"We'd like to have David back and hopefully as we push in we can get it done, but it has to work for both sides not just one."
Backes posted 21 goals and 45 points last season, but those were his lowest totals through an 82-game season in the last six years. He notched seven goals and 14 points in 20 playoff contests.
Armstrong said Saturday he wants to reward the veteran for his work over the years, but also knows the 32-year-old forward's production could continue to decline.
"We're willing to invest a little bit of 'thank you' money, but it has to make sense," the GM said. "He's earned the right ... but only to a level."
Armstrong added, "It's got to work for David and it's got to work for us. We haven't been able to find that common ground right now."
The Blues have about $13 million in projected cap space, according to General Fanager, and Armstrong will also need to negotiate new deals for pending restricted free agents Jaden Schwartz and Magnus Paajarvi.
Datsyuk announced earlier in the day he is leaving the Red Wings and will return to Russia to play in the KHL. He has one year remaining on his NHL contract at a cap hit of $7.5 million, and it will stay on Detroit's cap because it was signed after he turned 35.
Holland told reporters a small group of teams expressed "some interest" in taking on the remaining year, but the Red Wings know they'd have to package a prospect and don't want to give up too many assets just to clear cap space for one season.
The GM said top prospect Anthony Mantha, nor any of the organization's other "top kids," will be traded to clear room.
Holland believes the veteran didn't fully grasp the rules pertaining to contracts signed by players who are 35 and older at the time, but the GM called the 37-year-old an "honorable person," according to MLive.com's Ansar Khan.
The Anaheim Ducks re-signed defenseman Sami Vatanen to a four-year, $19.5 million contract extension. SPECTOR’S NOTE: Vatanen, 25, will earn $5 million per season in 2016-17 and 2017-18, followed by $4.5 million annually for 2018-19 and 2019-20. His average salary-cap hit is $4.875 million. It was over $1.262 million in 2015-16.. It’s a reasonable raise for […]
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Defenceman Sami Vatanen has re-signed with the Anaheim Ducks, agreeing to a four-year, $19.5 million deal.
The Ducks retained the restricted free agent Saturday.
Vatanen had nine goals and a career-high 29 assists last se...
Vatanen posted career bests in assists (29), points (38), and shots on goal last season, while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time. The blue-liner would've become a restricted free agent July 1, with many teams expected to be interested in his services.
Named to Finland's World Cup roster last month, Vatanen won a bronze medal with his national team at the 2014 Olympics.
The NHL draft will begin Friday night, with plenty of options on the table for all 30 teams.
With countless mock drafts floating around the internet, there are certain scenarios that, appealing as they may be, just don't quite make sense.
Here, then, are three unlikely landing spots for big-name players prior to the NHL draft, based primarily on the needs of the teams in question.
Patrick Laine, Toronto Maple Leafs
Patrick Laine believes he should be taken first overall at the 2016 NHL Draft, and that he can become the next Alex Ovechkin within five years. While he could very well become the most prolific goal-scorer to emerge from this year’s selection process, Laine is not a fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Brendan Shanahan and Co. worked long and hard to “win” the draft lottery, and before them stands the opportunity to select center Auston Matthews, the expected cornerstone for whatever future success is to come in the so-called center of the hockey universe.
Laine will probably be the next Finnish sensation to hit the NHL, but like a legendary countryman before him (Teemu Selanne), he should get his start in Winnipeg, not Toronto.
Matthew Tkachuk, Edmonton Oilers
Matthew Thachuk enters the draft as the second-ranked North American skater, fresh off scoring the overtime winner for the OHL’s London Knights in the 2016 Memorial Cup final.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound left winger is the son of Keith Tkachuk, who scored 538 goals in 1,201 career NHL games, and the belief is the younger Tkachuk has the potential to be even better than his old man.
His stock entering the draft is sky high, as recently reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet:
Matthew Tkachuk is “gaining momentum,” as one executive put it, days after the London Knight bulled his way through the Memorial Cup. You know the NHL’s preoccupation with skilled power forwards, and he certainly qualifies.
Conventional wisdom is Auston Matthews goes first to Toronto, with Patrik Laine following to Winnipeg. I think we all expected Jesse Puljujarvi to go third, but it sure sounds like Tkachuk is pushing his way into the picture.
Tkachuk, however, is not what the Edmonton Oilers need at this point in their perpetual rebuild. For one, they have a franchise left winger in Taylor Hall, as well as glaring and immediate needs on the blue line. On top of that, the rest of their top six is littered with talented young forwards
As such, Edmonton would be better off trading the pick or using it on a defenseman like Mikhail Sergachev, Olli Juolevi, or Jakob Chychrun.
Jesse Puljujarvi, Columbus Blue Jackets
As Friedman mentions above, Finnish forward Jesse Puljujarvi is expected to go as high as third in this year's draft, a spot that currently belongs to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Puljujarvi's upside is high, and some believe he could turn out to be a better all-around player than Laine.
The problem for Columbus is they're loaded with prospects at the wing, many of whom were significant contributors to the Blue Jackets' AHL squad's recent championship run. What the Jackets lack following last season's Ryan Johansen-for-Seth Jones trade is a true No. 1 center, a piece that could be landed by way of a trade involving the third overall pick.
Columbus is believed to be receiving "aggressive offers" for the selection, and if the price is right, they might be well served by taking a serious look.
John Tortorella was not hired to coach a rebuilding team, and the Blue Jackets need a star down the middle. Trading this pick, and thereby passing on Puljujarvi, could do the trick.
Pavel Datsyuk's agent says the veteran forward passed on cashing in a signing bonus that would have made him $2 million richer.
Dan Milstein told reporters Saturday that Datsyuk made $15 million over the first two years of his most recent contract, and didn't take the bonus he was due in February, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.
Datsyuk signed a three-year extension with the Red Wings in June 2013, at an annual cap hit of $7.5 million.
He has one year remaining on that deal, and because he inked the extension after turning 35, the final year will count against the cap for whichever team takes on the contract.
What's in a name? When it comes to a pro sports team, quite a bit.
With an NHL expansion franchise expected to begin play in Las Vegas during the 2017-18 season, speculation is already beginning to swirl about what the team will be called.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning captain has been surrounded by speculation for a calendar year, and with the clock counting down, the biggest fish in the unrestricted-free-agent pond will soon determine his fate.
Ultimately, Stamkos holds the keys, as all 30 NHL teams would be happy to add a player of his caliber, but only a handful can make it work.
Here are the contenders:
The front-runner
1. Tampa Bay
Unless he's after a max contract, staying put with the Lightning makes the most sense for Stamkos.
Tampa Bay is a notoriously tight-knit group, and has reached the last two Eastern Conference Finals. Remaining with the Lightning likely gives the 26-year-old the greatest chance to win.
The problem for Steve Yzerman and Co. is the salary cap. The Lightning are pressed against the ceiling, and have to work out deals with Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, and Ben Bishop, among others, over the next two seasons.
The contenders
2. Detroit Red Wings
Hockeytown could have a new star come July 1.
With the all but imminent departure of Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings have options to lure Stamkos in.
Ken Holland could package Datsyuk's contract ($7.5 million) with a young player to create both cap and roster space. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Tomas Jurco or Teemu Pulkkinen could be in play, and goaltender Jimmy Howard has said he's open to being dealt.
Perhaps more importantly than any potential deal Holland can muster up, Detroit's most notable free agents are Petr Mrazek and Danny Dekeyser, neither of which should set the Red Wings back too much.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Linked from the get-go, a Stamkos hometown reunion would set the hockey world ablaze.
Whether liking that tweet in December was inadvertent or not, the Maple Leafs are expected to make a push at Stamkos.
Toronto is littered with young talent, with more on the way on draft day in Auston Matthews (presumably), and the front office has a firm plan in place for a successful rebuild.
Stamkos could essentially be handed the reins as the team's leader, and Toronto has the cap space to make it happen.
The dark horses
4. New York Rangers
Buying a star player would be nothing new for the Rangers.
New York's window to win opens as wide as Henrik Lundqvist can hold it, but, somewhat surprisingly, the Rangers could make this work, and are expected to pursue it, according to McKenzie.
Eric Staal's contract will be off the books, Keith Yandle is expected to sign elsewhere, and Rick Nash is hot on the trade market, creating ample space for the Blueshirts to lure Stamkos to Broadway.
After missing out on the Connor McDavid and Mike Babcock sweepstakes, this could be the splash general manager Tim Murray has long hoped to make.
Much like Toronto, Buffalo has plenty of youth, along with even more cap space, and the addition of Stamkos would accelerate the team's quest to become a contender.
Murray needs to sign youngsters Zemgus Girgensons and Rasmus Ristolainen, but would still have the space to add Stamkos to create an incredibly talented four lines.
