Flames22
Joined: Jun. 2016
Posts: 225
Likes: 31
I for one, am a Flames fan who wouldn't mind seeing the Flames trade away Backlund. In fact, I have advocated for this for a while. While I really like Backlund and think that he is a great player, I think the Flames would be better served trading him while his value is high, and allowing some of the youth (i.e. Jankowski, Lazar, etc.) to compete for his spot.
However, as a Flames fan who has advocated for trading Backlund in the past, I don't think that this will happen. It seems as though the Flames (management and their fans) are just too attached to Backlund to trade him. They have already started talking extension, and when I've brought up the idea of trading Backlund to my fellow Flames fans, I've been dismissed pretty quickly. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it does indicate that the Flames would need a very good package in return for Backlund.
Considering this, the proposed package above will not suffice. As you mentioned, Calgary is already loaded on defense and as such, Maatta would only be a 3rd pairing dman on our team. It takes far more than that to obtain Backlund, a 40-60 point, fan-favourite, penalty kill and defensive specialist. In other words, Backlund is worth far more to the Flames than Maatta is. That's not to say that Maatta isn't good, only to say that he is currently not super valuable to our team.
I would recommend a package of Hornqvist and a 2nd round draft pick in exchange for Backlund. This would be far more valuable to the Flames, as it fills two of our needs. On one hand, it gives us the 1st line RW that we've been looking for, and on the other hand, it helps us replenish our draft picks after the Hamonic trade. Even then, my package would be difficult to convince Flames fans with...
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