The only thing RNH has over Backlund is PP points. And the reason he gets PP time is because the Oilers have only had 3 functioning forwards until this past year.
I posted the numbers recently, so I am not going to do it again, but Backlund has been more productive than RNH, 5 on 5. And sometimes quite a bit more productive.
Backlund is also - indisputably - better defensively.
The only people taking RNH over Backlund are 1) Oiler fans, and 2) people going by pedigree but don't watch them both play.
You know... I've watched most of the Oilers games last year, and I think you're right for the most part, RNH tends to disappear into the play and I don't really notice him unless he does something, I do notice Backlund more, but then I'm baised, I'm a Flames fan and I care when Backlund is on the ice killing penalties for example. The Oilers broadcasts last year were all about McDavid and Draisaitl and then to a lesser extend Nurse, Smith, and Kane.... you can just name 5 or so names and that's the team... no one else really matters... everyone else are just "the other Oiler players"... so they tend to blend in.
I was trying to remove my bias here and looking at the Oilers as just another team... I didn't want to dismiss RNH just because he plays for a team we dislike. I hate Corey Perry for example, but when he was available, I thought at about one million (or around replacement value) - he was a steal and we should look at signing him... there are reasons we hate him, reasons why the Flames hated playing against him, and reasons why he's been to the Finals the last 3 years.
Last edited by JackIsBack; 08-31-2022 at 11:54 AM.
You know... I've watched most of the Oilers games last year, and I think you're right for the most part, RNH tends to disappear into the play and I don't really notice him unless he does something, I do notice Backlund more, but then I'm baised, I'm a Flames fan and I care when Backlund is on the ice killing penalties for example. The Oilers broadcasts last year were all about McDavid and Draisaitl and then to a lesser extend Nurse, Smith, and Kane.... you can just name 5 or so names and that's the team... no one else really matters... everyone else are just "the other Oiler players"... so they tend to blend in...
Oilers broadcasts do tend to promote Nugent-Hopkins as an elite level defensive centre savant without rival, which is patently ridiculous.
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Oilers broadcasts do tend to promote Nugent-Hopkins as an elite level defensive centre savant without rival, which is patently ridiculous.
Lol... Enoch Root did point out one word that sort of stuck with me - "pedigree"... the Oilers, their broadcasters, and their fans tend to value "pedigree" over most everything else, which is ridiculous, especially after Yakupov should have put those idea to rest in their minds.
I actually like Ryan Nothing-Happens. He is just not a core piece for some reason, but I do think he is a versatile complimentary player. I like Backlund more for his ability to shut-down and out-score top lines. Nothing-Happens is better on the PP, Backlund is much better on 5on5 IMO, especially considering match-ups.
Flames don't have a McDavid or Draisaitl. However, after them, it is laughable to suggest that Nothing-Happens is equal to Lindholm (or Kadri). I still take Backlund ahead of him too, though at least that's an argument.
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I think it’s a bad contract but it’s also Treliving’s favorite type of guy to go for — older UFA, coming off of career year being on the second or third line of a Stanley Cup champion — except this time it’s for twice as much money and twice as long as usual.
The Flames are betting an extraordinary amount of continuing success on older players who have never played a game for them. I think the time would’ve been right to go into a rebuild.
