2017-2018 NHL Regular Season Thread (Part 2) - Jagr is Done (with the NHL) and Vegas is in 1st?!

[Vaspinne]

Not liking the Backlund contract at all. Dude had a career year last and is underachieving this year. Let's reward him with a 6 year deal. Yikes.

Yeah this is stupid. Guy has been a two-way stud for a couple seasons and could have gotten upwards of $6mil. The offensive numbers may not be spectacular but there’s a reason why people are starting to bring his name up in Selke talks. He’s also 28 and hitting the peak of his career. The contract ends right when regression should be hitting him.

As a Flames fan who has seen this guy from the very start of his career, there is nothing about this extension to dislike at all.

[Brill Weave]

As a Flames fan who has seen this guy from the very start of his career, there is nothing about this extension to dislike at all.

Except everything about it lol. I like Backlund but no way on God's green Earth he is worth 5.3 per year.

[Obsidian]

Dunno how Maata didn't get a penalty for that. That's the exact shit the hybrid icing rule was meant to stop. Straight up knocked Hyman's skate out from under him with his stick and shoved him into the boards.

[Vaspinne]

Okay, then you're fucking clueless. A guy who drives possession, is constantly put up against the other team's top lines in shutdown roles, takes the most defensive faceoffs on the team, can provide solid and consistent secondary scoring, plays both the PP and PK, and he isn't worth $5.3mil?

People are comparing his two-way game to guys like Bergeron, Kesler and Kopitar. And yes, I'll concede that offensively he doesn't match up obviously. But defensively his possession and takeaway and shots for/surpressed/etc numbers are up there with those guys. And they're making $6.8mil, $6.9mil and $10mil respectively. So Backlund getting $5.3mil is pretty damn good all things considered.... none of which you're considering at all except just the score sheet.

[bori]

Down 4-0 in the first...yeah that's over.

[Cail]

Lose 7-1. A couple Blackhawks fans get tossed for saying racist stuff to Smith-Pelley when he was in the penalty box.

Stay classy Chicago

[NynJa]

https://www.russianmachineneverbreak...e-smith-pelly/

Welcome to the show Chicago, please take a seat next to Detroit and Boston.

[Brill Weave]

Okay, then you're fucking clueless. A guy who drives possession, is constantly put up against the other team's top lines in shutdown roles, takes the most defensive faceoffs on the team, can provide solid and consistent secondary scoring, plays both the PP and PK, and he isn't worth $5.3mil?

People are comparing his two-way game to guys like Bergeron, Kesler and Kopitar. And yes, I'll concede that offensively he doesn't match up obviously. But defensively his possession and takeaway and shots for/surpressed/etc numbers are up there with those guys. And they're making $6.8mil, $6.9mil and $10mil respectively. So Backlund getting $5.3mil is pretty damn good all things considered.... none of which you're considering at all except just the score sheet.

So to be clear you want to compare one facet of Backlund's game to others but ignore the whole product? Ok. Kesler gets an incomplete since he's only played 22 games this year. I should also preface that I feel that Kesler is overpaid and highly overrated.

Backlund is currently ranked 764 out of 832 players in the league with a -11. Bergeron is +23, Kopitar is +18, and Kesler is -6.

Both Kopitar and Bergeron are playing at or near, a point per game.

Backlund is sub 48% face off percentage for his entire career. Kopitar is a 51.6%. Bergeron is 57.1%(holy fuck!), Kesler is 54.4%.

Backlund's CF% is above average, he's a 52.6% for his career. Kopitar is 57.8, Bergeron is a 58.2, Kesler is 53.2.

Now we all know that +/- is lol but if you want to make comparisons that are on the defensive side it becomes somewhat relevant. You can drive possession and still manage to let goals in.

Use the Penguins playoff run last year for no further proof. They got the fucking doors blown off them in terms of possession. By every team they played. The Pens ended the playoffs with 4(!) players at 50% or high corsi.

And they still won. Because the few minutes they had the puck they did something with it.

I'm not saying that Backlund is a bad player. I am saying he's not a 6 year 5.3 million per year player. Two years tops and Calgary will regret that contract. Oddly enough the best comparison to Backlund at this current moment is Martin Hanzal. So using that logic would you hand Martin Hanzal a six year 5.3 million dollar deal?

[NynJa]

Is this where we talk about shitty GMs?

[Brill Weave]

Nah Treliving isn't a bad GM. Unless we're talking Bergevin. Which if that's the case, the floor is yours.

[Vaspinne]

If you're asking me to evaluate his performance throughout his entire career and use that to justify the contract, then I'd agree with you Brill, it's a bad signing.

However, this signing is more a result of his play over the last 3~4 seasons. Backlund has been in the league for 9 years and took a long time to develop. The 3M line has been dominant and they won't be getting separated for at least another 2 years. That being said, Frolik is already 30 so he'll see some regression obviously, but Tkachuk is only 20 and is only going to get better (and is having a phenomenal sophomore season so far).

A few quotes examples of Backlund and the 3M line's play

Spoiler: show

His S% (7.1%), oiSH% (6.8%) and PDO (96.3) are all the lowest they've been in 7 years. In short, he's been incredibly unlucky despite still being on pace for 48 points.

He's still controlling 55.30% of Shot Attempts, 54.46% of Scoring Chances, and 55.16% of High Danger Scoring Chances while he's on the ice. Absolutely dominant numbers, especially considering that he faces opposing teams' top lines night in and night out while getting buried in defensive zone starts.

By all accounts, he's had another terrific season. He's just been incredibly unlucky.

People realize the 3M line is 3rd in the league in producing shot attempts for right? That's more than Namestikov-Stamkos-Kucherov, that's more than Hyman-Matthews-Nylander. that's more than Benn-Seguin-Radulov. This is as a second line typically facing the top competition, often starting from the defensive zone. They're opperating at a 96.9 PDO and have generated the highest % of SAT at 59% compared to their opponents, yes even higher than Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak.

Very few lines are able to tilt the ice like this, and Backlund playing the center position is the biggest part of it. This is fantastic value for the Flames considering what some UFAs have been getting around the league the last couple years.

Now that I've had a night to sleep and get over some of my 24-hours of travel jetlag, I'll also concede that the length of term is a bit much by a year or two. But as far as the dollars go, I think it's a wonderful contract when you compare it to what other players who score roughly the same amount but clearly don't provide the same defensive depth. If he went to the FA market in the off-season I think some teams would have easily offered him a 6Yx$6 contract, and Calgary conceded in giving him longer term for a smaller dollar hit.

[Brill Weave]

Holy shit I won an internet argument.

[NynJa]

Nah Treliving isn't a bad GM. Unless we're talking Bergevin. Which if that's the case, the floor is yours.

I'd have to start a new thread otherwise I'd hit the 100 page limit.

[Vaspinne]

Holy shit I won an internet argument.

Not all of us are blind to reason

[NynJa]

Not all of us are blind to reason

Bergevin is though!

"When you're offered Shea Weber, you dont ask for more", oy vey

[Obsidian]

Bergevin is though!

"When you're offered Shea Weber, you dont ask for more", oy vey

You do when the thing you're giving up is literally "younger, faster, cheaper Shea Weber"

[Cail]

Who's ready for some day hockey?!

[bori]

Who's ready for some day hockey?!

/

[bori]

WSH gives up a third-round pick for Kempny.

[Cail]

WSH gives up a third-round pick for Kempny.

I don't know this trade other than its a 3rd for a 900k a yr rental Lefty Def.

Who becomes the healthy scratch? Bowey? Orpik?