Bruins Sign David Backes For 5 Years/$30M, Re-Up Krug And Liles
Given the, um, curious nature of many of the Bruins recent moves, there was admittedly a small sense of dread to go along with the usual anticipation of July 1st. Each year, mediocre players are rewarded with way too much term, money, or both. So don’t blame Bs fans if they had visions of more albatross contracts, the kind that have contributed to the team’s descent from contender to second-tier squad. And though the Bs didn’t address their most glaring need—a high-end defenseman—they still landed an impact guy even if there are concerns with the ass-end of the deal.
The team signed the now-former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes to a 5-year deal worth $30M ($6M annual cap hit). The 32-year-old center plays a heavy, grinding game that wears down the opposition. It also takes its toll on Backes, which is why the term raised eyebrows (despite the concern, Backes has only missed an average of two games per season over the last eight seasons). But if you want a high-caliber FA signing on July 1st, you have to pay for it.
Six million is expensive for a third-line center but Don Sweeney said that it’s likely he’ll be used in various situations. Given the success big bodies with scoring touch have had with David Krejci, the right-shot Backes could be a great fit on Krejci’s right side. Though he had his lowest statistical, non-lockout year output since his since his second year in the league, Backes was a fucking monster in the playoffs and reminded everyone that he still had plenty to offer.
He’s a true heart-and-soul guy who will also help fill the locker room leadership void and hold guys more accountable than perhaps they have been since the Bs mistakenly thought they no longer had any use for Shawn Thornton. Backes isn’t the missing piece or a guy who is going to put the Bruins over the top. But he’s a solid signing that ostensibly replaces Loui Eriksson, who signed with Vancouver for 6 years/$36M. I know the Corsi Crew loves Loui but I’ll take slightly lower possession numbers for the snarl, sandpaper, and commanding vocal presence that Eriksson lacked. Eriksson was a solid player here but he didn’t make the Bs harder to play against; Backes will make the Bs much harder to play against.
(This is the part where I remind you that, because the Bs couldn’t/wouldn’t trade Loui/his rights for even a late-round pick, the worst trade in Bruins history somehow got worse and now reads: Tyler Seguin for Jimmy Hayes and Joe Morrow. Read that again. Then throw up.)
I know the league is getting faster but there wasn’t one guy or move that is going to turn the Bs into speed demons overnight. The Bs are still trying this ‘rebuilding on the fly’ thing and they needed to add something up front, even if wasn’t the biggest need. Signing Backes should mean 25 goals and, maybe more importantly, a sorely-missed locker room sheriff to call out the passengers and do away with the passivity we saw way too much of last year.
The Bs also re-upped trade deadline acquisition John-Michael Liles yesterday to a reasonable 1 year/$2M deal. He wasn’t a game-breaker or anything last season but a nice vet presence that provided some stability that a revolving door of Providence D-man couldn’t for Claude. They also brought back Anton Khudobin to back up Tuukka Rask for two years at $1.2M per (and also gives them a non-prospect goalie to expose in the Las Vegas expansion draft). Riley Nash, formerly of Carolina, was also brought in and should be a nice addition to the fourth line. Tim Schaller was signed to a two-way deal and projects as organizational depth unless he grabs a job seemingly nobody could last year. As far as a top-pair guy, it’s still only July 2nd so I’m not going to rake anybody over the coals yet.
On Thursday, the Bs announced that they signed offensive-minded defenseman Torey Krug to a 4 year/$21M deal. A nice raise for the ballsy Krug who plays much bigger than his stature. If high-end D are getting $9M then guys on the next level get what Krug did. I have no issue with the money.
The teams also came to terms with Tommy Cross and Tyler Randell.
Earlier in the week, the Bruins bought out Dennis Seidenberg. Seidenberg was a stand-up guy in the locker room and a goddamn warrior on the ice. He was a key cog on the 2011 Cup winners and will never pay for a drink in this town again (remember Hal Gill with Game 7 on his stick? It was Seidenberg who saved the Bs bacon). Injuries drastically affected his game the last couple seasons and the proud competitor tried to fight through it. The team decided to cut bait and go younger. Seidenberg arrived here as, essentially, a journeyman. But he finally found career stability, truly blossomed under Claude, and leaves here a Stanley Cup champion. Danke, Seids. It was a blast.
Meanwhile, in Edmonton…
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