Was Backlund signing an overpayment?

[GODreau13]

It may not be a popular opinion, but personally i think the signing was too much for too long. Thoughts?

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[Lunatik]

It may not be a popular opinion, but personally i think the signing was too much for too long. Thoughts?

Before I answer, let me ask you a question. Did you feel his current contract was too much?

 

[Baxterman]

I think most of your questions were answered in the signing thread and the short answer is that for many Flames fans it was Backlund so there was no contract that would be too much or too long.

I think it was a year or two long but not much of an overpay in terms of dollars.

I think he could certainly get more on the FA market but I don't think we should be signing guys based on the FA market but instead based on our valuation of that player.

I don't think it is a boat anchor type deal but I do wonder how the team (which has finished 7th in the conference last year and swept in the 1st round and looks to finish at best 8th this year) is going to improve going forward with the amount of money they have tied up in their team right now. I don't see a lot of flexibility to add the pieces this team needs to take the next step.

 

[Skobel24]

I'd have preferred 5 years, but oh well. He'd easily 6-7 on the open market this offseason with the cap going up as much as it is.

 

[crackdown44]

I consider it good value because he would have gotten more on the open market. I disagree with those saying that that shouldn’t be a factor. To an extent, a players value on the open market as a UFA is the best proxy for valuation that we have in addition other than comparable player contracts.

He’s an excellent 2C and we are not in any cap trouble. He also has a style of play that tends to age well.

I think a lot of people forget that with the exception of maybe Gio and Backlund, the rest of this team’s core is still developing. Just because this group of players is only a 6-8 seed this year and last doesn’t mean the same group can’t be a 3-5 seed next year. Cap management is great in comparison to most teams and we have a lot of players who have lots of room to grow.

Letting a player like Backlund walk because you think he got a year or 300k too much would have been poor asset management anyway. You can’t replace him internally and you would have paid more money for an inferior player on the FA market. Great deal imo

 

[Calculon]

He would have easily gotten more in free agency, i.e., 6m+ over similar length or even longer.

The Flames have absolutely no one who can replace what Backlund brings to the table in the short term. And there's no guarantee that anyone in the system will get to that point at all.

And if they ever do, depth is not a bad thing. The Flames spent over a decade with terrible centre depth; no idea why anyone would want to return to that era.

I understand concerns about the length even if I don't agree with them but the cap hit is a steal frankly. You're not getting a second line centre for less unless it's an ELC. And yes, ~50 points is absolutely second line material in today's NHL.

Fact is, Backlund makes the players around him better. It would have been absolutely moronic to let him go.

 

[Baxterman]

He’s an excellent 2C and we are not in any cap trouble. He also has a style of play that tends to age well.
I think a lot of people forget that with the exception of maybe Gio and Backlund, the rest of this team’s core is still developing. Just because this group of players is only a 6-8 seed this year and last doesn’t mean the same group can’t be a 3-5 seed next year. Cap management is great in comparison to most teams and we have a lot of players who have lots of room to grow.

I don't see that happening at all.

Yes the core is young but which of them is likely to have a significantly better season than they are now. Maybe Tkachuk but even that is pretty unlikely that the improvement is going to take this team to the next level.

Hamilton, Monahan, Gaudreau, Ferland, Brodie, Hamonic are all likely right about where they will be. Backlund, Gio, Frolik and Smith are more likely to decline than improve. That leaves secondary players that aren't that great and Tkachuk as likely candidates to improve and again that seems unlikely to be enough to see a big jump in team performance.

And while we might not be in cap hell we sure don't seem to be in position to add a player that we desperately need in the top 6 to help with scoring.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

It is a good deal.

 

[Sparky93]

It’s a fair deal for both sides. I’m guessing Backs wanted more but $5.35 was the max the Flames were willing to offer, so they split the difference, adding an extra year of term. It falls in line with a $6.35 million extension for Tkachuk. Just slightly below Monahan, establishing the forward pecking order for the young core.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

With the cap probably going up by like 4 or 5 million.. it's a pretty good deal. I mean, he's only making like 1.5 mil more than brouwer and is 100x better.

 

[Volica]

He would have easily gotten more in free agency, i.e., 6m+ over similar length or even longer.

The Flames have absolutely no one who can replace what Backlund brings to the table in the short term. And there's no guarantee that anyone in the system will get to that point at all.

And if they ever do, depth is not a bad thing. The Flames spent over a decade with terrible centre depth; no idea why anyone would want to return to that era.

I understand concerns about the length even if I don't agree with them but the cap hit is a steal frankly. You're not getting a second line centre for less unless it's an ELC. And yes, ~50 points is absolutely second line material in today's NHL.

Fact is, Backlund makes the players around him better. It would have been absolutely moronic to let him go.

Have to also add in the Swedish factor, those guys age like fine wines for Backlund types.
Without Backs in the fold next year, we'd be a bottom 10 team, there's no question about that.

I'd add, Montreal, Vancouver or even a team like St Louis would offer a lot of money for a Backlund type player.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

This is being discussed in the signing thread.