A horribly sad day and an awesome day. 100% behind Backs as captain. I don’t believe he ever said he didn’t want to be here - he absolutely said he would wait to make a decision and to see if the team established a direction. That meant 2 things - Sutter needed to be gone and a management plan needed to be in place. I doubt that even Backs saw BT moving on so quickly. Having Conny and Huska placed in charge, put their mark on the team and reaffirm that they were building towards contending instead of rebuilding probably swung the pendulum. Great Flame, great guy, fair contract and great pick as cap’n.
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The boys on the barn burner were mentioning that if we bring Lindholm back as well, we'll have all our top 3 centers over 30 for the next 3 years. Is that really an area of concern? Does anyone see Backlund finishing this contract on the 4th line?
I just wanted to see what you guys think as a discussion.
As for my opinion, I actually do want to see some prospects given the chance to be a center at the NHL level. I think that Dube, Ruzicka, and Zary have potential to develop into a top 6 center. Right now I don't know how that would work, but I'm not too worried about it either because I think Lindholm can always play #1RW as well.
Not a concern IMO. If we want to play more young players, having a veteran C is beneficial than detrimental. It's transitioning from those C after 3 years that might be of concern, but I honestly think any 2 of those guys will be good mentors and still playing at a more than adequate level to mentor and insulate from the bottom 9.
I assumed they were in camp together that year. Which would have been fall of 2008.
I don't think so. I believe Backlund started that season in Sweden, then, he came over for the World Juniors and joined Kelowna afterward. I don't remember the circumstances, but he stopped in Calgary on the way and the Flames were short a forward that night, so he got his first NHL game before he played his first WHL game.
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I think Backlund is deserving and he should have been made captain last year. But a part of me is concerned that this is just more of the same for the Flames. Conroy was a safe pick for GM. I do think he has the personality and track record to bring a solid hockey culture to the management. But again that rests on the Owners edict for what happens with this team. Does Conroy have the ability to push back against the Owners and do what it takes to build a contender? We will see! Then they went with Huska instead of Mitch Love. I owe it to Huska to give him a chance, but this feels like another safe pick to me. Mitch Love really got the best out of his players with the Wranglers. And he really seemed to know how to position them accordingly to capitalize on their skill sets.
When I heard Weegars name being thrown around for the Captaincy I sort of thought it might breath some new life into this team. Go with an outsider with a fresh perspective. I would have been okay with Huberdeau too for the same reasons, and from everything I've heard he's been great at making the young players feel like they belong. Backlund is a good choice, but he's also the safe choice. And playing it safe has been the Flames calling card for years. Hopefully Backlund signing is the first domino to fall, with Lindholm and ideally Hanafin signing next. There's a lot riding on the success of this squad this year, and I'm not entirely convinced that playing it safe was the right move! Though I'd love to be proven wrong.
I don't think so. I believe Backlund started that season in Sweden, then, he came over for the World Juniors and joined Kelowna afterward. I don't remember the circumstances, but he stopped in Calgary on the way and the Flames were short a forward that night, so he got his first NHL game before he played his first WHL game.
Well, 2009 then. And he played a fair bit the next season on Connie's team, so point still stands. I'm sure there's been GMs before signing ex teammates, but it's gotta be rare.
