Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

David Backes

David Backes Signs One-Day Contract, Retires As Member Of St. Louis Blues

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The St. Louis Blues have brought David Backes home. The veteran forward has signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the team, just to announce his retirement from hockey. Backes released a long letter to the organization and the fans of St. Louis, including an explanation of just why he has chosen to hang up the skates at this point:

The game got faster and younger and I haven’t been associated with either of those adjectives in a long time.

My final goal was to play 1,000 games, but I came up 35 short.

In the end, it’s not that all these numbers don’t matter – they do, and I am damn proud of them. But the metrics that mean the most to me are the countless experiences and everlasting relationships that the game provided me.

That’s what I find is beyond measure.

Backes, 37, played a decade in St. Louis to start his career, ascending to the captaincy of the Blues by 2011. He scored 206 goals and 460 points in 727 regular season games with the team, but. was unable to find much success in the postseason. In his time there the Blues reached the Conference Finals just once, and by then he was already slowing down. In 2016 he was one of several high-profile free agents that signed expensive, long-term deals that failed to pan out as the league underwent a transformation toward youth and speed.

That second chapter of his career came in Boston, where he managed just 39 goals over 217 games, his declining footspeed slowly moving him further and further down the lineup. Always aware of his waning effectiveness, Backes decided to embrace a new role as a sort of enforcer for the Bruins by 2019, adding physicality and toughness to the fourth line.

When he was scratched more often than not during the first part of the 2019-20 season, the Bruins ended up trading Backes to the Anaheim Ducks, where he finished out his career with 21 appearances. That would take the veteran forward to 965, 35 short as he explained in his letter today. Though he failed to win any major awards, Backes was a Selke Trophy finalist in 2012 and finished in the top five for that award four years in a row. A fan favorite in St. Louis, he’ll now be able to say he finished his career where it started.

Nominees Announced For 2021 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2021.

Past winners of the award include Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014), and Josh Harding (2013).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – David Backes

Arizona Coyotes – Phil Kessel

Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller

Buffalo Sabres – Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames – Milan Lucic

Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks – Andrew Shaw

Colorado Avalanche – Valeri Nichushkin

Columbus Blue Jackets – Zac Dalpe

Dallas Stars – Roope Hintz

Detroit Red Wings – Danny DeKeyser

Edmonton Oilers – Mike Smith

Florida Panthers – Chris Driedger

Los Angeles Kings – Matt Roy

Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens – Corey Perry

Nashville Predators – Pekka Rinne

New Jersey Devils – Scott Wedgewood

New York Islanders – Casey Cizikas

New York Rangers – Colin Blackwell

Ottawa Senators – Nick Paul

Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom

Pittsburgh Penguins – Casey DeSmith

San Jose Sharks – Patrick Marleau

St. Louis Blues – Vladimir Tarasenko

Tampa Bay Lightning – Steven Stamkos

Toronto Maple Leafs – Jack Campbell

Vancouver Canucks – Tyler Motte

Vegas Golden Knights – Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington Capitals – Zdeno Chara

Winnipeg Jets – Eric Comrie

Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.

David Backes Considering Retirement

at CDT | by 4 Comments

It has been a tough last few seasons for veteran winger David Backes who has gone from being an impact power forward to someone who has cleared waivers multiple times, been moved in a salary cap dump trade, and has been a healthy scratch or on the taxi squad for large portions of this year.  With his contract ending at the end of the season and the fact he turns 37 next weekend, his playing future is certainly in question.  In a scrum with reporters today (video link), Backes strongly hinted at retirement when asked if hanging up his skates was a possibility:

Possibility…I’d say it’s more of a probability. But it’s not a certainty. That’s just kind of where I’m at. I’ve said it all year that every game you play in this league is a gift, every shift you play is a gift. It’s a great blessing to be able to play in this league.

I’ve taken a bit of notes from guys before me that in the emotions and the grind of a season to make a concrete, hundred percent decision is a difficult process. No offense to Brett Favre because he had a great career, but he retired six or eight times and still came back. I think when I say ’that’s enough,’ I’d like it to be enough and not have to go back and forth.

Backes was a second-round pick of the Blues (62nd overall) back in 2003 and became one of the more prominent power forwards in the league, notching six seasons of more than 20 goals and seven years of more than 200 hits.  That helped him land a five-year, $30MM contract with Boston in the 2016 offseason, part of that ill-fated free agent class.

His role has deteriorated significantly the last two years as he managed to play in just 22 games in 2019-20 and has suited up just 14 times this season with the Ducks where he has collected three goals and an assist while averaging just under 13 minutes a night.  If this is indeed his final season, he’ll wind up just shy of the 1,000 games played mark as he currently sits at 964, 18th among players selected in his draft class.

Backes indicated that a final decision won’t come right away but if it indeed winds up being the end of the road for him, his time in the NHL may not be done entirely as he noted that a job in a front office down the road could be in the cards.  In the meantime, he still has eight games left to focus on this season although with Anaheim evaluating some of their youngsters, playing time may be scarce the rest of the way.

Jack Johnson, David Backes Clear Waivers

at CDT | by 3 Comments

March 15: Both players have cleared as expected. Johnson and Backes can both be moved to the taxi squad.

March 14: It is a veteran-laded waiver wire today, as according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, David Backes and Jack Johnson have both been placed on waivers today.

Johnson, 34, has seemingly failed again in his latest bounce-back bid, this time with the New York Rangers. Bought out by the Pittsburgh Penguins in October, Johnson signed with the Rangers just a few days later for one year and $1.15MM. In 13 games with New York, he has just a single point, is averaging the fewest minutes of his career, and is once again getting caved in by all possession metrics. It seems clear that his time as a lineup regular should be over and perhaps it now will be with this waiver assignment.

If Johnson clears, $1.075MM of his cap hit can be buried by placing him on the taxi squad or assigning him to the minor leagues. If Vitali Kravtsov is indeed coming to join the team now that his KHL season has concluded, they will need some extra cap space to fit him in.

Backes meanwhile has seen this movie before, given he cleared waivers last season and again in January. The veteran forward brings great leadership and physicality, but just can’t keep up at age-36. In ten games for the Anaheim Ducks this season, he has two goals. If his play wasn’t enough to keep him from a claim, Backes’ contract is. The veteran is in the final year of the five-year, $30MM deal he signed in the summer of 2016 and still carries a cap hit of $6MM. Similarly, $1.075MM can be buried if Backes is placed on the taxi squad or sent to the minor leagues.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/22/21

at CDT | by 1 Comment

It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • With no other real options, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Pierre-Olivier Joseph from their taxi squad under emergency conditions. The young defenseman is expected to make his NHL debut tonight against the  New York Rangers. Joseph, 21, was the 23rd overall pick in 2017 and recorded 17 points in 52 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have elevated Nathan Gerbe from the taxi squad, moving Emil Bemstrom down in his place. The 33-year-old Gerbe hasn’t played yet this season but recorded ten points in 30 games last year for the club.
  • After clearing waivers, Brandon Pirri was re-assigned to the Chicago Blackhawks taxi squad. Carl Soderberg and Brandon Hagel have both been moved to the active roster. Soderberg, 35, has yet to play this season and is expected to make his debut tonight against the Detroit Red Wings.
  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Brian Pinho from the taxi squad as they try to fill out a roster card without their four Russian stars. Pinho, 25, scored 20 goals and 37 points in 62 games for the Hershey Bears last season and made his NHL debut in the postseason bubble.
  • Givani Smith has been recalled from the Red Wings taxi squad, giving them another forward option as more players find themselves on the COVID list. The Red Wings start a two-game series with the Blackhawks tonight with a chance to climb even further up the Central Division table.  Taro Hirose was also brought up to the taxi squad.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have activated James Neal off injured reserve, meaning someone needed to go to the taxi squad. That someone is Joakim Nygard, who has been moved off the active roster. Olivier Rodrigue, who had been serving as the taxi squad goaltender, has also swapped places with Dylan Wells. Rodrigue will report to the AHL while Wells is now the third-string option for Edmonton.
  • Samuel Morin has been moved back to the taxi squad as the Philadelphia Flyers wait for their next game. Morin, who is making the switch from defense to forward this season, has yet to get into a game.
  • Brogan Rafferty has been moved to the taxi squad by the Vancouver Canucks, as they continue to try and work out their defensive issues. Rafferty had been up on emergency loan while the Canucks dealt with several injuries, but is now back down on the team’s day off.
  • Victor Soderstrom is expected to make his NHL debut tonight after being recalled from the taxi squad by the Arizona Coyotes. The team has moved Jordan Gross down for the time being, allowing their young phenom to get into a game. Soderstrom, 19, was the 11th overall pick in 2019 and quickly became one of the top defensive prospects in the entire league.  Aaron Ness was sent to the minors while Ivan Prosvetov was added to the taxi squad.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have assigned both Lias Andersson and Jaret Anderson-Dolan to the taxi squad while the team prepares for a four-game road trip that takes them to St. Louis tomorrow. The Kings are coming off their first win of the season and looking to continue to hold their own in a tough West Division.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Mathieu Olivier from the taxi squad while also activating Mikael Granlund to the active roster after he completed his quarantine protocols.  Olivier leads the Preds in hits in the early going this season with eight while Granlund will make his season debut.
  • Anaheim has made a long list of moves, per CapFriendly.  The Ducks have recalled David Backes, Max Jones, and Josh Mahura to the NHL roster while Anthony Stolarz and Isac Lundestrom are now on the taxi squad.  Sonny Milano has been placed on IR while Lukas Dostal has been sent to AHL San Diego.
  • The Boston Bruins have shuffled Trent Frederic and Jack Studnicka back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The two have been shuffled multiple times already this season to bank cap room and will likely be recalled for tomorrow’s game against Philadelphia.
  • Colorado has recalled Martin Kaut on an emergency basis, per CapFriendly.  Conor Timmins was sent back to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.  Erik Johnson isn’t expected to play tonight and Kaut’s addition will allow the Avalanche to dress 12 forwards and six defensemen.
  • The Islanders have shuffled Kieffer Bellows back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The winger has played in all four games this season but with them off until Sunday, New York can save nearly $15K in salary by sending him back for two days.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have flipped defensemen again as Andreas Borgman has been recalled with Luke Schenn going to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  While they’re so deep into LTIR where the small cap savings will be irrelevant, doing so extends Schenn’s waiver exemption a little longer.
  • Vegas has recalled Cody Glass from the taxi squad, notes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  Nicolas Hague has been sent back down to the taxi squad, meaning the Golden Knights will go back to dressing 13 forwards and just five defensemen.

This page will be updated throughout the day as more moves are officially announced. 

Large Group Of Players Placed On Waivers

at CDT | by 8 Comments

With just a few days before the start of the regular season, a huge number of players have been placed on waivers. The full list includes:

Anaheim Ducks: 

Anthony Stolarz
Andy Welinski
Christian Djoos
Andrew Poturalski
Chase De Leo
Vinni Lettieri
Sam Carrick
Andrew Agozzino
David Backes

Carolina Hurricanes:

Antoine Bibeau
Steven Lorentz
Spencer Smallman
Jeremy Bracco
Gustav Forsling
Drew Shore
Max McCormick

Colorado Avalanche:

Jacob MacDonald
Dan Renouf
Kyle Burroughs
Mike Vecchione
T.J. Tynan
Miikka Salomaki
Jayson Megna
Sheldon Dries

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Nic Petan

These massive waiver placements are no different than the normal training camp cuts that would occur in late-September in a normal year. Should they clear, these players will be eligible to report to the taxi squad or AHL. There are a few names that stand out from the crowd though.

Backes, a veteran of 950 NHL games, still carries a $6MM cap hit on the final season of the five-year, $30MM contract he signed with the Boston Bruins in 2016. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports, this is not a move by the Ducks to try and rid themselves of Backes, but create some additional flexibility. At any rate, his contract basically makes him waiver-proof as no other team would want to take it on at this point in the season.

Bracco, a former top prospect that scored 79 points in 75 games for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL as recently as 2018-19, has seen his development stall and finds himself on the outside looking in for the Hurricanes once again. Djoos, once an up-and-coming defenseman in the Washington Capitals system, is now 26 and available to the whole league, should they want to take a chance.

NHL Requests Further Salary Deferral From Players In 2020-21

at CDT | by 5 Comments

As the NHL continues to work with the NHLPA’s Return to Play Committee on plans to begin the 2020-21 season, the league has requested more financial concessions from the players. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the NHL is seeking an additional 13% of salary deferral on 2020-21 player salaries. This is in addition to a 10% deferral and 20% escrow written into the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the 2020-21 season.

The league’s request means that players would see 23% of their salary, post-escrow, deferred to the future in order to help owners with the reality of reduced revenue in another season impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. For those who like equations, that means players would be paid y=.77*(.8x), with x being the player’s total compensation in 2020-21. For those who dislike equations, they would be making about 62% of their salary this season, at least for those whose signing bonuses do not exceed 62% of their total compensation. Brooks writes that he is unsure whether this request is an ultimatum by the league or a starting point for negotiations. It is also unclear if the additional 13% of deferred salary would be treated the same as the initial 10%, which will be paid out to each player in three equal installments in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski adds that league sources have stated that under no circumstances will owners pay their players for a full 82-game season when it seems like a near certainty that the 2020-21 campaign will be considerably shortened. Of course, the existing 10% of salary deferral is already paying players for the equivalent of a 74-game season. An additional 13% of salary deferral would still pay players the equivalent of a 63-game schedule, which seems fair considering the minimum number of games has reportedly been set at 48 by the league while the hope is that it will be closer to 60 games. In either case, players will still receive their salary beyond what they would be paid on a per-game basis.

If deferred salary is still up for negotiation, the two sides need to get moving on hammering out the details. If the league hopes to begin on New Year’s Day, players have just a matter of weeks to return to their NHL cities to quarantine before training camps can open in December. There are still a lot of details to be worked out and the owners’ financial concerns are just one small part.

Fortunately, the two sides have been in communication and it seems the NHL and NHLPA have been in agreement on many goals and possible terms for a return to play. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds that the NHLPA’s player representatives on the Return to Play Committee are as follows: David Backes, Darren Helm, David Savard, Justin Faulk, Lars Eller, Sam Gagner, Justin Abdelkader, Ian Cole, Zach Hyman, Ron Hainsey, Claude Giroux, Ryan Dzingel, Andrew Copp, Alex Biega, Chris Kreider, Mark Scheifele. Hopefully this group can work with the league to get NHL hockey back as soon as possible and in a format that is safe and effective for the coming season.

Anaheim Ducks Not Expected To Buy Out David Backes

at CDT | by 2 Comments

On Friday, the first buyout period for the NHL will open and teams will be able to reduce the cap hit of some unwanted contracts (while paying a chunk of the remaining salary owed.) With the salary cap ceiling flat for next season (and likely several more afterward) this tool may be important to several teams around the league looking to shed payroll. It’s not the magic wand that compliance buyouts were in 2014, but it could still be useful in the right situation.

One player that has drawn some buyout speculation is David Backes of the Anaheim Ducks, who has just one year remaining on his current contract. The Ducks, who are set to cover just $4.5MM of his $6MM cap hit already thanks to the salary that the Boston Bruins retained in trade last year, would receive an additional $1.5MM in cap savings for 2020-21 should they exercise a buyout of the veteran forward. That would be offset by a $750K cap penalty in 2021-22, while the Bruins would also get a small amount of relief next season ($500K, with a $250K cap penalty in 2020-21).

That doesn’t appear to be the plan, however, as Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest reports the Ducks told Backes they intend to keep him for the upcoming season. Backes himself is preparing for the upcoming season already, working with a skating coach twice a week after scoring just a single goal in 22 games.

Though his play has fallen off a cliff, Backes could still represent a valuable veteran presence on a team that is just starting a rebuild. Youth will be dotted all over the Ducks roster next season, and though they appear quite close to the salary cap ceiling, it’s important to remember the flexibility that will be provided by Ryan Kesler’s contract. Kesler is not expected to play hockey again, meaning his $6.875MM cap hit will be moved to long-term injured reserve.

The Ducks also don’t have any real pressing free agents after already completing deals with Sonny Milano, Troy Terry and Jacob Larsson this summer. Unless they want to pursue high-end unrestricted free agents on the market, they aren’t in desperate need of the $1.5MM in cap savings a Backes buyout would provide.

Pacific Notes: Russell, Nygard, Lehner, Meier, Backes

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Edmonton Oilers have gotten a boost on defense. The team announced they have swapped roster players. The Oilers have activated defenseman Kris Russell from long-term injured reserve, while placing forward Joakim Nygard on IR as well. Russell’s return is well-timed after the team lost Mike Green for an extended period.

The 32-year-old Russell has been out since Jan. 29 with a concussion, but finally appears ready to return to the team’s defense. Russell is expected to step in as a third-pairing defender Saturday. He has appeared in 49 games with eight assists and 93 blocked shots. Nygard has been out of the lineup since Jan. 29 with a broken hand, but the team didn’t place him onto IR until now. He is not expected back until late March.

  • The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) looks into the possibility of whether the Vegas Golden Knights could find a way to keep goaltender Robin Lehner, an unrestricted free agent this summer, in the future. With the estimation of a six-year, $6MM AAV contract as a potential contract for Lehner, Granger notes that it is possible to keep both Lehner and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury, who still has two years remaining at $7MM AAV. However, it would put the team in a very tight cap situation and investing $13MM in goalies doesn’t make much sense. However, the scribe did admit it is possible that the team could conceivably attempt to trade someone like Paul Stastny, who would be in the final year at $6.5MM. Either way, the Golden Knights will have to make some tough decisions this summer.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier is seriously considering playing at the World Championships that will be held in Switzerland. The 23-year-old from Switzerland said he hasn’t given it any real thought yet, but admits it would be a great opportunity to play in front of his own country. Meier did play for the Swiss back in 2018 when they took a silver medal.
  • Recently acquired forward David Backes hopes to get into an Anaheim Ducks game soon, perhaps even Sunday against the New Jersey Devils, according to OC Register’s Eliott Teaford. The 35-year-old was acquired a few days before the trade deadline that saw forward Ondrej Kase headed to Boston for Backes, a 2020 first-round pick and a prospect. Backes, however, has not appeared in an NHL games since Jan. 9, and has spent his time this week getting back into game shape. “I’ve probably reached a saturation point where it’s been just me and a coach out there being in a practice situation,” Backes said. “I’ve done a lot of that, so now it’s bumping and grinding and timing and angles. When you haven’t played in two months, it’s going to be a process. But I’m excited to start that process, hopefully, sooner than later.”

Bruins Notes: Backes, Rask, Didier

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

David Backes is in limbo right now, assigned to the Providence Bruins but not required to report. Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney explained in a short statement yesterday that Backes is healthy enough to play, but wouldn’t be going to the AHL, a nice gesture by the team to not suspend the veteran forward. Today, Sweeney told Joe McDonald of The Athletic that Backes has not actually requested a trade, but is hoping for another opportunity if he’s no longer going to get one in Boston.

Of course, finding another NHL opportunity for a 35-year old with a $6MM cap hit is easier said than done. It also may not really be in Backes’ best interest to be traded. Right now, the Bruins are allowing him to collect his salary without reporting to the minor leagues thanks to their strong relationship. That might not be possible with another organization if he fails again at the NHL level. The most likely scenario still seems to be a buyout this summer, which would allow Backes to seek out other opportunities at a much lower cost.

  • Tuukka Rask will be back for the Bruins tonight when they take on the Winnipeg Jets. The goaltender was placed on injured reserve a few weeks ago, but ended up missing just three games thanks to the All-Star and bye week breaks. The Bruins already have one of the best “backup” goaltenders in the league in Jaroslav Halak, so a short rest for Rask is no problem for the club. Still, getting their Vezina-caliber starter back is still a boost for the Bruins, who are being chased down by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division race. Perhaps a bit quietly, Rask has a .925 save percentage this season through 28 appearances, his best mark since 2014.
  • Depth in net is important, and depth in the minors is important too. Providence today extended alternate captain Josiah Didier for another two years, inking him to an AHL contract. Didier was originally a fourth-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in 2011, but went the college route and has never actually signed an NHL deal. The 26-year old defenseman has seven points in 40 games for Providence this season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top