The Capitals appreciate Backstrom enough to pay him $6 million per season. But much of the league views him as the proverbial second banana , what John Stockton was to Karl Malone, what Scottie Pippen was to Michael Jordan what, well, Adam Oates was to Brett Hull for several years in St. Louis – the essential, mild-mannered, do-it-all teammate needed for the telegenic star to thrive.
“Hully was the flamboyant superstar and I was the quiet guy,” said Oates, the Capitals’ coach, after practice earlier this week. “Backie is the quiet guy. Ovi is the flamboyant superstar. He doesn’t need to jump and do wheelies and stuff like that. That’s not who he is. All I ever cared about when I played was that Hully appreciated it, which Ovi does. Ovi loves him.”
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