Backlund possibly out for "a while" -Shannon

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Bennett at center was really only tried by Gulutzan who is a horrendous head coach. Jankowski has been pretty mediocre here and this injury allows Neal to get into the top 6

Yes, and one of the major reasons why Gulutzan was a horrendous head coach was that he played guys in positions they couldn't handle. And as far as Jankowski being "pretty mediocre here" goes, he has more goals and the same number of points in fewer games than Bennett over the last two seasons, and is the better defensive player. And, unlike Bennett, Jankowski has demonstrated that he is capable of playing centre.

If we're going to stay married to Lindholm on the top line, then I'd trust Jankowski as 2C long before Bennett. Especially given the opposition that line would face.

[TheIronMaiden]

Backlund and Frolik out of the lineup does not bode well for the Flames PK. Its gonna make things tough from a defensive perspective.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Who were Bennett's wingers then? Usually Brouwer and Chiasson or Versteeg. No they aren't necessarily horrible, but not at the level of Tkachuk (or even Neal). And not as much of a fit IMO.

I bet Ryan slides up though.

Center was a bad fit for the kid and it caused a lot of damage to his progression as an NHLer - it is not something that was simply based on who his linemates were either. That was part of the problem but much of the issues were a result of Bennett being over his head in the role. The Flames finally have a good player in him now as a winger and things will only get exponentially tougher for him back at center, especially if asked to do what Backlund does for this team.

There's no reason to even go down that road when the team has so many other capable options to plug that hole now. Lindholm is my choice as he is the closest player we have as far as IQ, style and actually provides more offensive skill to the line.

[blender]

I feel that the nhl should make all head contact a 2 minute penalty minimum. Look at high-sticking. You get 2 minutes whether it is an accident or not. As a result, everyone is trying to avoid high sticking. It still happens, but there is an effective deterrent. Right now I don't feel there is an effective deterrent to head contact.

I know the arguments about hockey plays and principle point of contact, etc but times need to change. There is no way to effectively reduce head injuries without making all head shots, accidental, incidental or otherwise, an automatic infraction.

[Strange Brew]

If Backlund is out, you don't mess with the top line IMO. They are winning games by themselves right now.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

If Backlund is out, you don't mess with the top line IMO. They are winning games by themselves right now.

I agree. Probably just bump Ryan into backlunds slot to try keep everything else as stable as possible.

[LWcrowfoot]

Move Jankowski up. He's slightly better than Ryan in face-offs this year, better defensive IMO and he deserves an expanded role.

[TheIronMaiden]

Does Backlund have a history of head injuries?

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Does Backlund have a history of head injuries?

No, but I haven't seen him get leveled that hard since he was a Kelowna Rocket.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Parallex

No, but I haven't seen him get leveled that hard since he was a Kelowna Rocket.

He was concussed during the WC in Sept. 2016. Missed the rest of the tourney and part of training camp.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He was concussed during the WC in Sept. 2016. Missed the rest of the tourney and part of training camp.

... I stand corrected.

[Duffalufagus]

Originally Posted by LWcrowfoot

Move Jankowski up. He's slightly better than Ryan in face-offs this year, better defensive IMO and he deserves an expanded role.

I could get behind this.

[Toonage]

Given he is now parroting what Peters has told us, this tells me he had no inside info to begin with and was speculating.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1071135681987076097

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Funny thing is Boomer this morning basically said the same thing as I did. It just set off a chain reaction of events that could have been avoided. Not Monahan's fault directly but in close games players really need to finish open net opportunities as besides the injury there's the fact that the Wild could have scored to make it a one goal game. Respectfully, chill out.

Well, there are typically only open nets if it is one-goal or two-goal game. So with a two-goal lead, trying to tee up your line-mate is actually much more acceptable. Much like with a two-goal lead, icing the puck is fine, while with a one-goal lead it is frowned upon.

[Enoch Root]

Having said that, pinpointing the Monahan play as somehow being a cuse of the later events is a bit ridiculous. Literally every play in the last 3 minutes could have gone differently and thus potentially avoided the #### show that unfolded in the last minute.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by LWcrowfoot

Move Jankowski up. He's slightly better than Ryan in face-offs this year, better defensive IMO and he deserves an expanded role.

I came to say this.

Jankowski has always seemed like the natural replacement for Backlund.

Time to step up and see.

[Split98]

Only thing I've seen so far that could qualify as an 'update' is they don't know how long he'll be out...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1071997220864454656

[cam_wmh]

Watching Derek Ryan in Backlund's spot against a physical Oilers team last night, he was the root cause to the goal against. He's weak physically, both trying to drive open play, and downlow. He has little offense. Contrast that to Bennet's stellar backchecking, that saved a serious goal scoring opportunity for the Oilers. Ryan should have focused his skating back to McDavid, ESPECIALLY considering the role he was in last night, but instead provided a pedestrian backchecking effort.

[Tyler]

The Ryan and Czarnik signings continue to baffle me

[Vinny01]

What is the beef with Czarnik? The signing can be almost entirely buried in the minors.

Ryan was bad and most of us knew it immediately. Needed a Stajan replacement as an overpaid 4th liner with term