[PGT] Hawks 4 - Flames 3

[thefoss1957]

Originally Posted by polak

Ask them to pronounce his name.

Who's name? Daisy Mae's? (one of the SOFTEST 6'5" guys I've ever seen!)

[driveway]

I would, 100 times out of 100, rather have Backlund playing than Granlund. And I like Granlund.

Backlund is one of the best defensive centres in the game, and if there is anything that game showed us, it's that defence can keep you in the game.

Calgary counter-punched well throughout that game. Chicago was clearly the better team, but we kept them outside and limited their good scoring chances. We worked hard and forced a huge number of penalties on a careless defence and capitalized on the chances we were given.

Our defence is what kept us in that game and gave us a chance to win. I believe that with Backlund playing, particularly the PK our defence would have been better overall and we really could have won that game.

Addendum: Holy dodgeballs Monahan is a hockey player. I haven't watched a lot of Carolina, but I remember the Lindholm v. Monahan debates and I think I was on the wrong side.

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Stajan scored 4 less goals and 6 less points than backlund last year in 13 less games. Backlund took 108 more shots.

He may indeed be better defensively, but he just doesn't produce and that's a big problem if you're going to play more than 15 minutes per night.

I like Backlund, but it's pretty tough to argue with the results.

Backlund taking 108 more shots shows he drives the offense better doesn't it? Stajan had a 20% shooting % last year. His previous years in a Flames jersey? 9.1, 7.4, 10.4, 11.4, and 11.1 so far this year. Last year obviously was an anomaly. He also had a -13 to go with those 4 less goals. Backlund was a +4.

I would keep a 25 year old improving Mikael Backlund who shows a lot more in all areas than a 31 year old Matt Stajan who we have watched flounder for 6 seasons, but you are entitled to your opinion. I just hope Hartley and Treliving dont share it.

[Igster]

Backlund may be better right this second, but I think Granlund is going to be a better player over time and that might be next season even. Granlund has shown already how good he is and he's only going to get better IMO.

I like Backlund, but I'm not sure how much better he's going to get.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood

Backlund taking 108 more shots shows he drives the offense better doesn't it? Stajan had a 20% shooting % last year. His previous years in a Flames jersey? 9.1, 7.4, 10.4, 11.4, and 11.1 so far this year. Last year obviously was an anomaly. He also had a -13 to go with those 4 less goals. Backlund was a +4.

I would keep a 25 year old improving Mikael Backlund who shows a lot more in all areas than a 31 year old Matt Stajan who we have watched flounder for 6 seasons, but you are entitled to your opinion. I just hope Hartley and Treliving dont share it.

I would keep Backlund over Stajan as well.

I just dont think you can keep both of them and I don't see many takers for stajan.

[Flash Walken]

Getting thanks from where r u chris o'sullivan has me really second guessing myself.

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

[QUOTE=CsInMyBlood;5013680]What? That's crazy talk sir. Backlund continually drove the offense last year. How quickly some forget. He is a 25 year old player that is just coming into his own. He had 18 goals and 39 points in 76 games last year, even with being buried on the 4th line for the first half of the season.

His 63 takeaways last season were good for 14th in the NHL and 5th among centers. His faceoffs this year are above 50%. This team does totally miss Backlund and he is far from the odd man. The guy plays his heart out every night.

I would bet there isn't a team in the NHL that wouldn't want what Backlund brings.

Matt Stajan on the other hand...[/QUOTE

But Backlund doesn't drive offense, he snuffs it out. Hardworking shot blockers who aren't truculent are not irreplaceable. Except temporarily, he won't displace Monahan, nor Jooris, So this leaves Granlund. Gran has shown a lot in his short time and is actually part of the teams success.

Backs will on return, probably get 5 games to be the 2-3rd line centre out of respect. If he doesn't produce, he may be on one of those 29 other teams.

[868904]

Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood

Ferland is for real, another rookie that is going to make the NHL and be a player. Really is crazy how many of these legit players we have in our system that could easily push for an NHL spot. Treliving has some work to do on moving a vet or two to open up spots for these guys next season.

I love the direction this team is headed.

Agreed, it's only a two game sample size, but Ferland looks like an NHL player out there.

Flames had zero momentum for the first 10 minutes of the game and it was Ferland who got that turned around with a good shift of dominating the puck in the Hawks zone.

Kid not only has size and strength but he knows how to use it. He was the most effective player at winning puck battles for the Flames last nite.

The first goal, everyone notices his screen, but it was his board battle to win the puck that made the point shot possible. He doesn't get an assist but he should have cause that goal was all him. Forecheck, win the board battle, screen the goalie. He did it all that shift.

It's just nice to see a Flames forward go into the corners and come out with the puck more often than not.

[Gaudfather]

Mony now sitting with 8 goals at the quarter pole mark of the season. Has him on track for 30+ on the year. Sophomore surge!

[calumniate]

What I can't believe is the Hawks' d-man, first nhl game, 5 minutes in tees off a bouncing saucer pass for his first ever nhl goal. What a crap curse the flames have... exorcise this immediately.

[waner]

Originally Posted by driveway

I would, 100 times out of 100, rather have Backlund playing than Granlund. And I like Granlund.

Backlund is one of the best defensive centres in the game, and if there is anything that game showed us, it's that defence can keep you in the game.

One of the best defensive centres in the game???

Drives the offense???

I know people here love nothing more than piling on Where are you Chris O'Sullivan and his is a little extreme but some of the crap overrating Backlund is just as bad.

[Enoch Root]

A Backlund/Stajan conversation is not even a debate.

A Backlund/Granlund conversation is also not even close at this point. The difference is that it is certainly realistic to imagine that Granlund can pass him.

But that is something to determine two years from now, not after 10 games.

Regardless, the idea of having Monahan and Bennett for top 2, with Backlund and Granlund behind them, is a nice young group of Cs to have as a starting point for building a team.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

A Backlund/Stajan conversation is not even a debate.

A Backlund/Granlund conversation is also not even close at this point. The difference is that it is certainly realistic to imagine that Granlund can pass him.

But that is something to determine two years from now, not after 10 games.

Regardless, the idea of having Monahan and Bennett for top 2, with Backlund and Granlund behind them, is a nice young group of Cs to have as a starting point for building a team.

Jooris has made me all but forget backlund even plays for Calgary.

Goes back to my point about Backlund not being an offensive threat, it changes how you play against him.

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by Where ru Chris O'Sullivan

But Backlund doesn't drive offense, he snuffs it out. Hardworking shot blockers who aren't truculent are not irreplaceable. Except temporarily, he won't displace Monahan, nor Jooris, So this leaves Granlund. Gran has shown a lot in his short time and is actually part of the teams success.

Backs will on return, probably get 5 games to be the 2-3rd line centre out of respect. If he doesn't produce, he may be on one of those 29 other teams.

Woah Chris O'Sullivan showing Backlund some love?!? On one of those 29 other teams means still in the NHL, he has softened your stance from KHL bound?

He must be doing something right.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by AC

He looked decent. Not aggressive enough offensively compared to what he's capable of, and I didn't see him play a physical game either (something he excels at).

However I recall one shift in particular where he cycled the puck singlehandedly in the offensive zone around the net, attacked the backchecking winger and made a smart backhand pass to the point for a chance. He did the exact same move twice and creating 2 chances out of it as a result.

Ferland was the reason the comeback started. He brings more of an edge to his game than Granlund does and we need that.

Thought he had a great game.

[kermitology]

I think the only reason you trade Backlund is because he could fetch you something in return. What is Stajan going to get you to improve your team? Backlund could be flipped for defense players or prospects. Imagine picking up a top 4 or bottom 2 and a prospect.

[heep223]

Monahan's faceoff skill is developing nicely. Good to see how hard he's working on it.

[Azure]

The problem will arise when Bennett is ready to go. Backlund has a place on this team till then, IMO.

Colborne can play wing, no?

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by waner

One of the best defensive centres in the game???

Drives the offense???

I know people here love nothing more than piling on Where are you Chris O'Sullivan and his is a little extreme but some of the crap overrating Backlund is just as bad.

Actually, he is one of the best defensive centers in the game. Has the stats to prove it.

Offensively... leaves something to be desired, but though he doesn't score much himself, he gets the big minutes against the opposition's best lines (so Thornton, Getzlaf, Toews, etc.) and OUTSCORES them head-to-head. This means he shuts them down very well, and even though he himself doesn't score at a large clip, he does out-score the elite lines more often than not.

Is that not valuable? Was his 4 or however many goals on the PK last year not valuable?

Backlund for sure has a spot on this team going forward. It is the 3rd line center. Until someone can do a better job than him of shutting down the opposition, that spot is his. If he does lose it, I think he would make one heck of a good 3rd line winger as part of a shut-down line.

I think Darren Haynes had that interesting stat last season (or was that 2 seasons ago now?) in which no team was able to score 5 on 5 when Backlund was on the ice for FOURTEEN STRAIGHT GAMES. Think about that for a moment. 14 straight games facing the opposition's best lines.

Backlund is an elite defensive center. There is value in that. He does help the Flames win, and therefore, the team is better with him than without him. I will be happy with a 40-50 point defensively elite center any day, especially one that has his speed and endurance out there. I am really interested in that new tracking technology that will be launched soon - I would LOVE to compare Backlund's skating to the rest of the Flames and to other players around the NHL. It always seems like he is hustling out there, and I bet he puts out the most mileage by a comfortable margin most games.

This is why to me, Where R U Chris O'Sullivan's opinion I just can't take seriously. Eye-test verifies Backlund as a pretty good player. Statistically, he is a decent depth scorer who has been getting better. "Fancy stats" + deliberate player watching for entire shifts shows me how stifling he is for the other teams, how he manages to completely shut-down the other centers with his relentless fore-checking and back-checking and still has enough gas in the tank to hustle back up to the points to take away the elite defencemen's shot.

He has been very unlucky with injuries (which doesn't worry me at the moment, since they have all been different injuries, not recurring ones), and offensively he isn't 'awesome', but he has DEFINITELY been an elite defensive center, and the Flames do miss him terribly.

[polak]

Lets not get ahead of ourselves.

10 good games by a rookie center does not make our best center from last year expendable. If Granlund and Monohan maintain this all season then you can consider it. Personally, I'd hold off until Bennett plays for a bit and shows he can live up to the potential.

Players tail off all the time. How much would it suck if Granlund tails off or Bennett doesn't live up to the hype while Backs is killing it for whoever we trade him to?

Everyone take a deep breath. We need to still think about this long term.