It looks like most of the St. Louis Blues‘ pending unrestricted free agents will be heading to the open market on July 1.
Will team captain David Backes be one of them?
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeremy Rutherford, it’s still very much up in the air.
“We’d like to have David back, and hopefully as we push in we can get it done,” Armstrong told Rutherford on Saturday, via NHL.com. “But it has to work for both sides, not just one. We’re willing to invest a little bit of ‘thank you’ money, but it has to make sense. He’s earned the right … but only to a level.”
“It’s got to work for David and it’s got to work for us,” he said. “We haven’t been able to find that common ground right now.”
Armstrong also said he thinks, “the unrestricted guys will most likely hit the open market.”
Backes, 32, tallied 21 goals and 24 assists this season, and was a key player in the Blues’ post-season run.
The big centreman has been with the Blues for his entire career — 10 seasons — and has expressed his desire to remain with the club.
He has registered a total of 206 goals and 254 assists for 460 points in 727 career NHL games.
Also approaching free agency are Troy Brouwer, Steve Ott, Kyle Brodziak and Scottie Upshall.
