After 15 NHL seasons, David Backes has come full circle, signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the St. Louis Blues. As the Blues second round pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, this ceremonial homecoming reunited Backes with the team he was most closely associated with in his NHL career. Backes would become synonymous with Blues hockey, spending his first ten seasons in St. Louis, the final five as team captain. Playing every game with equal parts skill and grit made him a fan favorite and one of the most belove players to wear the Blue Note. Backes developed a deep connection to the St. Louis community and used his platform to advocate for various animal welfare causes.
After leading the Blues to their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2001, Backes would depart as a free agent to the Boston Bruins. He would make his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins in 2019, falling to the Blues of all teams, in a hard-fought seven game series. Backes would be traded early into the next season to the Anaheim Ducks, ultimately playing in only 31 games across two injury-shortened seasons. As fate would have it, he would play his final NHL game in St. Louis, receiving a standing ovation from the ever-appreciative crowd that cheered him on for a decade. The overwhelmingly warm reception signaled what was known all along, St. Louis was, and will always be home for David Backes.
Summer of Hockey 