The Buffalo Sabres may have been looking to catch the biggest fish in the free agent market, but rumors have them eyeing another current captain.
Unless you live on the moon, dwell in a cave, or reside under a rock in the desert, you are well aware that the Buffalo Sabres were very interested in signing Tampa Lighting center Steven Stamkos.
Likewise, unless you live in any of those less-than-technology-friendly residences, you are by now aware that Stamkos has decided to remain in Tampa Bay. (Source: Yahoo Sports)
GM Tim Murray was always smart enough to know that the odds are not in his favor when it comes to signing Stamkos, so there are a few other worthy UFAs whose agents should expect to hear from GMTM in the next few days.
The question today is, is David Backes worth such a call?
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For a while, Buffalo Sabres fans were of the mindset that if the talks with Stamkos went south, the Sabres front office would go hard after Kyle Okposo. It’s easy to see why – here’s an excellent piece by Wysh over at Yahoo Sports – but from the sounds of it, the Sabres have soured on Okposo and may pursue Backes, who has not been re-signed by the St. Louis Blues as of the time I sat down to write this.
Backes had an inspiring 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring 14 points in 20 games played as the Blues pushed the San Jose Sharks to six games in he Western Conference Finals. He’s the sort of players fans love, a physical, gritty player who inspires his teammates and holds both himself and those around him accountable. He’s scored 40+ points in seven straight full, 82-game seasons (screw you, 2012-13 season!) and would certainly be able to teach youngsters Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane, among others, what it takes to be a playoff team.
The problem with Backes, aside from the fact that he is 32 years-old (although if Jaromir Jagr has proven anything, it is that you cannot judge a player based solely on how old he is!), is that he is currently playing like a 3rd or 4th-line player, but certainly will not be paid anything less than 2nd-line money. If you take a look at a HERO Chart, created at Own the Puck, you’ll see what I’m talking about:
While Backes might perform at at a 2nd-line level as an individual, he is a poor possession player, which isn’t exactly the sort of player you want to bring on board a Buffalo Sabres squad that is already pretty poor at the possession game. When you compare Backes to someone like Kyle Okposo, you get a crystal clear picture of which player is worthy of the Sabres’ attention:
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Okposo is statistically better than Backes in every single category, so if you’re looking for the Buffalo Sabres’ Plan B now that Stamkos has opted to re-sign with Tampa, Okposo is a much better option than Backes. Mind you, there are reasons for fans to be wary about signing Okposo, as well, but not nearly as many as seeing the Sabres ink David Backes to a 5-6 year deal that keeps him the 716 until he’s at the very end of his career. Hopefully, GMTM isn’t looking to just sign a big name so he can brag about signing a big name, because Backes is not what the Sabres need right now.