Washington Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom Isn't Underrated

In a series of unpopular opinions, we reach the Washington Capitals. Nicklas Backstrom is their best center, or is he? Because he might be overrated.

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom has become a huge name to throw around when discussing underrated players in the NHL today. Except there’s a problem with that. Backstrom is by no means underrated. In fact, he might just be the opposite.

When discussing the Capitals over the past year, Alex Ovechkin has been held to the light in terms of fault. But finishing in the second round (again) isn’t on him – at least it isn’t just on him. Backstrom has his fair share of fault too.

Many people think number 19 is underrated. But that is no longer the case.

Offensively

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Backstrom has scored 30 goals in a season just once. That was nearly eight years ago now, during the 2009-10 season, when Backstrom was 22. He scored 101 points that season, his best by 13 points. Over the season prior, by the way. Ever since then, it seems Backstrom has been given extra credit for doing something any center in the NHL could do.

And that’s feeding Ovechkin. Backstrom has stayed near a point-per-game pace for his career by doing just that. And it’s a lot easier to feed the best pure goal scorer of at least this generation, if not 100 years of the NHL. That’s a debate for another time.

Backstrom has racked up at least 40 assists a season while healthy, with his lowest total – that low 40 – coming in the lockout-shortened season. And again, that’s from playing with a talented wing like Ovechkin at both even strength and on the power play.

You can tell feeding Ovechkin plays a large part because Backstrom has never been a shorthanded scorer, and Ovi doesn’t play defensively. Also, this season, in the fewest minutes Backstrom has played with Ovechkin, who’s been playing more with Evgeny Kuznetsov, half of Backstrom’s assists have come from Ovechkin goals. Backstrom has ridden the coattails of Ovechkin to this point in his career.

“Playmaker”

Now, there’s an argument that Backstrom is a playmaker like Joe Thornton. Except that argument’s just not true. Thornton has produced annually while switching linemates and switching to a different team didn’t disrupt his Hart season. Thornton also produced more goals to this point in his career and led the league in assists three times, hitting 90 twice. Backstrom has never hit 90 and led the league in assists just once.

Also, over the last three seasons, about half of Backstrom’s assists have been secondary. Especially on Ovechkin goals, where Backstrom has been the secondary passer 27 out of 48 times when Backstrom has been involved in an Ovechkin goal. That disqualifies the argument that Ovechkin also needs Backstrom, as well as the fact that only one in the last three years has a Backstrom assist been a part of more than half of Ovechkin’s goals.

Ovechkin doesn’t need Backstrom the same way Backstrom needs Ovechkin.

Defensively

Let’s start with the fact that over the past three years, Backstrom has played just 144 penalty kill minutes in 181 games. For reference, the defensive class Backstrom gets put into too often averages multiple minutes a night, and Patrice Bergeron has played 371 shorthanded minutes in 176 games.

Now, Bergeron is the best penalty killer in the NHL, so Backstrom shouldn’t get compared to him. But as so many people say that Backstrom deserves a Selke, he has to earn those PK minutes. He has just 21 minutes played in 24 games this season.

Part of this, those who support Backstrom will argue, is coaching. But the Washington Capitals wouldn’t have kept Barry Trotz around after the last two postseasons if they didn’t think Trotz was a good coach (Ted Leonsis has the money to pay someone else). And Trotz doesn’t like to use Backstrom on the penalty kill. That’s telling of Backstrom’s play there. It’s also telling that Backstrom has never scored a shorthanded assist.

Faceoffs are also crucial to a center’s defensive case. In his career, Backstrom has barely won more than he’s lost. That’s less than ideal, and it’s not fitting in the defensive class everybody puts him in.

Lastly, last season, Backstrom coughed up the puck 54 times. He’s given up more turnovers than he’s taken away this season. His ratio in that department has always been less than ideal, and he just isn’t the player people expect of him if they think he’s close to the perennial Selke category.

Playoffs

The biggest indictment against Backstrom might be his lack of ability in the playoffs. While the Washington Capitals have gotten to the second round each of the last three years, they’ve been knocked out in that round three straight times. As said before, Ovechkin has received most of the blame for this, despite the fact that he was hurt at the end this year.

You know who wasn’t hurt? Nicklas Backstrom. It was the first time in three years that Backstrom was helpful in the second round of the playoffs. His four goals didn’t make up for two straight postseasons without a goal against second-round opponents.

Backstrom also only got one primary assist against the Pittsburgh Penguins and had three in the postseason before with zero in the series against the New York Rangers.

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Not enough blame gets laid at the feet of Backstrom. Especially with how highly the media has started to regard him. One postseason doesn’t make up for two, even if Backstrom was a point-per-game in that one good one. Also, his goals didn’t make a huge impact.

Yes, he got the game-winner in Game 6, but that was a game where the Capitals completely buried the Penguins. His most important play through the last three postseasons was the overtime feed to Kevin Shattenkirk.

Backstrom isn’t overrated, that much is obvious. But at this point, he’s probably closer to overrated than underrated.

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