This guy is a great 3C on any team. Honestly everyone rips me for saying the oilers aren’t deep in there forward group. But for me adding Backlund absolutely would change that. They need defensive players in there bottom 6 more then anything ( even more then goaltending imo I seen Campbell play in Toronto and he was anything but the problem)
He'd be a phenomenal #3C for just about any team. Question is...does he want to be a 3rd Line Center? Or is that part of the issue here. He's a really good player, but he's a bit of a "tweener" who can give you Top-6 C type minutes and decent underlying numbers, but isn't necessarily going to give you the raw production you want out of that role. Like he's kind of a #2b Center. Is he going to be content getting moved somewhere else that he'd still effectively be the #3C?
I could see him being a perfect fit somewhere like Colorado, where they obviously have an opening at #2C and seem able to get a bit more mileage out of guys in that role than other teams. It'd also obviously give him that chance to chase a Cup as well.
Carolina is the other team that feels like a natural fit to me. He'd slot in really nicely to the defensive puck possession system they play, behind Aho as the #2C. Ahead of Staal, which would also free him up to play a little bit more offensively skewed minutes.
Boston would be interesting if they have the assets to acquire him and Bergeron and Krejci hang up those skates leaving some pretty massive holes at Center in an otherwise extremely good roster.
Minnesota would be another interest spot if they could figure out how to make the cap work. He'd immediately be their de facto top-line Center. He'd probably see a huge bump in his production if he got the chance to spend a season playing with Kaprizov in top offensive minutes He's a smart player who seems like he'd mesh well with what Kaprizov does in driving offense. Like a better version of what Hartman brings to that mix.
Nashville could also work, depending on where they're headed competitively speaking...where he'd probably take Granlund's vacated role between Forsberg and Duchene who can really carry the play offensively, but need that facilitator and defensive conscience between them. Pretty much exactly what Backlund could be for them.
Columbus is the other place where i could see him stepping directly into a top-line role. Did he ever really have much chemistry with Gaudreau though? I don't really recall that being the case. Mostly Monahan and later Lindholm. Maybe he'd fit better with Laine? There's also obviously questions about how competitive that team can be next year as well. They've got the potential to turn things around quickly with a few savvy moves and getting key players back, and that seems like the intent...but is getting Werenski back going to be enough to completely turn next season around? They also seem kinda zeroed in on Hayes instead anyway.