GDT: Sharks at Flames; November 12th

[MarkGio]

Moving 1 3rd liner isn't going to make or break the rebuild and I think it's best for both backlund and the team if we move backlund

The rebuild is the sum of all moves and hopefully collectively they turn out to be alright. Given how many years Sutter squandered future assets, the Flames are in no position to take any move lightly.

 

[Calculon]

Moving 1 3rd liner isn't going to make or break the rebuild and I think it's best for both backlund and the team if we move backlund

Keeping the soon-to-be 30 year old over the 24 year old is terrible asset management and completely contrary to the concept of a rebuild. And it doesn't help the team whatsoever to keep a second/third line tweener like Stajan for veteran leadership when the team already has Glencross, Hudler, Jones and likely one of Stempniak or Cammalleri upfront.

There's certainly an argument to be made for trading Backlund for defensive help, although that has been less necessary with the addition of Smid. There's an argument for keeping Stajan for veteran leadership, albeit a weak one. But there's no rational argument to be made for keeping an almost 30 year old vet who's peaked over a 24 year old who still has room for growth in the first year of a rebuild. It's just asinine.

And I know that sounds contradictory but it's not if you think about. In this case, you're not picking Stajan over Backlund, but rather trading the latter because there's a deal too good to pass up and keeping the former because of 'veteran leadership.' If there was no deal for Backlund, they'd keep both.

 

[Guido Sarducci]

I don't see why it has to be a choice of Stajan or Backlund. Really, for the Flames to become a contender that would likely mean getting rid of both.

Stajan is UFA and should not be re signed. So trade him at the deadline for futures IF anybody wants him.
Backlund is a 25 goal scorer. Not in one season, in his entire NHL career. There should be no rush to move him because he is not hurting the team, but keeping him shouldn't be a priority either.

The ultimate goal should be to make the Flames a contender. For that to happen the Flames have to turn over the entire roster except for a few key players.