Teams rarely have all four lines playing the same number of minutes on average anyway. So I don’t think it’s simple math where if Backlund gets 13 then his linemates get 13 and another line all gets 11. A lot of teams have a star playing 15+, a few guys at 14+, 13+, 12+, 11+ and then a couple tweeners at the 10-9 range.
Lines rarely even stay the same for an entire game, let alone a whole season.
St.Louis, by the way had 7 different regulars playing less than 12 minutes a night, so I don’t totally buy the argument that 6 guys playing less than 12 minutes is going to neuter them. They made the playoffs, we didn’t.
Backlund is probably over-playing as it is. Most guys who played 14+ EV and 2+ SH are guys who are outscoring him by 10-40 points. That’s with similar PP time. Reducing his minutes by 1-2 per game EV based on where he’s at today makes a lot of sense.
You can call it whatever line # you want, but I think there’s a valid argument around reducing his ice time and rethinking the 4th line. Even if it’s keeping him on the 3rd line, opening up some time for the 4th line, and filling it with guys like Pospisil, Klapka, and another rookie vs having Lomberg (who I love) and a couple AHL tweeners run around for 8 minutes, I think that’s the route to go.
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