I don`t recall all of DB`s numbers from the regular season in the year prior to the summer signing but I most certainly watched the Blues in the playoffs that season and he was, by far, the Blues most noticeable and solid performer and while I didn`t like the term, I understood the signing but Backes just couldn`t get things going in Boston, initially it was obvious that he needed the time to adjust to the new city/teammates/system and then it felt like the B`s just didn`t know where to slot him in the lineup then the concussions and health issues
It`s too bad really but it wasn`t like Backes was coming off a horrific year where it was clear he was on an exceptionally quick decline, thought the B`s could squeeze 2 good year, then a decent one out of him before his game really declined, unfortunately it`s all happened so fast