Boston Bruins: David Backes to meet his former team for the Stanley Cup

When the Boston Bruins take on the St. Louis Blues later today in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, it will be very special for one exact person. It might be even more special on Saturday at Enterprise Center, which will host Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. That man is no one other than David Backes.

David Backes was drafted as 62nd overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He made his NHL debut in St. Louis in 2006. In that 2006-2007 season, Backes skated in 49 games collecting 23 points. Even after his very first season, the Blues fell in love with him; at that point, they’d never have dreamt of facing him in a Boston Bruins jersey in the Stanley Cup Final.

During the season following his NHL debut, Backes has played in 72 games collecting 31 points. He made his first post-season appearance with the Blues in 2009. However, the Vancouver Canucks swept the Blues in the first round despite David Backes recording three points in those four games.

In his first five seasons with the Blues, St. Louis has advanced to the playoffs just once and failed to win a single game. That all changed in 2011 when David Backes was named the captain of the St. Louis Blues; In those five seasons as the Blues captain, Backes has never missed the playoffs leading his team.

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It wasn’t that pleasant thought. In 2012, the Blues lost in the second round to the Los Angeles Kings, same as the following year, but in the first round. In 2014, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Blues in six games in the first round.

The Minnesota Wild with his now Boston Bruins teammate, Charlie Coyle beat David Backes and his Blues in 2015 in the first round. Just one playoff series win in his first nine NHL seasons. Tough to swallow for David Backes as he entered the final year of his contract with the Blues.

Nevertheless, in that 2015-2016 season, the Blues finally made a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They beat the Blackhawks in the first round, then also the Dallas Stars in the second round. David Backes scored a huge game-winner in Game 2 and also scored a huge goal in Game 7 of that series. He combined for seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 20 playoff games that spring.

Despite his best efforts, the San Jose Sharks beat the Blues in six games in the Western Conference Final and as David Backes decided to sign a new deal elsewhere, he knew that he was not going to bring the Stanley Cup to St. Louis.

In his new home as a Boston Bruins player, Backes restarted his quest for the Stanley Cup. He certainly knew that the best chance for him was in 2016, as he also started to see the age factor catching up on him. He couldn’t be satisfied with his team’s results or with his own performances. In 2019, he found himself in the press box pretty regularly.

To start the playoffs with the Bruins, he was a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the playoffs as well. And now he stands in the lineup in the Stanley Cup Final to face the St. Louis Blues, his former team.

What to expect now for David Backes? He will meet his former teammates, Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen and he wants to beat those guys to get himself and his new team, the Boston Bruins, the Stanley Cup.

“There are still some good friends – one of my best friends is on that team, he’s the captain of their team. I told him I love him now, I’m going to love him afterwards, but I’m going to hate him for the next three weeks here. I think that’s a mutual decision,” said David Backes about facing the current St. Louis Blues captain, Alex Pietrangelo.

Once, David Backes was dreaming about lifting the Stanley Cup as the captain with the Blues. Now he just doesn’t want to see his successor, Pietrangelo, lift it with the Blues; instead he wants the Boston Bruins to be lifting it. The life of hockey is full of paradoxes.

If Zdeno Chara gets to lift the Stanley Cup, he will almost certainly handle it to David Backes next. And Backes, who has already provided help for his team with five points in 11 games, isn’t planning on just standing around and wait to touch the Cup. He wants to be the Boston Bruins X-factor for sure.