Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
I don't know about that as he was probably celebrating with several teammates via text regarding yesterday's news. It's clear that he's not the only player on the team that was having a difficult time last season. When a career tenured Flame like Backlund dislikes the head coach so much he requests a trade you know that things are not good in the room.
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Backlund, as a guy who apparently disliked the coach enough to be willing to uproot his whole life and say he would leave the team where he had earned his tenure, still showed up and competed hard every game when the Flames were in a fight for the playoffs. That's what a good teammate does. A bad teammate takes their displeasure into the game and sulks by throwing away plays, punishing all his fellow teammates and letting them down.
Maybe he was dealing with a bad injury or something, but Kadri's play at the end of the season looked a lot like poor sportsmanship and being a bad team member. He showed up well on a stacked team rolling on the way to a cup last season, but looked like he quit on the team when the chips were down this season. Not a guy I would be excited to play with again next season.
If I were in Backlund's position as a guy getting a bit old for the game, still wanting to chase my first shot at a cup, and playing my butt off on the ice every game despite hating the coach, I would not like Kadri after the way he played down the stretch and in those big games.