sam Bennett every day of the week.
And Sam would be way cheaper.
|
Mikael Backlund was the best skater in the playoffs last season along with Bennett. If memory serves. Backlund was probably the best skater in the Winnipeg series and ditto for Bennett in the Dallas series. His plus minus took a massive hit in the Colorado series, but I still think that was more due to the system of the team’s play in that series. It was an absolutely abysmal postseason performance by Bill Peters in that series. Zero adjustments to the point of insanity.
Mikael Backlund probably doesn’t slot as a #2 center in an ideal situation because his offensive tools aren’t quite there, but he has a chance to be an elite #3 shutdown center. I think for his role, he more than lived up to expectations. 3rd line center, no Matthew Tkachuk, barely any powerplay 1 time and he still ends up top 5 in even strength scoring.