Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
Love it that Backlund is staying and is officially named the captain. That's a bargain deal too. How can you not love Backlund?
If I am opening a company and I have to pick one Flames' player to head that company, it is Backlund. Why? Because he is super smart and professional, he is an obvious leader, and he isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty, which sets the example for other workers.
He doesn't seem to care at all about personal success. All this man does is for the team. He was drafted into this league as some hot-shot offensive dynamo, but that's not what he eventually became. Starting under coaches like Brent Sutter right through until Darryl Sutter last season, not one single person on this site can come out and claim that Backlund didn't accept the role given to him, or complained even a single time. Not when he had to play with 4th line players like Bouma (and made them shine!), or with raw rookies like Bennett and Tkahcuk (and got them started off in the NHL on the right foot!), or that headscratcher where suddenly it was decided that he should be a winger, or even when the team signed Kadri and pushed Backlund down to the 3rd line even though by every single metric he was a solid 2nd line centre who continually sacrificed his personal success to help this team win.
People will be quick to point out that Backlund didn't want to return to Calgary. Listen to that initial presser again. I take what he says at his word. He was here during the Iginla years, and he was here through the rebuild with Gaudreau, Monahan and Tkachuk. He asked for a trade when it seemed like this team was going to rebuild again, and he rescinded that trade when the returns looked good enough to win with, even though it pushed him down to the third line with the Kadri signing.
The season went to crap as we all saw, and Backlund was seeing the writing on the wall with the team seemingly being a puzzle with pieces that didn't fit. This team looked destined for a rebuild, really. I don't even think his comments had anything to do with Sutter specifically. Sutter just became another puzzle piece that didn't fit.
He is staying here because Conroy has convinced him that this team has a chance. That the combination of vets and youth will make a difference, that Huska has this team figured out on how they can play better, and he has stated at that initial presser that he prefers to win it in Calgary as opposed to going somewhere else.
He just wants to win, and there isn't a single player on this roster who does more to win than this player does. There isn't a single player on this roster that is as willing to put his own success aside in order to help the team win a game. This team would have won multiple cups if every player was much more like Backlund in my opinion. Backlund is exactly what you want in a leader.
I was all for a rebuild after last season, but I always stated that Backlund is the only player that I would give every benefit for with regards to staying, or picking his destination as if he had a full nmc. He has been a class act his entire tenure here, and I am super happy as a fan that he is staying and being officially recognized for being one of the best and completely unselfish leaders that this organization has had in its history. With the recent 'good season, bad season' roller-coaster this team has been on, wouldn't surprise me to seeing Backlund leading this team deep into the playoffs.
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