"I felt like the game was kind of done with me and truthfully, I felt like I was mostly done with the game as well," Backes said. "So I think it felt right with the ending we were able to have. ... the script seems too good to be true of how it ended, and now the Blues being interested in a one-day contract so I could come back there and end this where it all began."
The 37-year-old forward was selected by St. Louis in the second round (No. 62) of the 2003 NHL Draft and played 10 seasons there. He was captain from 2011-16 and is seventh all-time in Blues history in goals (206), points (460) and games (727).
"How I hope to be remembered was a guy that gave it all and did everything in my power and didn't waste an opportunity, left it all on the ice and was a great teammate to the guys I was wearing the same sweater as," Backes said. "The statistical component of it, the on-ice success as a team, that is what it is, but if I'm remembered as a guy that was dependable, that was responsible, that cared for people and then went out there and did it myself, to me, that's all that matters as I leave this game."
Backes scored four points (three goals, one assist) in 15 games with the Anaheim Ducks last season. He was named First Star in a 3-2 shootout win at the Blues on May 5, his final game in the NHL.
"Following my last game, it was clear to me that I needed to retire as a member of the St. Louis Blues," Backes said. "That night reiterated that St. Louis was my home. It is where my wife and I grew into adulthood and it was the organization we needed to retire with. The feeling was mutual with the Blues and I am so humbled that this journey has come full circle for me to end this amazing ride with the same organization that called my name at the draft 18 years ago."
Backes scored 561 points (248 goals, 313 assists) in 965 regular-season games with the Blues, Boston Bruins and Ducks, and 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) in 82 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"My final goal was to play 1,000 games, but I came up 35 short," Backes said. "In the end, it's not that all these numbers don't matter -- they do, and I am damn proud of them. But the metrics that mean the most to me are the countless experiences and everlasting relationships that the game provided me."
NHL.com independent correspondent Louie Korac contributed to this report
