QOTD: What to make of Mikael Backlund?

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I'm worried because he's just not skating hard. That's not the Backlund that I remember. He's always been a decent skater with a good motor and work ethic. I haven't seen any of that so far this year, so I wonder what's going on with him. I can't imagine it's motivation, so it would have to be an undisclosed injury.

[Vinny01]

He is not looking right at all this year. At this point he is playing his way off the team and could permanently lose his spot to a guy like Granlund if he is not careful. Hopefully just and early season slump

[FlamesAddiction]

I have always considered him to be a bottom 6 forward and there have been a lot of changes around him, I just think he is having chemistry issues.

[Erick Estrada]

He's a 26 year old former first round pick that's never hit 20 goals with a career high of 39 points. This is what he is and it's fairly easy to surmise that he's been surpassed by young talented forwards. IMO it's just a matter of time until Granlund permanently takes his spot on this team. He was awful last season and this season has just been a continuation.

[Goodlad]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He's a 26 year old former first round pick that's never hit 20 goals with a career high of 39 points. This is what he is and it's fairly easy to surmise that he's been surpassed by young talented forwards. IMO it's just a matter of time until Granlund permanently takes his spot on this team. He was awful last season and this season has just been a continuation.

You're very much in the minority on the bolded.

[ricardodw]

Flames signed for at least the next 3 years:

Gio
Hamilton
Frolik
Stajan
Backlund
Bouma
Brodie

Flames that are in the last year of their contract:
Hudler
Russell
Jones
Monahan
Gaudreau
Colborne
Jooris

and all the goalies

Still early early days but it appears that the long-term signed group are not playing up to their expected level.


In the St.L game in the last 4 minutes of a 1 goal game Flames trailing

player time

Gaudreau 2:33
Hudler 2:30
Wideman 2:25
Monahan 2:12
Jones 1:50
Russell 1:39
Raymond 1:27
Stajan 1:26
Gio 1:24
Engelland :57
Kulak :57
Frolik :52
Bennett :39
Hamilton :38
Ferland :36


Hardest part of a modern coaches job is to motivate guys with millions of guaranteed money .

Was the ice-time with the chips on the line Hartley giving his "best" players a boot in the butt?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Goodlad

You're very much in the minority on the bolded.

So you are saying was great last year or even good? IMO he was arguably the teams worst forward in a lot of games as he struggled mightily. Feel free to disagree but your opinion doesn't count as a majority or anything. A lot of Flames fans root for the him as he's a likeable dude but at the end of the day how many years is the team going to give him to show he can become more than what he has been to date? I can't recall any Flames player that has got this much rope with the organization.

[SuperMatt18]

He struggled for a little bit after his return from injury but once he was up to speed he was good down the stretch run.

He does need to be better though. Don't think he reached the levels of 13/14 last season or this season so far.

Biggest concern for me this year is his work in the defensive zone. Lots of poor reads and decisions, which is uncharacteristic for him.

[Yamer]

Count me as a guy who saw a lot to like from Backlund's game last season. After he caught up post-injury I felt he was one of the Flames' most consistent forwards in his role.

I also thought he was solid in the playoffs, and definitely one of the Flames' better players in the series against Anaheim.

EDIT: As to the question, I think it is just a slow start combined with the effort of others trying to usurp his position. It's early, it's Backlund, he will be fine.

[gvitaly]

I think it is a combination of things.

The first obviously is playing slightly hurt, or more correctly playing with the fear of reaggravating his abdominal injury. The reason I say it is his interview during training camp when he missed a couple of days due to maintenance. He himself mentioned that he just has to be careful about going full out right away, then again he also mentioned that he will be fine in a few days.

The second, and you have to give credit where credit is due, is the play of Stajan. I think Stajan has looked great in camp, and looked good to start the year. When you add his chemistry with Jones, their line becomes the 3rd line when they play well. That is the main reason Backlund's line dropped to 10-11min a game in my opinion.

The third and final reason is bad luck. The loss of Bouma and the need to get a goal back against STL. They both lead Hartley on relying on the other lines more, instead of line juggling and double shifting. Especially since the Flames had momentum going their way. When you compound it with the fact that the Flames were on the PK for only 27 seconds it ends up with Backlund only getting 8min of game time.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

In the St.L game in the last 4 minutes of a 1 goal game Flames trailing

player time

Gaudreau 2:33
Hudler 2:30
Wideman 2:25
Monahan 2:12
Jones 1:50
Russell 1:39
Raymond 1:27
Stajan 1:26
Gio 1:24
Engelland :57
Kulak :57
Frolik :52
Bennett :39
Hamilton :38
Ferland :36


Hardest part of a modern coaches job is to motivate guys with millions of guaranteed money .

Was the ice-time with the chips on the line Hartley giving his "best" players a boot in the butt?

Your player analysis can be so random. It looks to me, like Hartley was double shifting the best offensive players to try to get a goal. Which is what most coaches would do down by one late in the third.

[polak]

His line is god awful and it's three games in? What do you expect? Jesus. Lets hope Johnny doesn't slump for 3 games...

[thymebalm]

You could say the same about Ferland, Stajan, Bennett, Giordano, etc. It's such a small sample size. We've played two teams so far.

Unlike the federal election, I'm going to abstain from voting on this one.

[polak]

Seriously. Gio has been crap too. Has he been surpassed by "young players"?

It's not like Backlund started on the 2nd line and Bennett outplayed him and got promoted. Bennett was gifted the 2nd line spot while Backlund started the season on the worst line on the team.

Stupid poll is stupid. Backlund is an awesome 3rd line center. Give it a bit.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by thymebalm

You could say the same about Ferland, Stajan, Bennett, Giordano, etc. It's such a small sample size. We've played two teams so far.

Unlike the federal election, I'm going to abstain from voting on this one.

Any thread like this three games into the season is premature as a few Flames haven't got off to great starts including the captain. I expect Backlund to play better but in a bottom six role to which he is suited.

[sa226]

I would say I'm marginally concerned. I have sometimes forgot that he was even playing. It is only 3 games so we shouldn't rush to ban him to the ECHL just yet.

What concerns me is that historically Backlund has come out of training camp gangbusters. He has always played really well to start the season. The exceptions being when he was injured. What is different this year?

[Locke]

Honestly we havent come out of the gates all that well and Backlund is one of a myriad of players who really need to get their poop in a group and start contributing on both sides of the puck.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by terminator

Lol what a question after 3 games

I wouldn't ask a question about a player with zero points ... so I hear that. But Backlund getting 8 minutes a game is worth noting and yeah it creates a question.

He was Hartley's shut down guy and 2nd line center last year, now he's getting less ice than a 19 year old and Matt Stajan.

So yeah I see that as a potential concern and worth asking.

[Gaudfather]

My sense is that Backs is his own worst enemy. The guy has a tremendous skill set and just needs to consistently play with the belief that he can be an elite player.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I look at Backlund as a near-elite defensive center with anywhere from limited to potentially decent (untapped) offensive potential. He adds a lot of speed to the team, and really great defensive acumen. Regularly goes up against the other teams' top lines. I think he is a very good asset.

With that being said, he hasn't looked all that great thus far and has been seeing less playing time. I don't think anyone has any idea why - could be any of the above, all of the above.. we will eventually know in short order.

He is not a player I worry about. Backlund has seemed to be one of the more motivated players out there consistently in the last few seasons. I look at him as one of the really good character guys on the team. I have absolutely zero worries about him finding his game quickly (unless the possible injury is going to be limiting) and we will all (mostly) be happy once again that he is a Flame.