Lol, not even close.

LOL. You are wrong. Take a look at the bottom of other teams rosters. It gets ugly. The Oilers have somethings called Gaten Haas & Patrik Russell, both 27 and a combined Zero goals in 25NHL games. They do have one assist combined (yay Gaeten!) but are a -5.

You are confusing his horrible contract with his ability.

Also, the Bruins could Bury him (and they might eventually) if they didn't think he could contribute at all.

backes even at 6m isnt making the team right now. youve got: lindholm, wagner, kuraly, nordstrom, ritchie all over him. hell they called up bjork to play him the other day. Backes has 66 minutes of ice time this year. not even hitting 9:30 average toi... so no he really only has locker room/leadership value. His actual on ice value is limited to having solid hands, can still play decent defense if he can catch the player with the puck or stay in front of him, and hitting. he is too slow to be effective in a 4th line/energy role. he worked on his skating and dropped weight and everything and hes just done. he literally is a locker room guy and thats it. i would take all the guys you listed over backes at 6m or at minimum wage.

Haas has pretty much the exact same statline as backes. but is younger.

Again no. Spezza is a perfect example. He was far more productive than Backes. Leafs signed him for depth and leadership and now regret it. Nobody wants Backes. They’d rather give the roster spot to a younger hungrier player with legs and see if they find something.

He is 27. I am not talking about a 22 year old. Haas is what he is by now. Yes, you want younger guys who can develop, but that not Russell or Haas or any of the aforementioned. Leadership and experience matter. Backes sucks, but not as badly as many other teams 12th or 13th forwards

Except you are wrong. They have the exact same amount of productikn over last three. Spezza got way more ice time and cant come close to physical or defensive game of backes.

I dont think the leafs regret it at all. He was exactly what they were looking for. A vet who probably wont but might contribute at the very least you get some leadership. Well worth league min over a 27 year old career minor leaguer.

** see Patrick Maroon.

i never said he was 22. i know haas is 27. but saying haas is what he is by now. what do you think backes at 35 is? 4th line isnt for guys who can develop. thats what the ahl is for. 4th line is for a gritty grinder style player. Is that what backes brings? yes. but at 35 he literally cant do it night in and out anymore. He isnt as effective as haas is even with all of his experience in the league. Leadership and experience matter if you can still play. they dont want guys that are healthy scratches every night. no young kid is going to listen to a 35 year old that cant make the lineup. The bruins are being classy and not demoting him to the ahl where he belongs right now. Ide take any guy in providence right now over backes.

going by age: spezza at 33 years old 50 points in 68 games. Backes 33 in 57. Spezza at 34 years old 26 points in 78 games. backes 20 in 70. spezza at 35 had 27 points. Backes wont crack 20 this year

** maroon is actually a 4th line player that was elevated to 3rd line due to his production with mcdavid in edmonton but he isnt that type of player. hes a gritty grinder style player. but maroon still has stuff left in the tank. ide take maroon over backes.

The Argument isn't about him and Boston. He shouldn't be in their lineup. That being said, the Bruins are one of the top teams in the league with a ton of depth. He could play on and help another team that isn't really going to compete, one where he can play 60 games a year and put up 15pts and yes, grind away - like he's been doing here.

The fact that you said you would take any guy in providence over Backes sort of proves my point. It's all about the salary. Lindholm sucks equally. Backes could easily fill a 12th -13th forward roll on most teams.

Backes and Maroon are very similar to me and Tampa thought that Vet was important rather than handing the job to Raddysh or Katchouk. Sometimes you need guys to play the 4th line. It wouldn't do Raddysh any good to come up and play on 4th line.

Again...no.

Bruins don’t even want to use him in 4th line and only play when they have to. Yet multiple teams will line up to sign him? Lol. Ok. 🙄

50/50 he is signed if bought out. There is always a Chiarelli or a Fenton type of dumb out there. He should not be. When Nordstrom and Lindholm are better options it’s time to give up on him.

The game is just to fast for him today. He can muck in the corners, that’s about it.

Well, that's cherry picking a little. We are A) not comparing ages. B) Backes was never the offensive player Spezza was.
Backes Carrer high in points in more than 30 less than Spezza's.
I am comparing their last two and this season. I don't care about age, it is irrelevant to this argument in comparing Spezza and Backes.

I think we can agree Tampa and Toronto are both kind of powerhouses and what did they do in their offseason? Added an aging vet (Spezza and Maroon).
You need to separate salary. Maroon and Backes are nearly identical with the salary exception.

IDK where you keep thinking backes can really still play and produce. in 7 games played with 66 minutes total (just over 9 minutes per game) he has 15 total shots attempted. 13 on net. zero have gone in. he has 8 hits. and is a minus 2 with 2 blocks 3 takeaways and 16 penalty minutes. He is playing the shawn thornton role right now. go out and fight, throw hits. Lindholm is better right now than backes is.

You were the one that brought up development for the 4th line. obviously you dont waste players like katchouk or Raddysh on the 4th line. Maroon is still a capable 3rd/4th liner though. When maroon is 35 i dont expect him to have a job.

I really think you are missing my point. He sucks. I don't want him skating on the Bruins, but to think he has no value to any team at league minimum is just wrong. If he is bought out, plenty of teams will be interested in him. Probably most of the better ones because that who needs and signs those type players (Maroon, Spezza)

Maroon plays every night. While Backes is scratched unless they have to play him. That’s the difference. And Maroon sucks. And TB has a deeper FW pool. That should tell you something.

B’s are a contender and don’t want to play him. But others would? Lol. Non-contenders don’t want him clogging a roster spot.

Age is VERY comparable in this situation. you cant not bring up age in this scenario. They brought spezza in to be their 4th line center. win them some faceoffs have a vet on the 4th line. He has been a healthy scratch JUST as much as backes has in toronto. Talk about Spezza and backes not being the same player, backes and maroon may have similar styles of play but backes WAS 3x the player maroon was. Maroon was primarily a 3rd line winger that played first line with mcdavid. He is a career bottom 6 forward and still has plenty left in the tank 4 years younger than backes as well.

Having value would indicate you could actually get something in a return if there was a trade. At league minimum there are no teams in the league that would give up anything of value in return for 35 year old david backes. He may get signed but that team wont give up anything to get him.

He can put up 15-20pts a year and be fairly reliable. again, he sucks, but take a look at the bottom of other teams rosters. Plenty of guys who can't put up 20pts. Stop comparing ages, compare seasons.

Last 2 years + this year
Backes 134gp 21g 33a 54pts 285 hits +1 100PIM
Maroon 159gp 28g 46a 74pts 297 hits -3 142PIM
102gp 14g 30a 54pts -8 (WHEN NOT PLAYING NEXT TO 97)

I agree with this. Maybe a 6th or 7th, but he would have to be having a very good year. He could be valuable to the right team for league min.

That's sort of my point. Spezza like Backes on a league min deal after being bought out is a 4th line guy with low risk and low reward. If he sits, who cares, if he gets hurt, who really cares, but it's nice to have a little insurance.

I am done, I don't want to defend Backes anymore. he sucks.

no you arent getting it, even at 750k or whatever min is right now. he is not getting a 6th or a 7th in return. he isnt getting a prospect back its nothing. you get nothing for backes. he could be someone elses 12-13th forward but you dont give up anything for those guys. you dont trade picks for scratched forwards. you sign them for nothing.

No, I get it. Let's say he is bought out and signs with NJ for league min. If he puts up 5g and 5a in 45 games. A team like Colorado would probably part with a 7th to replace menga(or similar - equally or more crappy 27+ year old). I know he can't be bought out this year, so it would be next, but you get the premise.