Works his way back onto the roster
The notion of David Backes working his way back into the Boston Bruins line-up seems a little bit absurd, but stranger things have happened.
You’d safely assume that he isn’t the ‘next man up’ if someone goes down injured, not just because burying his salary cost in the minors saves the team some money, but also because he wouldn’t have been waived if they saw a spot for him.
The likes of Anders Bjork, Karson Kuhlman and Anton Blidh all currently hold roster spots over him and you’d expect Trent Frederic and Jack Studnicka to be ahead of him on the depth chart at this point in time, if the Bruins came calling for reinforcements.
This is a player that was still a 14-goal scorer just two seasons ago and while age does change that a bit, it’s safe to say that given the scoring chances he would still be able to net them; maybe not breakaway goals or anything fancy, but those nasty net-front ones instead!
Perhaps this becomes an option if David Backes opts not to retire and a trade partner can’t be found. The Boston Bruins, of course, would be wise though to promote younger guys over him given the play-offs seem an almost guarantee at this point.
Could it be useful to have his experience in the locker-room for a play-off run; absolutely. Whether or not Don Sweeney thinks like that though is a whole different matter.
Of the suggestions, this one seems least likely at this point but had to be mentioned because it’s still a possibility.
Maybe he’s traded away and suddenly isn’t our problem anymore.