2020/2021 Trade Speculation and Rumours

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Backlund is in year-two of his five year deal. Last year he finished on pace to score +50 points, and he is currently on a 52-point pace despite having a slow start, and getting a tonne of defensive zone assignments.

Maybe that contract becomes an issue next year, or in years four or five. But as of today Backlund is playing at a level consistent with his salary.

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And before last game he was playing at a 32 point pace and looks noticeably worse this season. It’s extremely disingenuous to say he’s playing at a 50+ point pace when he almost doubled his point totals in one game.

More realistically I think it’s fair to say he’s had one great game out of 11 but other than that he’s been producing at a third line rate. He’s a month away from 32 so maybe it’s just a slow start for him, but he certainly hasn’t played up to his contract for the vast majority of the season.

[FlamesAddiction]

Backlund is kind of at the mercy of his line mates IMO. I am of the opinion that he is held back statistically being on the 3rd line most of the time.

[SnipeShow]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

And before last game he was playing at a 32 point pace and looks noticeably worse this season. It’s extremely disingenuous to say he’s playing at a 50+ point pace when he almost doubled his point totals in one game.



More realistically I think it’s fair to say he’s had one great game out of 11 but other than that he’s been producing at a third line rate. He’s a month away from 32 so maybe it’s just a slow start for him, but he certainly hasn’t played up to his contract for the vast majority of the season.

With a short season I get that if a player is starting slow it effects a larger percentage of the total season but even 32 pts in 56 games is just shy of his normal 50ish in 82 games he would typically be putting up in previous years

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[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

And before last game he was playing at a 32 point pace and looks noticeably worse this season. It’s extremely disingenuous to say he’s playing at a 50+ point pace when he almost doubled his point totals in one game.

More realistically I think it’s fair to say he’s had one great game out of 11 but other than that he’s been producing at a third line rate. He’s a month away from 32 so maybe it’s just a slow start for him, but he certainly hasn’t played up to his contract for the vast majority of the season.

It is not remotely disingenuous when you track Backlund's production. Last year he had 2 goals and 4 points in his first ten, and looked pretty bad. In 2018–19 he had 1 goal and 6 points in his first ten. In 2017–18 he had 4 goals and 6 points in his first ten.

He has finished each one of these seasons at a 45-50 point pace. Like I said: based on watching him play this year, there is nothing that looks at all out of the ordinary. He started poorly as he often does, and looks like he hasn't missed a step at all. The Flames don't win on Saturday without Backlund playing like he can, and he proved this weekend that he most definitely can still play at a very high level.

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by Dan403

You need players like Backlund to win.

Look at any winning team, they have defensive stalwarts like Backlund.

You need players LIKE Backlund to win, just NOT Backlund.

It's jut funny that he hasn't really won anything and in the limited playoff experience he's been destroyed by whoever lines up against him. I think you can only be considered a "defensive stalwart" if you can actually shut down other team's top lines and he just doesn't do that.

[powderjunkie]

Are we certain of the QO deadline being before the ED? Wasn't it day 2 of the draft this recent off season? In regular seasons it looks like it's a few days after the draft?

Isn't it likely that the ED will be before the entry draft again? So Bennett could still be an unqualified RFA...

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Are we certain of the QO deadline being before the ED? Wasn't it day 2 of the draft this recent off season? In regular seasons it looks like it's a few days after the draft?

Isn't it likely that the ED will be before the entry draft again? So Bennett could still be an unqualified RFA...

All players to be protected would have to be under the team's control, meaning they would have to be at least qualified as a RFA. I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say that the league is going to have all contract statuses rock solid prior to Seattle making a selection. This is a $500M expansion team, so I doubt any ambiguity about a player's status is going to come up. Anyone not under contract to their team will be considered an unrestricted free agent.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by New Era

All players to be protected would have to be under the team's control, meaning they would have to be at least qualified as a RFA. I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say that the league is going to have all contract statuses rock solid prior to Seattle making a selection. This is a $500M expansion team, so I doubt any ambiguity about a player's status is going to come up. Anyone not under contract to their team will be considered an unrestricted free agent.

That's not how it worked last time. And the other 30 teams want to know who they lose before making final determination on QOs.

The issue everyone seems to be conflating is meeting exposure requirements. We'll most likely re-sign Nordstrom/Simon/Leivo to accomplish this, or trading for someone similar if necessary.

[The Yen Man]

Let's be honest, Flames would have no issue signing a journeyman player to expose at the draft if need be. Feels like worrying over nothing.

[powderjunkie]

https://sinbin.vegas/curious-role-ufas-expansion-draft/

The interesting thing is that SEA can probably talk to Ryan and Rittich in the lead up (as LV was able to do with Engelland).

If CGY has anything decent exposed, they probably take it and circle back to these guys on July 1 equivalent, but it isn't inconceivable that they select and sign immediately.


This is an interesting wrinkle that I wasn't aware of last time. Presumably WAS and ANA are waiting on finalizing extensions with Ovy/Getz until after the ED to avoid using a protection slot (though I'm not sure it's that significant for either team)...would SEA go crazy and offer a short-term near-max deal to someone? Could always flip them at the deadline (retained) for a haul if they don't find the magic like LV...


some other notables:
RNH
Hamilton
Rask
Krejci
Landeskog
F Andersen

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

That's not how it worked last time.

And the other 30 teams want to know who they lose before making final determination on QOs.

The issue everyone seems to be conflating is meeting exposure requirements. We'll most likely re-sign Nordstrom/Simon/Leivo to accomplish this, or trading for someone similar if necessary.

You're right, that rule only applied to goaltenders. Good catch!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Backlund is in year-two of his five year deal. Last year he finished on pace to score +50 points, and he is currently on a 52-point pace despite having a slow start, and getting a tonne of defensive zone assignments.

Maybe that contract becomes an issue next year, or in years four or five. But as of today Backlund is playing at a level consistent with his salary.

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He is in year 3 of a 6 year deal.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by New Era

You're right, that rule only applied to goaltenders. Good catch!

Goalies have to be QO'd or not by the ED? Or that you can't just sign a goalie to meet the necessary requirement?

It is all very confusing, especially when we don't know the actual dates of anything.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by SnipeShow

With a short season I get that if a player is starting slow it effects a larger percentage of the total season but even 32 pts in 56 games is just shy of his normal 50ish in 82 games he would typically be putting up in previous years

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The 32 point pace I referenced was based on 82 games, not 56.

32 points is still a decent season for a depth player but certainly isn’t a $5M+AAV season.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

The 32 point pace I referenced was based on 82 games, not 56.

32 points is still a decent season for a depth player but certainly isn’t a $5M+AAV season.

Well, it's a good thing g Backlund is on a +50-point pace, and not a 32-point pace.

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[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Well, it's a good thing g Backlund is on a +50-point pace, and not a 32-point pace.

Oh, but it's already been established that you're not allowed to count his multi-point game because reasons.

Remember, Backlund is on a zero-point pace if you exclude those outliers where he actually got points. Whereas every player on every other team is on at least a PPG pace if you exclude the outliers where they did not score points.

This logic is unassailable, but is only used on guys you want to run out of town. Just remember that the Flames are the worst hockey team in the history of history itself, and never ever do anything right because Fan X is not the GM, and you will find yourself in agreement with everything Fan X says.

[djsFlames]

Every time we've questioned Backlund in the last 6 years he's busted through to make fools of all of us.

Maybe we should learn our lesson.

He's a 3C with 7 points in 11 games taking d-zone starts. You probably couldn't ask for better from that position.

He only gets better as a season goes on, each and every year.

He also is an Oiler and Canuck killer and relishes owning them. What more do you want.

[1qqaaz]

I just think the Flames have too many players over 30, and I would be fine with losing most of them in an expansion draft for cap reasons.
They currently have 7 players over 30 (8 next month).
When they won the cup in 1989, they only had 3 at the beginning of the season. The Flames also have an older core than most, if not all, of the division. However, the overall roster isn't that old.

I think the team would be quite a bit worse without Backlund. However, I also think he has some trade value, despite his high cap hit and age. Most GMs probably know how effective he is, and he hasn't shown many signs of slowing. I also think there's some value in having a few players around for 10+ years. It shows how loyal a franchise can be to its deserving players.

My only problem with Backlund is that he seems to be taking bad penalties.

It's also worth noting that Backlund has been absolutely legendary in terms of service to the community. Probably the best I've ever seen. His presence brings tangible benefits to the city.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

And before last game he was playing at a 32 point pace and looks noticeably worse this season. It’s extremely disingenuous to say he’s playing at a 50+ point pace when he almost doubled his point totals in one game.

More realistically I think it’s fair to say he’s had one great game out of 11 but other than that he’s been producing at a third line rate. He’s a month away from 32 so maybe it’s just a slow start for him, but he certainly hasn’t played up to his contract for the vast majority of the season.

Backlund has gotten off to a tough start. No question.

And 3 of his 7 points came in the last game, so he was on a slower pace up to that point. Yes.

However, that is how points typically go. Points come in streaks.

What I saw was a guy who had his best game of the season so far in the biggest game of the season so far, against our biggest rival! Dismissing that seems kind of silly to me - I think we should be giving it extra weight.

[FlamesAddiction]

The thing with Backlund, is that he can drive the line and leads by example. Most of the plays on his line start with him. He does some of the less glamorous things like playing on the PK. He is one of the dangerous shorthanded player.

Honestly, if you gave Monahan Backlund's role with lower profile line mates, he would be hard pressed to put up the same consistent number that Backlund does. And I am sure the opposite is true too. Backlund probably wouldn't be as effective as Monahan playing with the top skill guys, although his stats would go up a little.

I think his contract is fair. Intangibles might not be as sexy as goals, but without it, your third line checking line is going to suck hard. Plus he is versatile enough that he gets decent PP opportunities. Still worth his salary at this point