Confirmed Signing with Link: [CGY] Flames re-sign Mikael Backlund [6 years/$5.35M AAV]

[DJJones]

Some of them are rookies in the sense that they would qualify for Calder voting. Most of them are in their early-mid twenties and have played NHL games, have marinated in the AHL and NCAA, and are waiting for a chance. We are not talking 18 year olds fresh off their draft year - Calgary knows what they have with regards to their development curve.

I like all of those guys and think they are NHL caliber now with plenty of room to grow but they don't have any leverage at all from a contract standpoint.

They will all sign for cheap.

As someone else said, things get a bit more dicey when we have to sign Ferland and Tkachuk. Frolik, Brouwer, and Stone will have to go at that point. But next year we're fine.

 

[1989]

Oh ok. Just like you did in your post...oops...You never did either. No need to get all bent out of shape and resort to attacks on posters because you are wrong.

Why would I quote your empty reply which only contained my post? I mean, you only messed that up multiple times on the same page… forgive me for not having faith in you.

Well as long as they are marinated they are good to go.

Doesn't watch the games, doesn't know the internal cap structure, doesn't know the player development process, expects me to be the wrong one. Got it.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Turris got 6x6 so I don't see how people can justify this as "robbery". It just seems like a fair contract imo. Good for both sides.

 

[1989]

I like all of those guys and think they are NHL caliber now with plenty of room to grow but they don't have any leverage at all from a contract standpoint.

They will all sign for cheap.

As someone else said, things get a bit more dicey when we have to sign Ferland and Tkachuk. Frolik, Brouwer, and Stone will have to go at that point. But next year we're fine.

Also me.

But yeah. Frolik either has to sign a sweetheart contract because Backlund and Tkachuk are the future plans and he's a third wheel. With any luck, Stone will be traded or replaced by Valimaki (I should hope he can replace a bottom pairing player). Brouwer falls into this category as he is declining and is likely going to be replaced externally via trade or FA.

 

[Volica]

Ok. So start doing the math...$2M for Kulak, $1.5m for Versteeg, $2M for Rittich, $2M for Jankowski, $1.5M for someone to replace Stajan....And the cost of a seventh defenceman on the team. $10 M is not look8ng l8ke so much now especially if someone gets signed longer term for more.

11 million bucks to sign a few bottom 6'ers, a backup and a 7th D how hard is that?
Versteeg won't be back.
Jankowski hasn't earned anything more than a 1.5 bridge.
Rittich will likely get a little 2x2, or something similar.

Right now:
Gaudreau (signed) - Monahan (signed) - Ferland (signed)
Tkachuk (signed) - Backlund (signed) - Frolik (signed)
Bennett (signed) - Jankowski (resign needed) - Brouwer (signed)
Lomberg (signed) - X (resign needed) - Lazar (signed)
13th forward (resign needed)

Giordano (signed) - Hamilton (signed)
Brodie (signed) - Hammer (signed)
Kulak (resign needed) - Stone (signed)
7th D (resign needed)

Smith (Signed)
Rittich (resign needed)

so 3 forwards, 1D and a back-up. 1 forward and the D are depth guys, and are looking at sub 900k deals. So 8 million to sign Rittich and 4th line centre. That won't be hard.

 

[1989]

Turris got 6x6 so I don't see how people can justify this as "robbery". It just seems like a fair contract imo. Good for both sides.

I can agree with that comparable. Different development curve and Calgary has a much longer history/investment into Backlund than Turris/Nashville but they absolutely bring solid elements of the team game to the table in their own way. But because of the existing history, Backlund is expected to, and took, less, but as many have pointed out he very well should have expected 6m+ in UFA.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

"Absolute robbery" "increadibly good" "would have gotten way more on the market"... very good player, 6 would have been fair value so its a good deal, but must this place exclusively speak in hyperbole? Either way good for the Flames.

 

[Moridin]

2)Do you know of any defensively good 50 pts scorer making less than 5M on his 3rd contract?

Nazem Kadri. 4.5m with 5 years left on his contract.

 

[Potty John]

Great deal! Looking forward to 6 more years of backs in flames colours.

 

[FerklundCGY]

Just a small glance at how incredible Backlund (and the 3M line as a whole) is defensively:





That's pure domination... against opposing team's top lines.

It seems Backlund will forever be underrated defensively by the people who refuse to look at any evidence other than "eye tests"

 

[1989]

Nazem Kadri. 4.5m with 5 years left on his contract.

That's fair. Kadri even signed a 4m 1 year "show me" contract (which actually counted as his third), and it actually paid off, and he's already on his fourth. It's somewhat worth noting that his current contract was signed as an RFA so it can be argued that he had less to work with from a bargaining standpoint, but it's still a valid comparison even though slightly tinted.

Just a small glance at how incredible Backlund (and the 3M line as a whole) is defensively:





That's pure domination... against opposing team's top lines.

It seems Backlund will forever be underrated defensively by the people who refuse to look at any evidence other than "eye tests"

Baxterman's Twitter handle confirmed?

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Nazem Kadri. 4.5m with 5 years left on his contract.

Kadri isn’t in the same league as backlund defensively

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I might get bad comments after this, but...
10 goals, 24 assists, 140 sog, -10 , 48.7% face-offs with 19:02 avg ice time per game
doesn't look that impressive.

Yes, he was impressive last season, but his performance this season...
Yes, his game isn't all about goals and points, but
is he really worth 6 years, almost 5,5 mill a yer?

Not saying this is a bad contract, but doesn't look to be very good contract either.

 

[1989]

I might get bad comments after this, but...
10 goals, 24 assists, 140 sog, -10 , 48.7% face-offs with 19:02 avg ice time per game
doesn't look that impressive.

Yes, he was impressive last season, but his performance this season...
Yes, his game isn't all about goals and points, but
is he really worth 6 years, almost 5,5 mill a yer?

Not saying this is a bad contract, but doesn't look to be very good contract either.

I mean, if you don't watch the games as a Leaf fan based in Finland... you could just read the stat analysis that was put forth 3 posts up.

Is he perfect? No. Is he damn good at what he does and how he fits in the Flames' lineup? Heck yes. Is the cap rising? Also yes. Is it possible that a contract is not a steal or a rip-off, but fair to both sides? I'll let you answer that.

 

[biturbo19]

Great value for now. I'd be a bit wary with the term. Taking a guy like that into his mid-30s, you're going to see dropoff to more of a 3rd liner type. Just a gamble on how substantial that will be in the last years of the contract, and how useful he'll still be. And obviously that's the sort of handcuffing term top UFAs command nowadays. At least got the tradeoff of a pretty friendly cap number in the meantime, through the remainder of his prime.

 

[FerklundCGY]

I might get bad comments after this, but...
10 goals, 24 assists, 140 sog, -10 , 48.7% face-offs with 19:02 avg ice time per game
doesn't look that impressive.

Yes, he was impressive last season, but his performance this season...
Yes, his game isn't all about goals and points, but
is he really worth 6 years, almost 5,5 mill a yer?

Not saying this is a bad contract, but doesn't look to be very good contract either.

Not gonna dive super deep into this because it's quite an easy response but just for a quick summary on Backlund's season:

His S% (7.1%), oiSH% (6.8%) and PDO (96.3) are all the lowest they've been in 7 years. In short, he's been incredibly unlucky despite still being on pace for 48 points.

He's still controlling 55.30% of Shot Attempts, 54.46% of Scoring Chances, and 55.16% of High Danger Scoring Chances while he's on the ice. Absolutely dominant numbers, especially considering that he faces opposing teams' top lines night in and night out while getting buried in defensive zone starts.

By all accounts, he's had another terrific season. He's just been incredibly unlucky.

 

[DFAC]

Backlund is a stud, good deal for both sides

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Fair contract. Great defence. Solid offense

 

[Bounces R Way]

People realize the 3M line is 3rd in the league in producing shot attempts for right? That's more than Namestikov-Stamkos-Kucherov, that's more than Hyman-Matthews-Nylander. that's more than Benn-Seguin-Radulov. This is as a second line typically facing the top competition, often starting from the defensive zone. They're opperating at a 96.9 PDO and have generated the highest % of SAT at 59% compared to their opponents, yes even higher than Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak.

Very few lines are able to tilt the ice like this, and Backlund playing the center position is the biggest part of it. This is fantastic value for the Flames considering what some UFAs have been getting around the league the last couple years.

 

[Johnnybegood13]

Rittich hasn’t earned a penny over 1 million.

Rittich will get get a real raise not a slap in the face (my prediction is around $1.5 x 2)

Why? Because he's really f'kn good, his teammates and management love him and his coolness under pressure hasn't been seen since Kipper.

 

[HarrySPlinkett]

Rittich will get get a real raise not a slap in the face (my prediction is around $1.5 x 2)

Why? Because he's really f'kn good, his teammates and management love him and his coolness under pressure hasn't been seen since Kipper.

Rittich has started nine NHL games. His reward will be $1m or less, on a two year deal, one way. The guy in front of him is going to be 37 when his deal expires, and Rittich has the opportunity to walk into a starting job in the NHL. He doesn't need to make any money on this contract, he needs to be in the NHL. And the less he makes, the easier he is to keep around.

Backlund's deal is great - the Flames have given Matt Stajan $28M over the last eight years. There's no universe where it's a worse idea to give Backlund $33M over six. Backlund is not going to have a worse season during this contract than Matt Stajan's career best 33 points as a Flame (barring injury).

 

[Deen]

Calgary is quietly building an army for the playoffs.

 

[Iceman]

Good deal, important cog on that team.

 

[DFF]

Nazem Kadri. 4.5m with 5 years left on his contract.

Yes that's a good contract but Kadri was a RFA and you can argue Backlund is a better player defensively, he has a more important role on the Flames anyway

 

[DFF]

Turris got 6x6 so I don't see how people can justify this as "robbery". It just seems like a fair contract imo. Good for both sides.

It's not a robbery. It's very good for the Flames to be able to keep him at a very reasonable price. Good UFA gets paid.