Blues' David Backes: Wants to remain in St. Louis

Backes has a chance to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent this summer, but said there's "no question" about his desire to stay with the Blues, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Analysis:

Backes doesn't know what it's like to play for a different NHL club as his 10-year career has been spent with the Blues. The 32-year-old just finished out a five-year, $22.5 million deal, paying big dividends in the postseason. In the conference semifinals, facing the Stars, the two-way winger racked up eight points in seven games and scored on 30 percent of his shot attempts. He wasn't quite as electric offensively versus the Sharks in the subsequent playoff round but still managed 36 hits through seven more contests. Backes has 460 points (206 goals, 254 assists) in 727 career games and remains one of the most dependable fantasy options in the entire league. It would be interesting to see how he'd rank on a new team, but that's a bridge that can be crossed if it starts looking like he would be tough to retain.