Speculation: David Backes House For Sale

[Linkens Mastery]

I bet it was Stewart, we need a #2 RW.

 

[DatDude44]

everyone crying about possibly losing backes....i'm sitting here like if we give backes 6+ mill a year while clearly on the decline in his career would make me cry haha

 

[Majorityof1]

everyone crying about possibly losing backes....i'm sitting here like if we give backes 6+ mill a year while clearly on the decline in his career would make me cry haha

I think most people who are "crying" over losing Backes recognize that it would be unwise to sign him to a long-term high dollar deal. But even if letting him go is the best option, it still sucks to lose him for nothing. He is still an effective player and still integral to our team. He is also a guy for whom we fans have rooted for a long time. Losing him and getting nothing is bad asset management, makes our team worse in the short-term, and sucks as a fan of his. Its pretty much a terrible situation that probably should have been addressed last off-season, but wasn't.

 

[Ranksu]

Could we get pick from Backes rights? Like what happened with Golikovski.

Is July 1st last day for get some value of own UFA's before they go open market?

Ofc in open mxrket he would most likely get bigger contract, but it could be basically one option trade him before open market?

 

[Falco Lombardi]

everyone crying about possibly losing backes....i'm sitting here like if we give backes 6+ mill a year while clearly on the decline in his career would make me cry haha

Depending on the plan to replace him, signing for 6 million is a better idea.

 

[SirPaste]

Depending on the plan to replace him, signing for 6 million is a better idea.

For the first couple years sure, after that not so much

 

[BleedBlueForever]

Could we get pick from Backes rights? Like what happened with Golikovski.

Is July 1st last day for get some value of own UFA's before they go open market?

Ofc in open mxrket he would most likely get bigger contract, but it could be basically one option trade him before open market?

We don't have his rights, those go away at the age of 27 I believe. No one wants to trade for a guy that goes UFA and a high possibility of not returning. But I wish we could that would be better than nothing

 

[Ranksu]

We don't have his rights, those go away at the age of 27 I believe. No one wants to trade for a guy that goes UFA and a high possibility of not returning. But I wish we could that would be better than nothing

Hmm, how did Dallas acquire trading Goligovski 5th round pick from Arizona and he's 30-years old?

 

[SirPaste]

We don't have his rights, those go away at the age of 27 I believe. No one wants to trade for a guy that goes UFA and a high possibility of not returning. But I wish we could that would be better than nothing

We have his rights until July 1st, UFA's rights get traded all the time so teams can get a head start and negotiate before other teams. Value is obviously low, it's usually just a late round pick

 

[Falco Lombardi]

For the first couple years sure, after that not so much

Like I said, need to see the plan for the alternative because I don't see a better option and I hate the idea of running out Stastny/Lehtera and one of Sobotka/Berglund sounds awful.

It's a real shame we signed Jori back. That contract is awful:

 

[STL fan in MN]

Hmm, how did Dallas acquire trading Goligovski 5th round pick from Arizona and he's 30-years old?

Yes, the Blues could trade Backes' rights to any other team prior to July 1 if they want to...and I imagine they would if they ever became convinced that they absolutely weren't going to be able to re-sign him. They could do the same for Brouwer or any other UFA...although this really only happens with the more desirable pending UFAs.

It has absoltely nothing to do with a player's age. Contracts go through June 30 (thus why guys can sign with new teams on July 1) so a team has the right to trade the player before July 1. Then the receiving team would have exclusive negotiating rights with the player for a few days before any other team could legally talk to the player.

 

[timtindall]

Jeremy RutherfordVerified account
‏@jprutherford
On contract negotiations with #stlblues UFAs (Backes, etc.): "I think the unrestricted guys will most likely hit the market."
so,
Upshall,
Backes,
Brodziak,
Brouwer,
Ott

 

[The Note in MI]

Followed with tweet talking about wanted David back but has to work for both sides.

 

[Evocable Manager]

Sad to see a longtime Blue departure, but sometimes you have to let go of what you love.
It was not a great situation and really there was no way to win with Backes and his contract.

I hope wherever he signs, sees him raise a cup and have a fine ending to his career. Hopefully when he off his 6 year deal, he will sign back with us for 1-2 years.

 

[Ranksu]

Could this mean that we keep Shattery?

 

[BlueDream]

If we lose Backes and Brouwer I think the Blues make a run at Eriksson.

 

[Majorityof1]

If we lose Backes and Brouwer I think the Blues make a run at Eriksson.

Its a very likely target. He is one of the best RW on the market. That's an area of need for us, especially letting Brouwer and Backes go. We already showed interest in him at the TDL. He also plays a style that could fit with what Hitch wants. He's not a heavy, or active forechecker though. We'd need a banger if we lose Broiwer and Backes. So we'd need another move, and Tatar/Nyqvist wouldn't do it.

 

[BlueDream]

Its a very likely target. He is one of the best RW on the market. That's an area of need for us, especially letting Brouwer and Backes go. We already showed interest in him at the TDL. He also plays a style that could fit with what Hitch wants. He's not a heavy, or active forechecker though. We'd need a banger if we lose Broiwer and Backes. So we'd need another move, and Tatar/Nyqvist wouldn't do it.

I'm in full agreement there.

 

[Evocable Manager]

I'd much rather invest 4-5 years @6M in Eriksson then in Backes.

 

[The Grouch]

I'd much rather invest 4-5 years @6M in Eriksson then in Backes.

Why? In terms of skill set, the Blues have two better versions of Loui Ericksson on their roster already. David Backes' skill set is extremely rare and is going to be impossible to replace.

 

[Evocable Manager]

Why? In terms of skill set, the Blues have two better versions of Loui Ericksson on their roster already. David Backes' skill set is extremely rare and is going to be impossible to replace.

Longevity is the biggest reason.
Players who play with the physical tone of Backes (Brown as an ex.) usually fall off when getting into their 30's.
Eriksson doesn't play that same physical edge but is an excellent two way player who can play either wing and will have more longevity then Backes due to play style.

I would be hard pressed to give Backes more then 3 years, and aboslutely nothing over 4. Even then were looking at a bad contract after 2 years of service. Backes wants similar to what Kesler has, so unlikely he takes that much of a pay-cut.

 

[The Grouch]

Longevity is the biggest reason.
Players who play with the physical tone of Backes (Brown as an ex.) usually fall off when getting into their 30's.
Eriksson doesn't play that same physical edge but is an excellent two way player who can play either wing and will have more longevity then Backes due to play style.

All players "usually fall off when getting into their 30's." I think the 'physical players fall off quicker' line is a cliche, in a lot of cases it isn't true. For every player like Dustin Brown there is a Doan, Shanahan, Mellanby, Tkachuk, Taylor, etc.

Obviously we can't know for sure, but if Armstrong's plan is to take Backes' would-be contract and hand it to Eriksson(a player who is almost the same age), I think the Blues will be worse off. I hope that if the Blues are parting with Backes(and all the other UFAs), Armstrong has something better than Loui Eriksson up his sleeve.

 

[Evocable Manager]

All players "usually fall off when getting into their 30's." I think the 'physical players fall off quicker' line is a cliche, in a lot of cases it isn't true. For every player like Dustin Brown there is a Doan, Shanahan, Mellanby, Tkachuk, Taylor, etc.

Obviously we can't know for sure, but if Armstrong's plan is to take Backes' would-be contract and hand it to Eriksson(a player who is almost the same age), I think the Blues will be worse off. I hope that if the Blues are parting with Backes(and all the other UFAs), Armstrong has something better than Loui Eriksson up his sleeve.

At the same point Doan, Shanahan, Mellanby and Tkachuk were/are all legends. Backes and Brown aren't of the same tier.

How can Loui Eriksson be a bad addition? Hell of a lot better then Brouwer.

 

[The Grouch]

At the same point Doan, Shanahan, Mellanby and Tkachuk were/are all legends. Backes and Brown aren't of the same tier.

Doan and Mellanby are legends? Backes has had a better career than Mellanby, and has had a very similar career to Shane Doan.

How can Loui Eriksson be a bad addition? Hell of a lot better then Brouwer.

I think you're missing my point. I'm not saying he would be a bad addition. I'm saying essentially giving Loui Eriksson David Backes' projected contract(as you stated in post #94), and then letting Backes go, would make the Blues worse. The Blues have Steen and Schwartz who are of a similar skill set to Eriksson. The Blues are void of anyone with a similar skill set to Backes. On top of that Eriksson is only a year younger than Backes, so the aging risk is basically the same.

If Eriksson comes cheaper(than Backes), or on a shorter term, he might be a good acquisition. Otherwise, all things being equal, I think the Blues would be foolish not to choose Backes.

 

[BlueDream]

I can't agree with you, Grouch. Eriksson doesn't play near as demanding of a game that will cause him to decline quicker than Backes. And if you're going to name power forwards that didn't decline, I can name several players that play like Eriksson that didn't either. Backes is becoming a different player, his physical game shows that.

I think you're underrating Eriksson. How is adding a guy who just put up 63 points making us a worse team? Who would be better than him?