The captain is moving on, and he's not the only one.
David Backes, who's worn the 'C' for the past five years, elected to leave the Blues Friday by signing a five-year, $30 million contract ($6 million annual average value) with Boston.
The Blues believed they were in the running with Backes until the end, but in the end, the team chose not to match the length of the deal he received from the Bruins.
"We talked last night and again this morning," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "At the end of the day, the term was a concern for myself. David is a great player, and he's been a great Blue, and we wish him nothing but the best. But when you project out long-term, it was problematic for me personally to project out that far with players.
"There's analytical data that shows where players play at their peak, and we wanted to try to stay within a window. We were ready to stretch that window, but only to a certain level. That's more of a personal thing than anything. Ultimately, David took a really good offer from Boston, and we wish him nothing but the best. He'll be sorely missed."
In addition to losing Backes, the Blues will also move on without Troy Brouwer, who signed in Calgary. He inked a four-year, $18 million deal ($4.5 million).
"I met with Troy's representatives, and David's representatives, in Buffalo, and we made what we felt was a strong offer, and it didn't get the deal done," Armstrong said. "We didn't really offer from that position. I think Troy, through his representative, was in a little bit different position than David. Troy really liked his time here, and I think he really wanted to remain here. But he didn't have the ties to the community. So the offers were going to have to equal out for him to stay, and we were a little bit shy of that offer and he decided to move on. I certainly respect and understand that. He enjoyed his time here, but his roots weren't nearly as deep as David's."
The Blues made two free-agent signings Friday, bringing back one familiar face.
Former Blue David Perron is coming back, agreeing to a two-year, $7.5 million contract ($3.75 annual average value).
Perron, now 28, was a first-round pick of the Blues in 2007 and spent the first six years of his career with the club. He had 84 goals and 198 points in 340 regular-season games before being dealt to Edmonton in 2013 for Magnus Paajarvi and a second-round pick, which the Blues used on Ivan Barbashev.
Part of the reason for the trade was freeing up some salary to re-sign defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, but there were also concerns about Perron fitting in with the Blues' system or meshing with teammates in the locker room.
But he's now played with three teams since his departure, including Pittsburgh and Anaheim, and Armstrong believes the Blues will see a different player.
"I think like all players, David's matured," Armstrong said. "He was part of that young group that was thrust onto the scene maybe a little bit before they were ready. They were asked to do a lot of heavy lifting at an early age. I think now he's coming back as a much more mature player, on and off the ice, and I think we'll be the benefactors of that."
The Blues had some interest in trading for Perron last season at the deadline in February before he went from Pittsburgh to Anaheim. He had eight goals and 20 points in 28 games with the Ducks after the deal.
"He's 28 years old and you saw how well he played after the trade to Anaheim," Armstrong said. "We view him as certainly a player that can play in the top-nine. He's versatile, he can play left wing or right wing. When I talked to him, he was very excited about the opportunity to come back to St. Louis. He still certainly has a warm spot for the fans and the city. It was nice to see the excitement in David's voice about returning to the city and the team that drafted him."
Perron chose the Blues over a return to Anaheim and over his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens.
"My heart has always been in St. Louis," he said. "I took it really hard when I got traded, had some pain. When Army called, I was surprised ... I didn't know there would be another opportunity for me to play in St. Louis. I was excited about that."
The signing of Perron gives the Blues 10 forwards who can play in the top-nine, including Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Jori Lehtera, Jaden Schwartz, Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri, Dmitrij Jaskin and Vladimir Sobotka (whose return has yet to be confirmed).
The Blues currently have $10.7 million available in salary-cap space, but that will be chewed up by Schwartz, a restricted free agent, and Sobotka. After that, they could have a little to spend, but Armstrong said that the Blues might not be adding to that group of forwards before camp _ in part because there wasn't a lot remaining on the market after the dust settled.
"I would say we're finished for now," Armstrong said. "We have Paajarvi as a restricted free agent and Ty Rattie. When I look at our board right now, I have Sobotka on that list of players returning, and so I view ourselves as a pretty complete group of 11-12 players, and our defense is obviously very solid. We haven't made any change back there, so I would say right now we'll keep our ears open, but I don't see anything happening for a while."
The Blues also took care of some goaltending contracts Friday.
Jake Allen, who will be the starter following the trade of Brian Elliott, had one year left on his current deal at $2.35 million. He agreed to a four-year, $17.4 million extension ($4.35 million AAV) Friday, so he'll be under contract for the next five seasons.
"It's a great feeling for me, I'm extremely happy," Allen said. "To be able to be drafted as a Blue and not be able to wear the Blue Note for a long time is a pretty great feeling."
The Blues, meanwhile, now know who Allen's backup will be. They signed netminder Carter Hutton, formerly of the Nashville Predators, to a two-year, $2.25 million deal ($1.125 AAV).
"We put a list of goaltenders out there and he was at the top of our list," Armstrong said. "A lot like Brian Elliott, a great teammate, someone that is looking to push Jake but also understands that he's a mentor and a solid partner. There's a lot of positives with bringing him in. It just seems like the proper guy that has the experience that Jake can lean on."
