Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
His numbers the last 2 seasons are among some of the best in his career. I see no signs of defensive erosion. Lose Backlund and you might as well tear it down to the studs. You aren't winning or competing for a title without him or at the very least a highly capable replacement considering Kadri is not capable of playing the tougher matchups.
Change is needed and if Lindholm is still non-committal, you flip him or him+ for another first rounder this year and rely on Backlund and Kadri to bridge the gap until these two picks are ready to join the new, younger lineup featuring Pelletier, Coronato, Wolf. You obviously need a partner to make it happen, but another sign and trade could be appealing to several of the teams in the 8-12 range imo. If you were to add say Colby Barlow and Mathew Wood to that group via the 2023 draft, suddenly the roster is starting to look a whole lot different and more promising in a season or two.
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If you are relying on Kadri and Backlund to fill in the gap that Lindholm would leave you might as well blow it up because they can't and the team will be a lottery team. Bscklund's defensive game has not been high end for a few seasons now, there is zero reason to keep him him if you are moving Lindholm for futures. Especially after he said he wants to play for a contender which this team is definitely not without Lindholm or replacing him with someone who can play #1 C.