I never said he wasn't a very good player. For his talent and size, he should be a great player. In the past he has been inconsistent and has been a playoff disaster with dumb penalties and poor leadership, as a Captain.

I contend that Backes would be best suited with no "C" on his sweater. Maybe an "A" but preferably not. Like it or not he is just not a leader. He's the typical "dumb jock". Tons of talent and should be scoring 30+ goals a year on a top line. Put the "C" on him and he has too much to worry about. Not to mention that he doesn't know how to be a an effective leader. Watch the last two years of playoffs. Those Blues teams were steamrolled and they looked lost after the first period of the first game against the Kings (both years). The guy just isn't "C" material, he just isn't.

If they want to win the cup, they'll just have to overcome having a "C" that isn't a very good "C".