Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney released a statement this morning regarding David Backes. Backes was in the midst of his fourth season with the Bruins until they made the decision to put him on waivers back on January 17th.
“After speaking with David, we have agreed that it is in the best interest of David and the Bruins for him not to play in Providence at this time. David is fit and able to play, but in order to preserve all potential options for both David and the Bruins moving forward, we have decided this is the best course of action.”
Backes has been a member of the Bruins since signing a monster five-year $6 million deal prior to the 2016/17 season. Prior to signing the deal, Backes had spent 10 seasons with the St. Louis Blues. During his time with the Blues, Backes established himself as one of the game's best power forwards. He quickly became a favourite player to not only many fans, but also teammates as he became the 20th captain in team history back in 2011.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, Backes was simply never the player with them as he was in St. Louis. The signing at the time was considered high risk due to his physicality mixed with his age, and it never worked out the way Backes or the Bruins management had hoped. Although he did score a respectable 17 goals in his first season with the club, he was never able to hit 40 points, which is extremely dissatisfying for a player making $6 million.
Regarding Sweeney's statement earlier today, it leaves a few options open as for what could happen in the future for David Backes. One option is retirement. Backes is 35-years-old, which is older in today's NHL. He has also played 944 regular season games, which when you consider the rough style he plays with, has to be very taxing on the body. Along with the rough style of play, Backes has also suffered many concussions throughout his career. With all negative post career effects that concussions are known to give now, retirement may be something to consider so that Backes can go on and enjoy his life. He's certainly made enough money to do so.
The second option is that perhaps the Bruins are looking to move Backes. Although his contract certainly isn't appealing, it is possible a team that has a low cap hit would be willing to take on Backes' deal if they were also given a prospect or draft pick to sweeten the pot.
However, all of this is speculation. As of now, all that is known is that Backes will not be playing for the Providence Bruins. There should be more clarification on his situation in the near future.
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