Goalies are tough to figure out. You just want them to at least put up decent numbers, but more importantly be consistent. Harding has been consistently elite this year, although to be truly elite you need to do it for 2 seasons.
Backstrom had off season sports hernia operate, a concussion and recently a virus that caused him to drop 10 pounds. He’s had a tough year, but hopefully he is prime to turn it around.
A quote from Fletcher on Harding made it sound like they have known they needed to take him out for 1 week so he could make adjustments for some time now. Unless they screw up, he’ll be back in a week after Christmas.