[dammage79]

The Backs line was heavily depended upon for D zone starts and that in of itself stymied their offense production.

It was certainly a direct result of sheltering the kids and moving towards a younger deployment.

I mean over all the entire roster couldn't put the puck in the net but the Backlund line really suffered.

I like Backlund. He's been a trooper for the Flames since the Iggy era. But he is definitely getting long in the tooth and is already missing a step. I doubt they trade the captain barring a disastrous season and helping him find a place to chase a championship. But it is definitely time to bump him down a slot if one of the younger centers can steal his....3rd line center spot. Maybe numerically designating line numbers isn't really in the flames wheelhouse right now as they polish up their retool. Maybe Backs line is the 2nd line? I don't know. But he's definitely getting to the point where 4th line d zone stalwart will be come his speciality.

To me his flames tenure ends somewhere in the middle of Conny and Yelle. Not stats wise but how it ends. Just one day early in the season the skates get hung up and he moves into a player dev position.