Player Discussion David Backes IV

[Blowfish]

No. He isn’t playing.

That being said, I just checked and he is not “fully retired” despite admitting to the fact that he can’t play any more. So my original post was not really accurate.

Nash is considering retirement due to his concussion history. Last night Backes went through concussion protocol. It most be weighing on him/his family and friends.

Same could be said for Bergeron.

 

[Baddkarma]

Backes looks done to me. He seems like a great guy and has had a real nice career to this point. He needs to consider his future.

 

[EverettMike]

I'm just glad we all agree I'm never wrong (no need to check) and there should only be one of me.

 

[smack66]

This is a little disingenuous.

Caggiula did give Backes a good hit, but Backes retaliatory hit was clean as well. At that point Caggiula grabbed Backes with his free arm as he was falling and hauled Backes down, then wouldn’t let him up. That’s what the slash was for, and likely why the refs evened it up.

If you want to bit** about something on that play, how about the lack of a penalty for the cheap shot by Strome on Backes when he was already engaged with Caggiula.

maybe I miss saw it but I think Backes clearly give him a dirty slash to the ankles before the scuffle. BTW, also agree Strome should have gotten a penalty but he was simply going after Backes for a dirty slash. Hey lets be fair and admit when one of our own does something dirty.

 

[bob27]

One would hope this isn't going to be another Beleskey situation. At least Backes was a decent, if somewhat underwhelming player in his first two seasons. It's a miracle how good the Bruins are as a team despite disaster after disaster with trades and UFA by the management.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

maybe I miss saw it but I think Backes clearly give him a dirty slash to the ankles before the scuffle. BTW, also agree Strome should have gotten a penalty but he was simply going after Backes for a dirty slash. Hey lets be fair and admit when one of our own does something dirty.

I’m not saying Backes didn’t slash Caggiula. He absolutely did. What I’m saying is that the slash was in retaliation for Caggiula dragging Backes to the ice after the hit and not letting him back into the play.

 

[smack66]

I’m not saying Backes didn’t slash Caggiula. He absolutely did. What I’m saying is that the slash was in retaliation for Caggiula dragging Backes to the ice after the hit and not letting him back into the play.

I don't want to argue with a fellow bruin fan but I believe you called my earlier post disingenuous.

Lets be honest, Backes was upset that he got steam rolled by a much smaller Caggiula and retaliated with the hit.. sure Caggiula may have held him a bit afterwards but if you think the dirty two handed slash by Backes against a much smaller player was because he was held down, well I can't help but again quote you in the use of the the word disingenuous.

Backes was embarrassed he got steamrolled ( nothing wrong with that, I like the emotion ) but it was a dirty play to two hand slash a smaller guy from behind. If someone did this to a Bruins player we would be calling him out. Further, we would celebrate that Strome came to Caggulia's aid. That was one of the reasons I love Quaider is he'd have done exactly what Strome did and more.

 

[Dr Hook]

I’m not saying Backes didn’t slash Caggiula. He absolutely did. What I’m saying is that the slash was in retaliation for Caggiula dragging Backes to the ice after the hit and not letting him back into the play.

I think Caggiula face washed him also, or popped him when they were down. It wasn't just a hold.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Backes can play on my team any day.

Bruins are lucky they have that many key contributing ELC to fit in his overpaid Cap hit.

But I have a feeling Backes will one day retire as a Bruins Stanley Cup winner.

Bruins made the playoffs both years since he signed. He was one of the best F in that series loss to Ott and had many freak injuries last year.

He has a 2011 Recchi series into him. He’ll be a factor. A good veteran one.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Backes can play on my team any day.

Bruins are lucky they have that many key contributing ELC to fit in his overpaid Cap hit.

But I have a feeling Backes will one day retire as a Bruins Stanley Cup winner.

Bruins made the playoffs both years since he signed. He was one of the best F in that series loss to Ott and had many freak injuries last year.

He has a 2011 Recchi series into him. He’ll be a factor. A good veteran one.

Probably in spite of him tbh...

 

[Btown]

He played well last game and brings some much needed toughness to the line up.
Was a waist of his talent on the fourth line he slots in nicely on the third and is a smart player.
To many people see his age and undervalue his contributions, he is smart and tough and a great mentor for some of our young guys still trying to establish them selves.
Positionally sound and can still keep up with the play.

 

[Blowfish]

He played well last game and brings some much needed toughness to the line up.
Was a waist of his talent on the fourth line he slots in nicely on the third and is a smart player.
To many people see his age and undervalue his contributions, he is smart and tough and a great mentor for some of our young guys still trying to establish them selves.
Positionally sound and can still keep up with the play.

What did he contribute that you feel he played well?

I would say most look at a line's production and consistency / a player's effectiveness in pp / pk for contributions to a team. Age discussion creeps in if a player isn't effective at those things.

I think what many of us are saying is Backes was a great player but in this new era NHL he can't keep up with the speed of the game. It's too bad because he's a great leader. Until his line begins to contribute I certainly don't feel he is helping this team.

I hate being down on Backes...but he isn't good at anything right now including physical play. Unfortunately I think he's negatively impacting the younger player on his line. Kills me to say this but that's what I'm seeing.

 

[Chief Nine]

I hate being down on Backes...

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I don't want to argue with a fellow bruin fan but I believe you called my earlier post disingenuous.

Lets be honest, Backes was upset that he got steam rolled by a much smaller Caggiula and retaliated with the hit.. sure Caggiula may have held him a bit afterwards but if you think the dirty two handed slash by Backes against a much smaller player was because he was held down, well I can't help but again quote you in the use of the the word disingenuous.

Backes was embarrassed he got steamrolled ( nothing wrong with that, I like the emotion ) but it was a dirty play to two hand slash a smaller guy from behind. If someone did this to a Bruins player we would be calling him out. Further, we would celebrate that Strome came to Caggulia's aid. That was one of the reasons I love Quaider is he'd have done exactly what Strome did and more.

I think Caggiula face washed him also, or popped him when they were down. It wasn't just a hold.

The way that you laid out what happened in the sequence WAS disingenuous. You completely left out the part where Caggiula was messing with Backes (after the clean retaliatory hit) as Dr Hook alluded to. What actually happened was:

Backes got popped clean by Caggiula.

He was pissed and retaliated with a clean hit to Caggiula.

Caggiula proceeded to drag Backes to the ice as he was falling and was then on top of him doing something (face wash or punch, I can go back and look.

As the two got up, Backes have him a slash in the back of the legs.

The two engaged again, and Strome cheap-shotted Backes while he was already involved with Caggiula.

1) A slash to the back of the legs is cheap, but you aren’t going to hurt anyone doing it. When you do it, the idea is to get the guy to come back at you, or it’s in retaliation for something (in this case the Caggiula facewash/punch).

2) The Strome play was dirty. Backes was already involved with Caggiula and Strome came in and blind-sided him, resulting in Backes having to leave the ice for the concussion protocol.

3) I don’t celebrate dirty plays by the Bruins and that’s not how McQuaid would have handled it. McQuaid would have waited until the next time they were both on the ice and squared up on him one on one, not blind-sided him with a cheap shot.

4) If you substitute Marchand for Caggiula and the same sequence happened, I would say that Marchand would deserve what he got. Caggiula was willingly mixing it up with a bigger guy. If he got his ass kicked, that’s on him.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Look they would have moved him long ago if they could. Quader's trade was obvious, Backes is in the same spot but just can't be moved easily. Hayes and Beleskey before were in the same spot. Every single one of these players was coveted for size and/or grit on top of whatever other skill sets they have/had. This is pure Neelyism, and it could be Sweenyism too but I'm not sure.

The sad part really is they correctly got out of the way of Lucic's decline, and stepped all that cap money right into these mistakes. And it's not like any of this wasn't predictable. Most of their "heavy" plays failed.

 

[Blowfish]

I watched the 3rd and can't say I was impressed. How did he play the first 2 periods?

 

[chizzler]

He doesn’t need to be a burner out there. If he gets some speed on his wings, the line can be effective.

 

[DominicT]

I watched the 3rd and can't say I was impressed. How did he play the first 2 periods?

Anything short of winning the Hart Trophy won't impress you. In fact, that probably wouldn't even impress you

He had a good game. The line had a good game, generated some chances. Keep playing like that and they will start going in.

At the risk of feeling the wrath from @GloryDaze4877 ,maybe it was Heinen that had to come off the line to make them click!?

 

[RiverbottomChuck]

He played better, he is serviceable and can provide a decent amount to a line still. Certainly not a long term option but we dont have a better one so I'm rooting for Backes to do well.

 

[BostonBruins11]

he's our best option for 3rd line C. We now have an effective 3rd line

 

[ap3lovr]

Backes is exactly the type of player you want on a line with 2 young kids. I don't care about his cap hit, once Seattle is in the league the cap hit doesn't look nearly as bad as an overall % of the cap. We are at a 79.5m cap right now, I expect that number to spike to 85 with Seattle in the league and a very good Toronto team the next 2 seasons. I want the kids coming into the team to play the game the right way, and Backes does this. I look at his cap hit as an investment in the kids. Some people want to see him put up 50+ points. I would be happy with a 35-40 point production from him in that role. Maybe one of his linemates hits the 50 point mark.

I get that we all want return on the money, and the easiest measurement of that return is point production. There are many other factors involved in determining someones worth. If Heinen, Donato, Bjork, and the callups from Providence all learn under his tutelage. That pays dividends long term. If you don't believe me, ask Marchand about what playing with Recchi meant to him and what that did for his overall game.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Anything short of winning the Hart Trophy won't impress you. In fact, that probably wouldn't even impress you

He had a good game. The line had a good game, generated some chances. Keep playing like that and they will start going in.

At the risk of feeling the wrath from @GloryDaze4877 ,maybe it was Heinen that had to come off the line to make them click!?

My son had hockey and then we had a family b-day party for my wife’s Dad, so I only watched bits and pieces of the game. Have to watch at some point today (probably after doing leaf work).

I am a B’s fan first and foremost, so I want the B’s to win. Backes being good will help them in that regard, so I am rooting for him. As far as Heinen goes, Donato probably has more upside as a pure scorer, but I think Heinen has a higher hockey IQ and is a better two-way player.

My view of a third line in today’s NHL is a Swiss Army knife line that can be flexible. There will be games where you need them to score and games where you need them to be defensively oriented, depending on the matchup. Not surprisingly, I feel like Heinen fits that type of line better than Donato. The key there for me is that Bjork (who has a wicked shot from my Notre Dame viewings of him) needs to shoot more. Heinen can shoot but he appears more comfortable as a passer. If Bjork starts shooting more than line is a nice blend of smarts, size, speed and can play a number of different styles.

If Heinen becomes the odd man out, and they deal him (as many here want to do), they will regret it.

 

[DominicT]

My son had hockey and then we had a family b-day party for my wife’s Dad, so I only watched bits and pieces of the game. Have to watch at some point today (probably after doing leaf work).

I am a B’s fan first and foremost, so I want the B’s to win. Backes being good will help them in that regard, so I am rooting for him. As far as Heinen goes, Donato probably has more upside as a pure scorer, but I think Heinen has a higher hockey IQ and is a better two-way player.

My view of a third line in today’s NHL is a Swiss Army knife line that can be flexible. There will be games where you need them to score and games where you need them to be defensively oriented, depending on the matchup. Not surprisingly, I feel like Heinen fits that type of line better than Donato. The key there for me is that Bjork (who has a wicked shot from my Notre Dame viewings of him) needs to shoot more. Heinen can shoot but he appears more comfortable as a passer. If Bjork starts shooting more than line is a nice blend of smarts, size, speed and can play a number of different styles.

If Heinen becomes the odd man out, and they deal him (as many here want to do), they will regret it.

Couldn't agree more.

Just making sure you were awake.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Couldn't agree more.

Just making sure you were awake.

I know.

Are you kidding? The wife let me sleep until 8am today, that’s like noon in her world

 

[Ratty]

He had a good last minute....other than that the first period I didn't hear his name once. He ugly hacked a guy. Completely whiffed on pp wide open net and his line still hasn't registered a point and continues to be hemmed in the D zone. How is that playing good?

Don't know whether you can get Bruins radio (98.5FM), but Bob Beers analyzes every single game, home and away. His assessment is that Backes played a good game.

It's easy to dwell on errors than it is to focus on the little things done right.