Backes note in Friedman’s 31 Thoughts column this week:
View: https://twitter.com/friedgehnic/status/1220044439139364866?s=21
Backes and the Bruins haven’t commented, but Friedman reports that Backes will not be retiring and there are “a few different” ways this can go, but unfortunately he doesn’t elaborate on the options.
Fluto has an article up on the Athletic about next steps and one of the options he lists is Backes failing to report to Providence and the Bruins then voiding the contract since he is in breach of contract. They would the be off the hook for the $3 million due in salary next year plus the cap hit. The Bruins would still have to pay his $1 million 7/1 signing bonus but otherwise free. Backes benefits by becoming a free agent immediately. I’m sure the Bruins have given Backes the green light to talk to other teams so I would think his agent has done due diligence on what his market would look like and what kind of $ he could recoup if they went this route.
This seems like a best case scenario, though it kinda seems to good to be true. Kovalchuk just did this with with LA, but his cap hit sticks because it was a 35+ contract. The union is probably the biggest hurdle. The only large contract termination I can think of under this CBA is Patrik Berglund.