Boston Bruins: What The David Backes Signing Means For The Bruins
The July 1st free agency period is upon us and things were busy throughout the National Hockey League. The buzz around Boston was that moves had to be made and Don Sweeney had to find ways to improve the Boston Bruins.
The big signing for the Bruins today was the signing of former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes. The 32-year old center was signed on a 5-year $30 million dollar deal.
The deal is a good one for the Bruins because they are getting a player that can fit the identity of the team. He is a hard-nosed guy who isn’t afraid to do the dirty work. He also has leadership qualities to him as well as he served as the Blues captain for the last five seasons.
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Backes led the Blues to five consecutive playoff berths with a Western Conference final this past season in which they lost to the San Jose Sharks. He is definitely a guy that can come in and add that jolt this team has seemed to be missing the last two seasons.
All in all it seems like a good deal right now for the short-term. At 32-years old you always hesitate when giving a guy $6 million a year on a five-year deal. Definitely for the first few years you’re getting a jolt of energy on this team but the last two seasons may be questionable given his playing style and age(37/38 in final two years of deal).
This deal also seems like it could pave the way for the Bruins to add the defenseman they have been looking for.
With Backes now in the mix gives the Bruins three strong centers. But with Backes making $6 million dollars a season it doesn’t seem like he’ll be brought in as a third line center. What this means is the Bruins could be in the hunt to move a guy like David Krejci for a defenseman.
Krejci would give you a good return if you trade him to a team like the Blues for Kevin Shattenkirk. He could also be shopped in Anaheim for Cam Fowler. Either of these players would be exactly what this team is looking for to improve their defense right now.
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It will be interesting to see where Don Sweeney goes with this group after this move. He could be setting up to land the d-man fans have been waiting for and this team has been desperately needing.