[Signing] Backlund re-signs. 6 years, AAV $5.35M

[Dion]

Originally Posted by getbak

He hates the Canucks.

I hate the Canucks.

I like him.

[getbak]

Now, they just need to keep the "A" on his jersey even after Brouwer comes back.

[FlamesAddiction]

I have no doubt that he would have received a similar offer on the market and upgrading would cost more obviously (and there would be no guarantee that we would land someone better).

When a good player wants to be a lifer with the Flames, it's a big positive for the franchise.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Philly06Cup

Overpayment for a second liner.

I disagree. His 2 way play is often underappreciated. You would be hard pressed to find a player with the same defensive abilities. Plus he is an excellent penalty killer.

[Jacks]

Well I have no complaints, this contract is about as close to perfect as I could have hoped for. He would have gotten an extra .5-1 mil in free agency IMO.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I suppose it's the reality of the business but I'm not too fond of this contract as the guy has 9 goals and I think this is what we are going to see for the rest of the deal for the most part.

He's a center. Centers cost a premium.

A little too much term? Sure. But cap hit is right around what he's worth based on comparables around the league.

[White Out 403]

Backlunds a heart and soul type of player that I was hoping Winnipeg would snag a few years ago. This isn't an albatross of a contract and you don't find a guy like him just anywhere. He's committed to the city and team and is a someone you win with.

[Fire]

Fair deal for the Flames. The Flames had no choice really. The Flames would have been screwed without him next season.

[nik-]

Glad to have him here long term. Guy bleeds Flames.

But can we talk about the fact that the Flames are selling sponsor spots for tweets? It looks ridiculous

[PsYcNeT]

Ya'll have a weird idea of what second line players are paid nowadays.

Good deal, not great but solid.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Philly06Cup

Overpayment for a second liner.

Not a massive difference from the Selke comparable players at the 29-30 age. Lop off 1.5 in salary for 5-15 points in offensive production. There are worse ways to spend your cap space.

It's no steal and the last couple years will not be great, but he's certainly not a real overpayment either.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I'm thrilled with this deal. It's plain to see that Backlund is a key player for this team, along with Giordano and Gaudreau. Those are the guys that help this team win games. They do the heavy lifting for the rest of the team. They are the difference makers in their respective areas.

Getting Backlund to stick around for another 6 years at a more than reasonable contract to become a keystone center is not only a smart move, it's essential for this franchise's success. There aren't many better all-around 2nd line centers in the game. Some have a little better offense, sure. But almost none of them are better defensively. I'd put Backlund's defensive game up against most of the top line centers too, since he has the tough assignments on a nightly basis.

If you aren't thrilled with this deal, then you haven't been paying attention to who Backlund has become as a player, and how valuable he is to this team.

[Brad Marsh]

I'm a little surprised at how many people absolutely love this deal.

He's 53rd among centres in scoring this season. That's not likely to improve as he continues to age, and I suspect he has already hit his high water mark for points in the NHL. He will be on the wrong side of 30 for most of this contract. He's hit 50+ points once, and 40+ points only twice in his career. He is our second line centre this year, but only has 10 goals..........for a team that struggles to score, I'm not sure how well this is going to work out. His production is closer to that of a top-end third line centre, which he would be on a deeper team, but $5.35M/yr is too much for a third line guy.

I know scoring isn't everything, but you need it in that second line centre slot, and Flames could really benefit from additional top 9 scoring. The offensive production from Backlund will almost certainly decrease year over year on this contract. Not ideal.

The comparisons to Bergeron or Toews are laughable.

Sorry guys, I really like Backlund and really appreciate how much he loves being a Flame, but this term is too long and the $$ is too high for guy very unlikely to hit 50 points again in his career. We are upset with how much Brower makes on the third line. This contract could be worse than that for its last three years.

[TheIronMaiden]

In regards to concern about Backlund's age toward the end of his contract. According to this article there are currently 44 forwards aged 34-35 in the NHL. That's not a staggeringly high, or low number. Still, its proof that their is room for veterans on every team in the league. So long as the Flames don't tie up a lot of money on older players in the next few years, Backlund's term shouldn't be a problem.

[Caged Great]

A lot of you guys are really insufferable.

This is an underpayment by about 750K per season and the term isn't horrible, especially with defensive minded guys. They tend to be able to play well defensively regardless.

He is arguably the best overall forward on the roster, and the team is going to be better because of his presence.

[Brad Marsh]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

A lot of you guys are really insufferable.

This is an underpayment by about 750K per season and the term isn't horrible, especially with defensive minded guys. They tend to be able to play well defensively regardless.

He is arguably the best overall forward on the roster, and the team is going to be better because of his presence.

Everything you've written here is true for his last 3 or maybe 4 seasons. And it will likely be true for the next couple of seasons.

But for the next 6? I really hope so, but I'm not convinced. $5.35M/yr is a steep price for a defensive-minded third line centre on a team that lacks scoring depth.

A lot of people are saying this is good value for a second line centre, and I agree with that. I just have a difficult time seeing Backlund as a second line guy beyond the first couple of years of this contract. That's where the deal breaks down for me.

But I hope I'm wrong and he's putting up second line numbers for the next 6 years. Problem is he's barely doing that this year.

[indes]

Great job BT! Gotta remember backs is a UFA and this is definitely lower than he would get on the open market. Our center depth would be atrocious without him.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Brad Marsh

I'm a little surprised at how many people absolutely love this deal.

He's 53rd among centres in scoring this season. That's not likely to improve as he continues to age, and I suspect he has already hit his high water mark for points in the NHL. He will be on the wrong side of 30 for most of this contract. He's hit 50+ points once, and 40+ points only twice in his career. He is our second line centre this year, but only has 10 goals..........for a team that struggles to score, I'm not sure how well this is going to work out. His production is closer to that of a top-end third line centre, which he would be on a deeper team, but $5.35M/yr is too much for a third line guy.

I know scoring isn't everything, but you need it in that second line centre slot, and Flames could really benefit from additional top 9 scoring. The offensive production from Backlund will almost certainly decrease year over year on this contract. Not ideal.

The comparisons to Bergeron or Toews are laughable.

Sorry guys, I really like Backlund and really appreciate how much he loves being a Flame, but this term is too long and the $$ is too high for guy very unlikely to hit 50 points again in his career. We are upset with how much Brower makes on the third line. This contract could be anchor for its last three years.

Points to date
Bergeron: 51 (having an excellent year offensively though. He only had 53 points all of last season)
Toews: 37
Backlund: 34

Offensive zone deployment
Bergeron: 58%
Toews: 58.3%
Backlund: 43.6%

Corsi for %
Bergeron: 56.9%
Toews: 57.8%
Backlund: 55.2%

Corsi for relative to teammates (on vs. off the ice)
Bergeron: 5.4%
Toews: 6.2%
Backlund: 4.7%


An unreal offensive year from Bergeron aside, that all looks relatively comparable to me. Plus, Backlund is buried in the defensive zone compared to the other two, so a slight drop in Corsi numbers compared to them should be expected.

Again, he does the heavy lifting for the team defensively while still putting up good offense. He's an essential piece of this team.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

Eh.... rather have Marchessault at the same cap hit

Way to ruin the thread...

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I don’t even care about the contract, term or cap hit. I’m just glad he’s on our team.

If this contract becomes an albatross, then it’s treliving’s problem (or his replacement). It’s no fun spending time worrying about it and I have zero control over the situation so I’m not gonna bother.