OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 12: David Backes #42 of the Boston Bruins looks on against the Ottawa Senators in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre on April 12, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

At the age of 33, David Backes is facing one of the biggest challenges of his career. The Boston Bruins signed the power forward prior to the 2016-17 season to a large five-year, $30 million contract. Unfortunately, Backes didn’t quite live up to his annual $6 million cap hit, scoring 17 goals and tallying just 38 total points in 74 games in his first year with the Bruins.

Has the speed of play in the NHL passed him up? Can he still contribute despite his advancing years? Those questions will be answered in 2017-18, but Backes is currently doing his all to avoid being left behind.

The Boston Globe reports that Backes is being honest about his weaknesses and is working to improve his agility and speed instead of relying purely on his strength.

Backes:

“Just honest evaluation of, ‘Hey, this is where my game’s lagging perhaps, the way the game’s trending, and how we need to keep up. We need to be honest in order to improve ourselves. That was a recognition, probably in January in conversations with Cam, Don Sweeney, and a little bit with Claude. This was the way I needed to improve myself. I’ve really taken that to heart and put the time in this summer.”

It might be a bit premature to label Backes a bust for the Bruins, but there’s a lot to be worried about considering he totaled just 39 points while spending time skating on the team’s top line. That’s an extremely disappointing total when you consider Backes was skating next to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

Backes is on the wrong side of 30 and there’s no question the Bruins paid him a premium. However, he may deserve the benefit of the doubt for 2016-17 due to all of the off-ice distractions he faced (trying to find a home in a new city, moving his family) during the season. That understandably took a mental toll and it may help explain his overall sluggish, average play.

Backes can be forgiven for his 2016-17. With that out of the way and the previous season fading into a distant memory, the benefit of the doubt has expired and the Bruins will have to face the harsh reality they overpaid if he can’t pick up his game this season.

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.