Bruins waive David Backes: On Boston’s tough decision and what might be next for veteran

The writing might have been on the wall for a while, but it didn’t make the Bruins’ decision any less difficult on Friday afternoon. 

Boston announced that it waived veteran forward David Backes for the purpose of assignment to the Providence Bruins — likely signaling the end of the veteran’s tenure up with the big club. 

Backes, who signed a five-year, $30 million contract with Boston back in the summer of 2016, carried plenty of weight in the B’s locker room as an established voice and former captain of the St. Louis Blues — but it was tough to ignore the downward trend as far as his production on the ice.

In his first three seasons with the Bruins, Backes’ scoring totals dipped from 38 points in 2016-17 to 33 in 2017-18 — culminating in a trying 2018-19 campaign (20 points in 70 GP) in which the forward was scratched for the first time in over a decade, including during Boston’s Game 7 loss to the Blues in the Stanley Cup Final.

Determined to keep up with today’s faster and more skill-centric game, Backes spent most of the 2019 offseason working with a skating coach in an effort to help his club. 

But the results simply weren’t there this year for Backes, who only appeared in 16 games before Friday’s news. On the ice, Backes tallied one goal and posted three total points — while averaging just 8:33 of ice time per game.

As younger players like Karson Kuhlman, Anton Blidh and others continue to work themselves back into the lineup, a decision on Backes’ future in Boston seemed inevitable, but that didn’t make Friday’s news any easier of a pill to swallow for many in the B’s locker room. 

“It’s tough. I feel bad for him,” Brad Marchand said of Backes. “He’s been such a great teammate and a great friend and he’s had such a great career. This is the part of the business that really sucks, when you get into the numbers game and get into situations like this. You don’t ever want to see a guy like treated in this kind of way, especially a guy that’s put his time in and earned his stripes and has been such a great player in this league for a long time. 

“Again, unfortunately, that’s the business side of things that is really shitty. He’s been an incredible teammate, can’t say enough good things about him. He’s just such a great person, a great friend and he’s going to be missed in this room. We relied on him a lot, on and off the ice and he carried a lot of weight with the guys. We’re going to miss him here, no question. But we wish him all the best.”

So where exactly do both parties go from here? 



BSJ Analysis: 

Stating the obvious, but sending Backes down to Providence was not a route that both team and player likely would have wanted when it came to potential break-up options. 

Even if his skills have eroded, Backes is a veteran with a lot of pride and likely won’t be too keen about spending his days down in the AHL, while the Bruins obviously still have plenty of respect for the player — even if freeing up a roster spot was the right move. 

“David doesn’t agree with the situation, but that’s the decision we made for the good of the team,” Bruce Cassidy said. “I respect David as a person, as a player, we just felt that we had better options and that’s how we’re going to go forward and see how it plays out.”

Of course, Backes won’t have to report to Providence if another team picks him up on waivers — but given that he still counts as a $6 million cap hit this year and next, it seems like a given that no team is going to bite on that. 

By sending him down in Providence, Boston’s cap savings are pretty minimal — only about $1 million. With Backes in an unsavory spot, a trade could also be struck this season, although Boston would still likely have to eat plenty of cash in order to find a willing suitor. 

If Backes does want to bear down and play out the rest of this season in Providence, a buyout in 2020-21 seems like the best route going forward — especially if he wants the freedom to sign with another NHL club.

By buying him out next season, Backes’ cap hit in 2020-21 would go down from $6 million to $4 million for the Bruins — with Boston having to pay an additional $1 million in 2021-22. 

But one thing worth noting here is Backes’ current health and whether or not it is even in his best interest to keep playing, especially if he’s going to spend a couple of months down in the AHL. 

While Backes has built a reputation for himself as a hard-nosed, tenacious forward willing to drop the gloves when necessary, Cassidy was frank on Friday when discussing how Backes’ long history of concussions has often put Boston in a tough spot. 

Since returning from yet another concussion back in November, Backes has only appeared in eight more games, averaging 8:50 of ice time per outing. For as much as Boston has been criticized for not having enough thump in the lineup, Cassidy did not want to trot out Backes as the team’s answer in terms of a bruiser up front.  

“We brought him in to give us some of that bite. That’s been a subject around here for the last few days, and that’s something we had hoped (for) and it was there for a while and then some concussions came into play,” Cassidy said. “That affects your decision as a coach, when to put a human being on the ice. We saw it a little bit last year with David trying to play a little bit of that role and found himself in two or three scraps. I don’t know if that’s the ideal role for him, but good for him to go out and try to carve a way to get back in the lineup. 

“But as a coach — I told it to the players. As a guy that you know is a dad who has two young girls, you always want to be careful that you’re pushing guys to play a certain way, but now you’ve got a guy that – who knows – might be one hit away from having some damage. You’ve got to be really careful with that. I know that’s it a business, but that is the human side of it when you’re around the players long enough. So that was a bit of an issue for me, to try to push him in that direction.”

Given Cassidy and the Bruins’ hesitancy to put Backes in a dangerous spot as far as his health is concerned, perhaps Backes might realize that it is in his best interest to hang up his skates and put his health and family first. 

Based on the way Backes’ contract is structured thanks to a slew of signing bonuses and front-loaded base salaries, the forward has actually already been paid close to $26 million of the $30 million he signed with Boston back in 2016. 

With most of that money already accounted for, is playing for that additional $4 million really worth it, especially if he has to scrap with the plenty of goons teeming throughout the AHL?

Backes opting to retire seems like a scenario that the Bruins would want him to take — both for his health, and also because Boston will not have to face a recapture penalty if he calls it quits, saving the team $6 million in cap space in 2020-21. 

Ultimately, though, the ball does appear to be in Backes’ court when it comes to his future — both here in Boston and as regular NHL player. 

Whichever conclusion Backes does come to, it won’t be easy.