[Francis - Rumour/Speculation] Expect next Captain to be Rasmus Andersson

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by Locke

Backlund is a problem.

I genuinely see him as the natural fit for Captain. I do.

But hes what, 35? Wants to be Captain? How many years at how many dollars are you going to give him? And for what?

And then...if you really think that what you wanted was Andersson but he's got to wait in the wings for a few years for the old-timer to GTFO?

What are we accomplishing here?

We shouldn't be making our major team building decisions over who should be wearing the C.

[rollie619]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

We shouldn't be making our major team building decisions over who should be wearing the C.

In a vacuum I agree, that being said this team never operates without the dollars and cents in mind.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think calling the team old is a stretch right now. Down the road there is a concern for sure if they ink more players into their mid 30s.

But they're actually younger this year, not older.

Lucic, Lewis, Stone out.
Kylington hopefully returning.
Way younger bottom six.
Younger in net if Wolf wins the job.

And on Backlund I don't think it's fair to lump him in with the Lindholms, Kadris and Huberdeaus.

He's already at that age ... he's moving into twilight contracts and it's a testament to the guy that he's still relevant at the end of a contract that many thought was doomed on the day it was signed.

For 2024/2025:

#1 Centre - 29 near 30 ($9M?)
#2 Centre - 34 ($7M)
#3 Centre - 35 ($5-$6M?)
#1 LW - 31 ($10.5M)
#1 (or 2) D - 30 near 31 ($6.75M)
#1 G - 34 ($6M)

That's the bigger problem. The top-end of the roster is old and expensive. I don't think any of our prospects project as top of the roster players...so what we're banking on is an elderly group of players that carry a lot of financial liability.

It just seems like a bad idea.

[Enoch Root]

Young guys often don't project to being top 6, top pairing guys, until they do.

Andersson wasn't. Giordano wasn't. Tanev wasn't. Mangiapane wasn't.

Let's wait and see what the young guys become, before we trash the team two years out.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

For 2024/2025:

#1 Centre - 29 near 30 ($9M?)
#2 Centre - 34 ($7M)
#3 Centre - 35 ($5-$6M?)
#1 LW - 31 ($10.5M)
#1 (or 2) D - 30 near 31 ($6.75M)
#1 G - 34 ($6M)

That's the bigger problem. The top-end of the roster is old and expensive. I don't think any of our prospects project as top of the roster players...so what we're banking on is an elderly group of players that carry a lot of financial liability.

It just seems like a bad idea.

I wasn't stating anything to the contrary to be honest.

I have huge concerns about this team in say 3 years, and I wouldn't lock in more players to long term contracts.

But I'm not going to bring that up if someone is talking about the change in malt flavours at the Saddledome, or increased parking North of the building.

Right now they're infusing youth, and not replacement level players. The team is getting younger not older. Calling it an old team is ignoring what's happening year over year to keep a negative schtick alive.

[Vinny01]

I don’t assume that Backlund is going to want big money to stay. If he was going cup chasing he wasn’t going to get $5M+ from a contender so if he stays I could see him taking a more team friendly deal. Ultimately Conroy and Huska are focusing on getting this team to play for each other and that they are expecting key guys to bounce back. I could see Backlund having belief that this team will compete and now being back in Calgary I could see him valuing the one team for his career. I see a cheaper deal with a full NMC and the captaincy being part of it.


Like I said in an earlier post I think getting Backlund done puts a little less pressure to sign Lindholm who apparently has made his demands that the Flames are not willing to meet.

[Heavy Jack]

Backlund has Gio vibes to him IMO and I think if he got a solid contract for 3 years and the captaincy to go along with it he might have a ‘young and fresh’ type season and a personal career year tucked into the next contract. I hope it happens; yes this team will be an old team in a few years but I do believe the structure of the team we have could be competitive and Backlund is a big part of the heart of this current iteration of the Flames.

[Enoch Root]

950 games, including playoffs, with little in the way of serious injuries along the way...

I would think there's a lot of mileage left

[Strange Brew]

Young team, old team - IMO it kind of depends how effective these young players are. No doubt that several of the key forwards are getting long in the tooth but if some of these young players move into that group then it sure feels different.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

it's always fun when the facts completely contradict peoples' opinions and perceptions

There's no contradiction at all. I said it's setting up to be an old team and it will if they sign several of their pending UFA's to longer term deals as those players will bring up the age of the team year over year as there will be a point where they have several players between 33-40 years old.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Yeah, if the greybeards are leading the way most nights then the team will feel precariously old and like its on a clock. If the youngsters are factoring into the game regularly and its more of a joint effort, then I think things will feel more hopeful

[Flames1217]

Backlund has been through it all with the team, has had his hardships and plays the game the right way. He has shadowed both Iginla and Gio and personally I can't think of a better choice for Captain right now.

This team is in a transition phase and Backs will serve as a great captain for the next 2-3 seasons until he can pass the torch to the next worthy player.

Having someone like Backs to look up to for the younger players is important, from early injuries in his career, changing his game to find a way to become a very effective player in the league and to contributing positively to the community and giving back as much as possible.

If it wasn't for his contract this would be a no brainier.

[Vinny01]

If it does work out that Backlund is captain it will be amusing to see Flames reporter/insider to have yet another flub in terms of his predictions.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

There's no contradiction at all. I said it's setting up to be an old team and it will if they sign several of their pending UFA's to longer term deals as those players will bring up the age of the team year over year as there will be a point where they have several players between 33-40 years old.

But again, we have no idea what the team will look like in a few years.

Tanev and Zadorov will be replaced by younger players (Poirier and Morin?)

Markstrom or Vladar will be replaced by Wolf

Honzek and/or Suniev and/or Zary and/or whoever will replace guys

Again, the team will be younger this year, not older. And there is a renewed commitment to the draft and developing young players, from management. The future-worry around here just seems do excessive.

[RedHawk12]

If Backlund re-signs, I hope it's the Jordan Staal contract. 2.9M x 4. Or maybe we could do 3.5M x 3. At that salary, Backlund wouldn't be part of the "core" in terms of our big contracts, even though he's part of our leadership group.

3rd line 3.5M players are fairly common on most teams and don't really impact a team's ability to have a younger core.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

If it does work out that Backlund is captain it will be amusing to see Flames reporter/insider to have yet another flub in terms of his predictions.

Or the guy changed his mind?

I know I wouldn't be reporting anything if I was held to a standard where the update at the time would make me a liar if the subject matter had a change of heart.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Or the guy changed his mind?

I know I wouldn't be reporting anything if I was held to a standard where the update at the time would make me a liar if the subject matter had a change of heart.

It is fun to take shots at Francis so my point stands

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

But again, we have no idea what the team will look like in a few years.

Tanev and Zadorov will be replaced by younger players (Poirier and Morin?)

Markstrom or Vladar will be replaced by Wolf

Honzek and/or Suniev and/or Zary and/or whoever will replace guys

Again, the team will be younger this year, not older. And there is a renewed commitment to the draft and developing young players, from management. The future-worry around here just seems do excessive.

If you are a Lightning or Hurricanes fan you probably don't worry about this stuff because there's a track record of team building but this is the Flames we are talking about. This isn't the Bruins here where the old guys they hung on to have a history of winning, this is the Flames which haven't had much in the way of success over the past 3 decades. 2004 was almost 20 years ago and the team has only made it to the 2nd round twice since then.

Rusic is largely an outsider that saw the Flames from afar in Toronto and one thing he's brought up a few times that makes a lot of sense is that this team hasn't done anything for decades. He's not attached to the players or this team like we the fans and the current management which is largely the same people minus Treliving. He's asked several times why fans and management are so worried about keeping a group together that's largely failed at making any progress towards winning a cup.

Lindholm and Backlund have some good seasons left but their next contracts will largely be paying based on past performance. It just seems like the players have the leverage now and any deals signed aren't going to age well at all for the Flames. If they sign these guys I'm going to support them and hope it works out but I hope Conroy can stand firm and not cave in during negotiations. To be fair to Conroy it appears he's done just that as he hasn't hastily signed anyone yet. However it plays out as a fan you just have to ride it out and hope that there's an infusion of young talent over the years that gives the team a boost when some of these aging players can no longer carry the team.

[N-E-B]

Staying or not, I still think Andersson should be captain over Backlund. Hand the reigns over to the younger group already. Should have been done the day after Giordano left.

Backlund is old and requested a trade. I don’t care that he changed his mind. Move on from him.

[genetic_phreek]

https://flameforthought.com/2023/09/...lames-captain/

Mikael Backlund is emerging as the deserved front-runner to be the next captain of the Calgary Flames.

I'm all for it. Hope it comes to fruition.