MarkGio
Registered User
- Nov 6, 2010
- 12,533
- 11
Having a 2nd or 3rd line center that wins 48% of his draws is hardly a deterrent for a hockey club, especially when you take into account his ability to take the puck away from the opponent and transition it up the ice (which are both huge strengths of his game). We saw it last night when he forced the turnover in the neutral zone through hard work and an active stick, directly resulting in the Hudler snipe just moments later.
I agree that he should definitely continue to work on improving that area of his game, but it certainly should not be a pivotal factor in determining if he remains as a core piece of this team moving forward. I just don't believe that his faceoff ability is as you call it "broken", but it could always improve.
Anyway we spin it, the Flames are bad on the faceoff and we won't win many games without improving in this area, whether its through personnel or strategy. Backlund is a part of that problem, that's all I'm saying.