“Is Backlund the worst captain in the league?” Bro what did he ever do to you???
17 comments
I don’t hate Backlund, but I don’t necessarily love him either. He’s been a solid, loyal player and is obviously a great guy in the locker room. I didn’t really like Giordano as captain either, I think having Iginla for so long gave me unrealistic expectations of what a captain should be.
I don’t like that Backlund catches so much shit from Flames fans. The guy has committed to playing in Calgary for his entire career in an era where very few players ever stay with one team. Yes he has absolutely slowed down over the years and is probably better suited for a fourth line role but I’m not dumping on a guy for getting older. And for anyone who doesn’t like his captaincy style, you really have no idea what actually goes on behind closed doors. All we see is that Backs is a pillar of the community who constantly donates his time for the Flames foundation and other causes he cares deeply about and that’s what I expect from the leader of my team.
Can’t call B-dawg the “worst captain in the league” when you have shitstains like JT Miller as a captain 😆
Edit: swapped the JT letters, lol
There is nothing wrong with Backs. OP obviously wants a McDavid creampie.
I would smash face first through a wall for Backs.
I dont mind Backlund as captian, but what I don’t like is that he rarely talks to the media, you always see Weegar, Ras, Huby and Kadri talking to the media but never the captain. When Iggy and even Gio were captain, they always talked to the media after games. If I came into this team not knowing anything about them and you asked me who I thought was captain, id probably say Weegar just based on interviews
I don’t get the hate. He doesn’t drive offensively but he is awesome for young players (tkachuk, mangiapane, coronato, honzek, so on) and is great defensively. It was a short term deal and many other vets will be moved out during his remaining time. You need 3 or 4 vets Imo.
Why?
Not? Says Gio.
I really don’t think fans have the information to actually judge who are good captains in the NHL. You have a very limited and highly curated view of what happens behind the scenes, and you can only infer so much about a captain from the team’s performance.
Beyond that, the true quality of a captain can’t be determined when things are going well for a team; and it is usually revealed when they’re facing significant adversity. The start of this season is probably a good test of Backlund’s captaincy; and a good captain will keep the team trying hard to the end of the year, and most teammates will come back next year believing in the future.
There is nothing wrong with Backlund. He has had a solid career and is exacly where you’d expect at this point. What would be really nice would be to see some of the younger guys step up but nobody seems to be able to take that next step at the moment…..
It’s not that he’s ever played under expectations, because he never has. For me, it’s the latest contract extension that has me frustrated. Like why couldn’t we just let this year play out and then see where we land in July? We could’ve done what we did with stone and just offer a one year contract until his play drops off too much
Just wanted to jump in and mention that both Backlund and Weegar are ambassadors for Brown Bagging 4 Calgary’s Kids (BB4CK), a non profit organization that provides lunch, every day, for kids who don’t have enough food at home and come to school hungry. They came to the school where I teach and answered questions from students for over an hour.
Hundreds of children in our community are fed daily thanks to volunteers who make, bag and donate their food and time. And because of people like Backlund and Weegar who choose to give back to their community by helping bring awareness to the cause and donating their time as well.
Can’t imagine ripping on these guys in a public setting and not feeling a modicum of shame.
I like Backs, but also know him a bit personally. He is a character guy and exactly the kind of guy you want, along with Weegar, Lomberg, Kadri, Andersson and Coleman to mentor the youth movement. He is a fierce competitor, and while he has lost a step or two, he is wily and works every frigging night. I don’t think he has ever mailed in a game that I have seen. I think Gio was the same, lead by example.
It was funny, I was chatting with him late August of 24 and I commented, with the turnover, etc “looks like this might be a tougher year”….he went dead serious and replied “we think we are going to outperform expectations this year” and damn it they did, one point from a playoff spot.
The team is clearly in transition and will be a couple years before they can truly contend, assuming the current youth movement pan out and can be augmented with good drafting/development. In the meantime, they need on ice leadership that will hold to account. Backs does that. And put a sock in Murray Edwards mouth. Don’t say publicly that XYZ player is not to be traded. But that is a different thread…..
Are we forgetting he’s on what is consistently our most dangerous line every night
Backlund is the least of the issues facing this team
The people that hate Backlund are the same people that complain that we won’t bottom out and then when we do they complain that we suck and need to make trades to get better for the current season. They’re never happy
Im kind of in the boat where I absolutely dont hate backlund, but im not in love with him either. I dont know what hes like behind closed doors and it seems like people respect him as the captain, but someone else pointed out that he rarely talks to the media which is something ive never noticed before. And of course the stuff he does for the community is amazing, hes truly been a gift to the city off the ice.
Where I’m frustrated with him is that at this point in his career hes a 4th liner, and him taking up a spot in the top 9 is making it hard to play some of our younger guys. I get he has chemistry with Coleman but is that really something that’s so over the top beneficial to our team night in night out that it can’t be broken up? At this point im waiting for Coleman to be traded so we can finally let go of the X – Backlund – Coleman line and backlund can play 4th line C where he belongs.
In terms of how I feel about Backlund in the grand scheme of things, its a little bittersweet. Like I said the work hes done off the ice is incredible, and his career in a vacuum is also great, but I cant help but think of his entire tenure with the flames as just mired in mediocrity. Not saying at all that hes at fault for that, hes been great for us. But just seems like his time here was kind of wasted. Idk like I said. Mixed feelings.
17 comments
I don’t hate Backlund, but I don’t necessarily love him either. He’s been a solid, loyal player and is obviously a great guy in the locker room. I didn’t really like Giordano as captain either, I think having Iginla for so long gave me unrealistic expectations of what a captain should be.
I don’t like that Backlund catches so much shit from Flames fans. The guy has committed to playing in Calgary for his entire career in an era where very few players ever stay with one team. Yes he has absolutely slowed down over the years and is probably better suited for a fourth line role but I’m not dumping on a guy for getting older. And for anyone who doesn’t like his captaincy style, you really have no idea what actually goes on behind closed doors. All we see is that Backs is a pillar of the community who constantly donates his time for the Flames foundation and other causes he cares deeply about and that’s what I expect from the leader of my team.
Can’t call B-dawg the “worst captain in the league” when you have shitstains like JT Miller as a captain 😆
Edit: swapped the JT letters, lol
There is nothing wrong with Backs. OP obviously wants a McDavid creampie.
I would smash face first through a wall for Backs.
I dont mind Backlund as captian, but what I don’t like is that he rarely talks to the media, you always see Weegar, Ras, Huby and Kadri talking to the media but never the captain. When Iggy and even Gio were captain, they always talked to the media after games. If I came into this team not knowing anything about them and you asked me who I thought was captain, id probably say Weegar just based on interviews
I don’t get the hate. He doesn’t drive offensively but he is awesome for young players (tkachuk, mangiapane, coronato, honzek, so on) and is great defensively. It was a short term deal and many other vets will be moved out during his remaining time. You need 3 or 4 vets Imo.
Why?
Not? Says Gio.
I really don’t think fans have the information to actually judge who are good captains in the NHL. You have a very limited and highly curated view of what happens behind the scenes, and you can only infer so much about a captain from the team’s performance.
Beyond that, the true quality of a captain can’t be determined when things are going well for a team; and it is usually revealed when they’re facing significant adversity. The start of this season is probably a good test of Backlund’s captaincy; and a good captain will keep the team trying hard to the end of the year, and most teammates will come back next year believing in the future.
There is nothing wrong with Backlund. He has had a solid career and is exacly where you’d expect at this point. What would be really nice would be to see some of the younger guys step up but nobody seems to be able to take that next step at the moment…..
It’s not that he’s ever played under expectations, because he never has. For me, it’s the latest contract extension that has me frustrated. Like why couldn’t we just let this year play out and then see where we land in July? We could’ve done what we did with stone and just offer a one year contract until his play drops off too much
Just wanted to jump in and mention that both Backlund and Weegar are ambassadors for Brown Bagging 4 Calgary’s Kids (BB4CK), a non profit organization that provides lunch, every day, for kids who don’t have enough food at home and come to school hungry. They came to the school where I teach and answered questions from students for over an hour.
Hundreds of children in our community are fed daily thanks to volunteers who make, bag and donate their food and time. And because of people like Backlund and Weegar who choose to give back to their community by helping bring awareness to the cause and donating their time as well.
Can’t imagine ripping on these guys in a public setting and not feeling a modicum of shame.
I like Backs, but also know him a bit personally. He is a character guy and exactly the kind of guy you want, along with Weegar, Lomberg, Kadri, Andersson and Coleman to mentor the youth movement. He is a fierce competitor, and while he has lost a step or two, he is wily and works every frigging night. I don’t think he has ever mailed in a game that I have seen. I think Gio was the same, lead by example.
It was funny, I was chatting with him late August of 24 and I commented, with the turnover, etc “looks like this might be a tougher year”….he went dead serious and replied “we think we are going to outperform expectations this year” and damn it they did, one point from a playoff spot.
The team is clearly in transition and will be a couple years before they can truly contend, assuming the current youth movement pan out and can be augmented with good drafting/development. In the meantime, they need on ice leadership that will hold to account. Backs does that. And put a sock in Murray Edwards mouth. Don’t say publicly that XYZ player is not to be traded. But that is a different thread…..
Are we forgetting he’s on what is consistently our most dangerous line every night
Backlund is the least of the issues facing this team
The people that hate Backlund are the same people that complain that we won’t bottom out and then when we do they complain that we suck and need to make trades to get better for the current season. They’re never happy
Im kind of in the boat where I absolutely dont hate backlund, but im not in love with him either. I dont know what hes like behind closed doors and it seems like people respect him as the captain, but someone else pointed out that he rarely talks to the media which is something ive never noticed before. And of course the stuff he does for the community is amazing, hes truly been a gift to the city off the ice.
Where I’m frustrated with him is that at this point in his career hes a 4th liner, and him taking up a spot in the top 9 is making it hard to play some of our younger guys. I get he has chemistry with Coleman but is that really something that’s so over the top beneficial to our team night in night out that it can’t be broken up? At this point im waiting for Coleman to be traded so we can finally let go of the X – Backlund – Coleman line and backlund can play 4th line C where he belongs.
In terms of how I feel about Backlund in the grand scheme of things, its a little bittersweet. Like I said the work hes done off the ice is incredible, and his career in a vacuum is also great, but I cant help but think of his entire tenure with the flames as just mired in mediocrity. Not saying at all that hes at fault for that, hes been great for us. But just seems like his time here was kind of wasted. Idk like I said. Mixed feelings.