Backstrom

[hammer2003]

I keep hearing that the Capitals are going to actively pursue a center for Ovechkin in the FA market, even Comrie getting mentioned.

Would this really devalue Backstrom or does he have enough game to still have a big impact even if he is pushed down the depth chart? Like is 60-70pts reasonable for him as a rookie?

[Thieving Giraffe]

Backstrom will absolutely make an impact. They\'re not kidding when they call him the best player outside the NHL, and he\'ll get to play with Semin on a nightly basis (which has been Hanlon\'s stated plan since before the season ended).

Truth is, while OV led the team in goals and points this season, Semin was the more likely Alex to make a flashy or creative play on any given evening. Assuming Semin and Backstrom gel decently together, I\'d expect them each to put up better than a point-per-game next season.

[Pete]

Backstrom ???

Man this guy is awesome, he\'s a monster !

[lanky522]

Um... Last I checked, mike comrie hasn\'t ever had more than 60 points in a season. What makes anyone think this guy is the Caps solution as a first line center? I think he\'d be a great addition as a second line center for semin, but I just don\'t see anyone but backstrom skating with ovechkin.

If the caps were to get briere or datsyuk (if he hadn\'t resigned) during free agency, then maybe backs would be centering the second line... but unless this happens (which it won\'t), the caps are shopping for a second line center. period.

Saying that the caps are looking for a 1st line center in free agency is like saying the pens were looking for a center in free agency the year before Malkin came to the U.S. The first line center spot is Backstrom\'s to lose, and it\'ll be his (without a doubt) at the start of the season next year...

P.S. personally, I think that the caps are going to be in the free agent market for a big name defender, not a big name center.

Comrie would be an AMAZING addition as a second line center though. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, and would be a tremendous set up man for semin with his speed and quickness.

[sakic19]

It\'s topics like this that get me even more excited to see Backstrom play, I drafted him first overall last year in my rookie draft and was wondering if I made a mistake chosing him over Jordan Staal, but after seeing the labels, \"the best player outside the nhl\", a same label given to Malkin last year, it gives me the confidence that I made the right choice.

[jaymur]

the best player outside the NHL is Morozov

[Thieving Giraffe]

jaymur wrote:

the best player outside the NHL is Morozov

I disagree. Morozov has always excelled in European hockey, but even playing with Mario Lemieux he couldn\'t get past 50 in the NHL. This may have been a true breakout year, but he\'s not the complete player Backstrom is, and has a track record of failing to fully apply his skill set in the NHL.

lanky522 wrote:

What makes anyone think (Comrie) is the Caps solution as a first line center? I think he\'d be a great addition as a second line center for semin, but I just don\'t see anyone but backstrom skating with ovechkin.

If the caps were to get briere or datsyuk (if he hadn\'t resigned) during free agency, then maybe backs would be centering the second line... but unless this happens (which it won\'t), the caps are shopping for a second line center. period.

Saying that the caps are looking for a 1st line center in free agency is like saying the pens were looking for a center in free agency the year before Malkin came to the U.S. The first line center spot is Backstrom\'s to lose, and it\'ll be his (without a doubt) at the start of the season next year...

P.S. personally, I think that the caps are going to be in the free agent market for a big name defender, not a big name center.

I don\'t think people are talking about Comrie as a first line center. And it\'s McPhee and Hanlon talking about going after a first-line center and very specifically saying that Backstrom is slated to start next season playing with Semin. That\'s not to say he won\'t end up on the first line, but I don\'t see how you can claim to be so sure of anything. And there\'s no comparison between the Pens coming into this season and the Caps going into next. Neither the Pens nor anyone else anticipated what happened this season, and the Caps sound very much like a team looking for a couple of major pieces (including a defender, I completely agree) to get back into the postseason next year.

Post edited by: Thieving Giraffe, at: 2007/04/18 00:58

[mrbugg]

My opinion of Morozov is that he doesn\'t lack effort- however, he lacks the ability to actually stay healthy. I watched a lot of Pens games pre-lockout because I had him on my keeper league team. When healthy, he was often the only guy willing to go to battle for the Pens, and he scored a lot of points. When healthy.

I remember back during the 2003-04 season he broke his wrist, and missed something like 20 games. Then he came back, I put him back in the lineup.... and he proceeded to break the other wrist on his first shift.

Is he best player outside the NHL? I think right now he is. Ever since the WJCs, Backstrom has sucked it up. He unfathomably lost the SEL points lead after looking like he would set a record. A lot of it had to with injury, but he was also not looking too hot when out there.

Still, I wouldn\'t bet against Backstrom going into next season. He\'s just superb with the puck. If you\'ve seen that video on YouTube of him rifling a shot off all three posts not once but a bunch of times, you\'ll know what I\'m talking about. He protects the puck like Kopitar, passes like Stastny and has better vision than any young gun not named Crosby.

[Thieving Giraffe]

The problem is, even when Morozov was healthy he couldn\'t produce in a fantasy-worthy sense beyond the \"two points every three games\" level, and that only by having crazy streaks followed by prolonged cold stretches. The one exception was the 27 points in 29 game-season back in, what, 02 or 03? But again, that\'s like Havlat and Gaborik tearing up the NHL this season before inevitably falling to injuries. If you can\'t sustain it, you don\'t get to brag about it.

If there\'s one thing that bodes most well for Morozov, however, it would be his performance in last year\'s playoffs. At the toughest time of the year he put up 13-13-26 in 13 games. I\'m much more impressed by that than by this season, where scoring was up universally in the RSL. I\'d still take Backstrom any day and think he will outscore Morozov next season, but perhaps that\'s just because AM has failed to prove himself in the past. I think that at one point I had similar feelings about a young kid named Marcus Naslund...

[hammer2003]

The Caps getting Comrie to play with Ovechkin rumor is from Spector\'s trade blog via the Ottawa Sun. I\'d normally ignore it but it\'s probably the third time in the past 2 weeks I have seen a comment or article saying the Caps are looking for a 1st line center in the UFA market this summer. I have Backstrom in my keeper league but have never seen an SEL game so when I see all this I got a little nervous that maybe they are seeing something over there to make them think he\'s not ready yet. I am obviously keeping Backstrom no matter what, but this is a good place to get some confirmation (although I hate hearing that he\'s sucked since the WJCs!).

[Dobber]

I would rather own Backstrom than Morozov by far, but Morozov is the best player outside of the NHL.

Comrie is not a first line center, but you have to think like an idiot NHL GM thinks - they may think to try him out. They tried Andrew Cassels, now they\'ll try a guy like Mike Comrie. If that happens, look for Comrie\'s value to got up, but he will also stumble and be inconsistent. In which case, Backstrom would wind up on that line anyway.

To summarize - if they get a second-tier center to play with Ovechkin, then all that means is that 20 games in Backstrom will take over in that spot.

[lanky522]

That was pretty much what I was thinking as well dobber... The caps are tired of having average players playing with A.O. they might try someone from free agency, but the job is backstroms for the next 3-4 years at least.

[lanky522]

It depends what you think of as \"best player.\" If you are judging it on just skill, yes maybe morozov is superior to backstrom RIGHT NOW. If you gauge it on the the intangibles that the player brings to the team he plays for, and the potential the player has to improve and become an icon, the \"best player\" is backstrom. By a long shot.

Morozov has a somewhat destructive attitude (in my mind at least). Maybe it\'s just because he and Pittsburgh didn\'t get along, but I always saw him as a distraction with a piss poor work ethic. Backstrom on the other hand, has the potential to be one of the best play making, team leading centers of his generation.

Backstrom will put up 100 points in the nhl at some point in his career. Morozov will likely never do this. Therefore, I say that because of the intangibles, and the fact that backstrom\'s point potential in the nhl is better, I agree with the comment that backstrom is the best player outside the nhl.

Morozov is much older than backstrom too, so I don\'t know why we\'re even debating this. You all can take morozov in your keeper leagues, and I\'ll take backstrom, and in 5 years, we\'ll compare totals... mkay?

[Thieving Giraffe]

I agree with everything Lanky just said.