The disgraceful oversight of Nick Backstrom

[Ovechtrick89*]

Not sure if there is a player more overlooked and under the radar than Backy. I mean how can a virtually career PPG (682p/694g) player who is that good be overlooked for everything? Never gets the awards he deserves, never gets the recognition but you can bank on the next time Crosby or McDavid grabs a cup of coffee we will hear about whether it was decaff or not 5 minutes later.

Give this man the Selke and All-Star games he DESERVES.

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[User9992]

Not sure if there is a player more overlooked and under the radar than Backy. I mean how can a career PPG player who is that good be overlooked for everything? Never gets the awards he deserves, never gets the recognition but you can bank on the next time Crosby or McDavid grabs a cup of coffee we will hear about whether it was decaff or not 5 minutes later.

Give this man the Selke and All-Star games he DESERVES.

Nope man... Players like Toews deserves it more!

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

Backstrom gets a ton of respect, what in the world are you talking about?

Maybe in the last season or two he's been "low-key" for a lack of better terms but he is not taken for granted by the hockey world, awesome player no doubt.

 

[Ovechtrick89*]

Nope man... Players like Toews deserves it more!

Of course i mean he's Jonathan Toews, thou must kneel to the captain. I mean it doesn't matter that most NHL 3rd liners have as many points as him this season

 

[Devil Dancer]

Disgraceful!

lol

 

[BusQuets]

Ovechkin has been his linemate all his career. That means Backtrom will never get his due. It is what it is.

 

[Ovechtrick89*]

Backstrom gets a ton of respect, what in the world are you talking about?

Maybe in the last season or two he's been "low-key" for a lack of better terms but he is not taken for granted by the hockey world, awesome player no doubt.

Trust me, he is. The staggering lack of respect to not even get a simple all-star call up. So humble that he would probably give his place up to someone anyway.

I'm glad people like you appreciate him because he should be but you're not a majority when it comes to the media and populous.

 

[The Toews Era*]

Backstrom has 230 career assists on the power play. Toews has 92. Saying backstrom is nearly ppg, overlooking his es and pp splits as hes playing his whole career feeding ovechkin on pp (or just retrieving pucks that wind up i echkin pp goals) is more than a little misleading.

 

[Sojourn]

I'm not sure how anything you said suggests he should be in the running for the Selke.

The All-Star Game is another matter, but good players get left out all the time. Whether it's due to voting, or every team being represented. He isn't unique.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Backstrom is very good. I'd easily take him over about half of the all-star roster.

That said, he's not a Selke player. Very good defensively, but not Selke.

 

[Ovechtrick89*]

Backstrom has 230 career assists on the power play. Toews has 92. Saying backstrom is nearly ppg, overlooking his es and pp splits as hes playing his whole career feeding ovechkin on pp (or just retrieving pucks that wind up i echkin pp goals) is more than a little misleading.

Hockey doesn't work unless a team scores a goal, why should Backstrom be maligned because Ovi has the best shot? Maybe Nick has the best passes too, and from watching him his whole career i can tell you he easily has some of the best passing in the league.

 

[The Toews Era*]

Hockey doesn't work unless a team scores a goal, why should Backstrom be maligned because Ovi has the best shot? Maybe Nick has the best passes too, and from watching him his whole career i can tell you he easily has some of the best passing in the league.

He is a very good passer. I have nothing against him. Playing your whole career on a pp1 with ovechkin is an extremely special situation that would boost anyones scoring. And not by a little.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Disgraceful?

And you've responded a few times in this thread already, so I know that you've seen people asking what the hell you're talking about with respect to the Selke. Care to actually present a case?

 

[Ovechtrick89*]

I'm not sure how anything you said suggests he should be in the running for the Selke.

The All-Star Game is another matter, but good players get left out all the time. Whether it's due to voting, or every team being represented. He isn't unique.

He does everything the other Selke candidates do that's why i brought it up. Fundamentally sound defense is the basis of that award and there isn't an aspect where Nick is weak, he may not be the best in one particular area but as well rounded as they come.

 

[Sojourn]

Backstrom is very good. I'd easily take him over about half of the all-star roster.

That said, he's not a Selke player. Very good defensively, but not Selke.

That last part is what I don't get. Is Backstrom a great player? Is he in the shadow of Ovechkin? Is he deserving of being at the All-Star Game? Yes, on all counts.

But the Selke? I can't figure out how we got to that point, and nothing the OP said even remotely suggests that he is deserving.

 

[Laineux]

He is a very good passer. I have nothing against him. Playing your whole career on a pp1 with ovechkin is an extremely special situation that would boost anyones scoring. And not by a little.

Playing with Bäckström sure does boost Ovechkin's goal totals. And not by a little. Wonder if he'd ever won the Rocket without Bäckes.

 

[Sojourn]

He does everything the other Selke candidates do that's why i brought it up. Fundamentally sound defense is the basis of that award and there isn't an aspect where Nick is weak, he may not be the best in one particular area but as well rounded as they come.

That doesn't make him any different than a lot of players. There are a lot of NHL players who are well-rounded defensively. That doesn't make them deserving of the Selke. If Backstrom is deserving, so is every top line center who is good defensively. How is he more deserving than them? What separates him from them? And I'm not talking about guys like Bergeron, Kesler, or Kopitar here. I'm not even talking about a young guy like Barkov. What makes Backstrom more deserving than someone like, say, Sidney Crosby?

 

[Ovechtrick89*]

He is a very good passer. I have nothing against him. Playing your whole career on a pp1 with ovechkin is an extremely special situation that would boost anyones scoring. And not by a little.

I could easily discredit Sid or Malkin for playing on the PP together but i don't, no matter how good Ovi is as a shooter you still need someone to give him the puck. Watch how Carlson has struggled to put the puck in Ovehckin's wheelhouse all season long as opposed to Mike Green in years gone who was flawless in that role. Whether it's a beautiful situation for Nick to be in to feed a guy like that, the passes still have to be there for #8 to do his thing

 

[The Toews Era*]

Playing with Bäckström sure does boost Ovechkin's goal totals. And not by a little. Wonder if he'd ever won the Rocket without Bäckes.

Likely true at even strength. I dont buy it on the power play. Highly systematic and entirely based on ovechkins incredible shot.

 

[Devil Dancer]

What makes Backstrom more deserving than someone like, say, Sidney Crosby?

Funny you should bring up Crosby, Backstrom has dominated that head to head matchup going back to the playoffs last year.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Playing with Bäckström sure does boost Ovechkin's goal totals. And not by a little. Wonder if he'd ever won the Rocket without Bäckes.

Ovechkin was a 50 goal scorer playing with Chris Clark and Jeff Halpern, while Backstrom was playing junior hockey in Sweden. He won his first Rocket on a line with Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov.

A generational goalscorer is a generational goalscorer regardless of the line mates.

 

[K Fleur]

Better give him the Selke everybody! Ovechtrick said so!

 

[Sojourn]

Funny you should bring up Crosby, Backstrom has dominated that head to head matchup going back to the playoffs last year.

So, over a handful of games, and the player in question (Crosby) isn't a favorite for the Selke either.

Actually, a handful of games might be overly generous. Pittsburgh has played Washington, what... twice so far this season? So a two game sample size. Plus a losing effort in the playoffs.

 

[Ovechtrick89*]

Ovechkin was a 50 goal scorer playing with Chris Clark and Jeff Halpern, while Backstrom was playing junior hockey in Sweden. He won his first Rocket on a line with Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov.

A generational goalscorer is a generational goalscorer regardless of the line mates.

I agree that's a BS argument, Ovi does things on the rush and embarrasses players in ways that even a great like Crosby can only dream of. That's saying something.

He scores regardless of who he plays with.

 

[The Toews Era*]

I could easily discredit Sid or Malkin for playing on the PP together but i don't, no matter how good Ovi is as a shooter you still need someone to give him the puck. Watch how Carlson has struggled to put the puck in Ovehckin's wheelhouse all season long as opposed to Mike Green in years gone who was flawless in that role. Whether it's a beautiful situation for Nick to be in to feed a guy like that, the passes still have to be there for #8 to do his thing

Sid and malkin have incredible ES production over their careers. Having 230 out of 500 assists come from pp seems dramatic. I dunno