Where Does Backlund Fit?

A signing on Sunday afternoon has raised a flag or two among the hockey community, as the Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed goaltender Johan Backlund to a new 2-year deal. The flags that have been raised suggest that the Flyers may have themselves a back-up goalie for the 2011 season, but it also may suggest that they have a goaltender that has agreed to be in the fold to have his hand at the starting job sooner rather than later.  It's all very interesting.

The Flyers signed Backlund as a free agent in March of 2009 after playing the four seasons previous to the contract signing in the Swedish Elite League.  He spent the bulk of 2009 in the AHL with the Adirondack Flyers, posting a winning record of 21-17-2.  He did manage to make his NHL debut in March of 2010 against the Penguins, playing 40 minutes in his first NHL start, but not before suffering his first NHL injury, a recurrence of a groin problem he had all year.

I'm not going to make a wild assumption about what this all means, but I'm certainly going to keep this new piece of information in a handy compartment, just so I can use it later on to help build an idea of what the 2011 season has in store for the Flyers.  Between Backlund and Brian Boucher, they do have a pairing then signed on for the job of playing goal for the team, but who is to say that isn't going to change this Summer?