Backes' career comes full circle in St. Louis

David Backes hasn't made a concrete decision on whether this season will be his last, although he can't help but think how his career will come full circle on Wednesday night in St. Louis.
Backes, who turned 37 earlier this week, will be in the lineup for the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at Enterprise Center - a building he used to call home - against the St. Louis Blues - a team he represented for 10 seasons and captained from 2011-16.
"I know I'll be emotional," Backes told stlouisblues.com. "I'm already seeing it come down the pike."
While he can't - or won't - say for certain that his retirement from hockey will be official soon, Backes does know that he's much closer to the end of his career than to the beginning. On Monday, he told stlouisblues.com that it was "probable" he won't be back after this season.

"When I say that's enough, I'd like it to be enough," he said. "It's a possibility (I'm going to retire), but I'd say it's probable and not a certainty. That's kind of where I'm at. Every game you play in this League is a gift, every shift you play is a gift. I'm trying to soak it in."
"I think Wednesday's game will remind me of the first game I played when I came back to St. Louis with Boston," Backes added. "The emotions for that game were so heavy that I kind of went numb participating in that arena playing for the other side. I feel a little bit of that coming back now, knowing it could be one of my last games."

Backes' career began in St. Louis, where he was drafted in the second round (No. 62 overall) in the 2003 NHL Draft. He was called up from the AHL's Peoria Rivermen and made his NHL debut on Dec. 19, 2006 in Pittsburgh, where he recorded an assist on his first shift when Doug Weight gave the Blues an early 1-0 lead.
From there, his career took off.
After a decade with the Blues, he ranked seventh in games played (727), goals (206), points (460), 10th in assists (254) and fifth in penalty minutes (969). Only two players in Blues history - Backes and Brian Sutter - have recorded more than 400 career points and more than 900 penalty minutes as a Blue.
Backes also captured a silver medal with Team USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics and led St. Louis to seven postseason appearances during his tenure. The most memorable one was in 2016 when the Blues reached the Western Conference Final for the first time in 15 years, falling just two wins short of a Stanley Cup Final in a Game 6 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
"That felt like that was our year," Backes said. "After all the strife and early exits to some really good teams that had a ton of success, that was our year to break through. The heartbreak in San Jose was something. I thought that team was primed to finally break the barrier."

After that season, Backes signed a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins - a team the Blues would eventually meet in the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. He played in four games against the Blues in that series, but did not dress in the deciding Game 7.
"We were finally in the Stanley Cup Final while I was with Boston, and go figure it was against the team I spent most of my career with," Backes said. "Part of me during that Final said 'I'm going to either win a Cup with Boston or St. Louis is going to get the Cup they've wanted for so long.' I'll admit, I paced in the locker room and didn't see anything after the second period (in Game 7), but it was a little bit of consolation knowing St. Louis got what they waited 50 years for."
Seven months later, Backes was traded to the Ducks, and that's where his career has begun to wind down. He has played in just 20 games with Anaheim since then, posting three goals and four assists.
Last month, when California's COVID-19 restrictions allowed fans back into Honda Center, his wife, Kelly, and kids, Stella and Dawson, went to a game see him play for the first time in more than a year and a half.
"I wanted to cement a memory, whether that's the last time they get to see me play or just another time they get to see me play," Backes said. "It was an opportunity to acknowledge it and maybe prove to them that daddy does play hockey every once in a while."

Kelly and the kids won't be at Enterprise Center on Wednesday partially because it's difficult to travel with young children during a pandemic, but Backes' parents - Karen and Steven - will make the trip to St. Louis for the game.
"They sacrificed a ton for me, and they are still my biggest fans to date," Backes said. "Anytime they can watch a game, they are watching on TV. They'll travel anytime they can to watch, and they're going to be in the building Wednesday just in case its my last one. Without them and their support, this career never happens."
If this is indeed his final season, Backes said he isn't sure what comes next. Possible post-playing career scenarios include working in hockey or staying at home with the kids to let Kelly pursue her own dreams for once.
"The whole gamut has been discussed," he said.
In an NHL career that has spanned 15 years, Backes has appeared in 964 career games, recording 248 goals and 313 assists (561 points). If Wednesday is the big finale, he says he is happy to be playing it in St. Louis.
"To be in a place that I really honed my craft, where Kelly and I grew up and had a kid here and we really loved the city and the people, it would be great," Backes said. "To be back in that building for possibly one more game is kind of a storybook ending and I wouldn't want it any other way."