Quote:
Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
That’s silly
Backlund has faced the top opponents night in and night out and has done an excellent job, no matter his linemates. He also has a healthy dislike for the provincial rivals
He captained his national team to gold but the old codger coaching here felt that he would rather have no captain at all
Nobody here knows the actual problems in the room so nobody can know the likelihood of them being solved
He has a legitimate decision to make, and it has a lot to do with his age, years left, and the Stanley Cup
The team does need players who are among the best in the league at their role
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We are talking about different things. Backlund has been a very good player and he can look after his own interests however he sees fit, as is his right but I am talking about leadership. Age, years left, personal achievements, linemates are not things that single out a leader. A leader should be dragging everyone into battle or unifying a team, what better opportunity than last year to do it?
Connie gave up the captaincy to Iginla, when Iginla left, one player was unequivocally selected, by all players, to be the leader/captain. There has been a strong leadership void since Gio was taken in the expansion draft. From what I have heard and read, Backlund was a good buffer but he would not be in the same class as some of the best captains of this team. A leader would have taken the high road and not sulked in the exit press availability or complained about the leadership of the coach to the press. A leader would have united the team despite the coach, would have made players accountable if they were not and had the support of the rest of the team. I get the frustration, I was frustrated. But this was not the reaction I would expect from the leadership group. Could you see Iginla or Giordano have the same comments in the offseason? Absolutely not. As far as we can tell, the Flames have made the appropriate changes to address the concerns of the players. This team needs leaders, who want to be here and want to be the difference.