Come on man, there's no way you can honestly believe this.

Eriksson battles along the walls, corners, and front of the net. He's a tremendous shot suppressor and one of the toughest wingers to play against, but because he's soft spoken and Swedish, he's not a warrior. And keep in mind Eriksson was one of Boston's better players in his lone postseason run with the Bruins back in 2014, so that's not an accurate assumption.
- tyanderson

PREACH!!!

Come on man, there's no way you can honestly believe this.

Eriksson battles along the walls, corners, and front of the net. He's a tremendous shot suppressor and one of the toughest wingers to play against, but because he's soft spoken and Swedish, he's not a warrior. And keep in mind Eriksson was one of Boston's better players in his lone postseason run with the Bruins back in 2014, so that's not an accurate assumption.
- tyanderson

One of the toughest wingers to play against? HA. I'm pretty positive there isnt an NHL player that looks at the schedule and says " Oh no, we are playing against Loui Eriksson tonight"

Happy with the Khudobin signing, cheap reliable back up.

I really believe Backes will slot in on wing, unless the Bruins have plans for Spooner as trade bait for Shattenkirk.
Once again, Backes brings versatility that Loui didn't.
I agree with TY that Backes contract is 2 yrs too long, I just hope the Bruins get lucky and he's got some more miles on him. I just hope Don and Cam know something we don't!
As far as Loui, despite last years great season, I never felt he was the right fit for either Bergy or Krejci. I think Backes style of play fits in better with both.

Now if we can get Vesey and or Demers or even a reasonable Shattenkirk, I can start getting excited about next year.

Whats your opinion on Zach Trotman?

Whats your opinion on Zach Trotman?
- Deadmau55

I always liked him. kings snag him?

I always liked him. kings snag him?
- Charlie.Conway

Yes, I was looking up info on him and he played a lot of minutes with Chara?

Demers is still available, gotta believe the Bruins are in on him.

Yes, I was looking up info on him and he played a lot of minutes with Chara?
- Deadmau55

Hell do well in suters system. Might be a good fit with muzz on the 2nd pair.

Yes, I was looking up info on him and he played a lot of minutes with Chara?
- Deadmau55

It seems he did partner with Chara quite a bit. I always like his game. Now that i'm questioned about it, i'm hard pressed to find particulars about his game i really liked or disliked, but i never felt he was a huge liability back there. If it wasn't for Collin Miller i think he would have made the big club this year ahead of some of the other bubble defenseman

Demers is still available, gotta believe the Bruins are in on him.
- bruinsnerd

one would hope

One of the toughest wingers to play against? HA. I'm pretty positive there isnt an NHL player that looks at the schedule and says " Oh no, we are playing against Loui Eriksson tonight"
- Mahewman

Eriksson doesn't need to dive down and block shots and steal highlights because he's always in the right position defensively. He's tough to play against defensively. It's why the Bruins put him next to Carl Soderberg, an absolute trainwreck in his own zone, for two full years. I get that Eriksson plays a style that doesn't steal the show, but to suggest that he's this useless complementary passenger is just wrong. It's akin to saying Backes is garbage because he was the captain of all these Blues teams that choked.

Eriksson doesn't need to dive down and block shots and steal highlights because he's always in the right position defensively. He's tough to play against defensively. It's why the Bruins put him next to Carl Soderberg, an absolute trainwreck in his own zone, for two full years. I get that Eriksson plays a style that doesn't steal the show, but to suggest that he's this useless complementary passenger is just wrong. It's akin to saying Backes is garbage because he was the captain of all these Blues teams that choked.
- tyanderson

Not to mention Eriksson was a huge factor on the Bruin's pk unit.

Eriksson doesn't need to dive down and block shots and steal highlights because he's always in the right position defensively. He's tough to play against defensively. It's why the Bruins put him next to Carl Soderberg, an absolute trainwreck in his own zone, for two full years. I get that Eriksson plays a style that doesn't steal the show, but to suggest that he's this useless complementary passenger is just wrong. It's akin to saying Backes is garbage because he was the captain of all these Blues teams that choked.
- tyanderson

I think you're taking the passenger thing the wrong way... not so much a passenger on the ice, but a passenger in the locker room. He never struck me as a guy that would stick his neck out for teammates, or speak up in any type of situation at all. Backes seems like a complete 180 from that type of mentality... a C for the Blues for what, the past 5 years or so? I think it's a huge locker room upgrade, and I think this was a big concern for everyone here on these boards. Not sure how you guys are looking past that.

And all of these arguments about how great of a defensive player Loui was, and how he plays PK and this and that... uhhh don't you think you are getting much of the same with Backes? He's been a Selke candidate for years now... Loui may be really good defensively, but how often has he been in Selke talks? Backes kills penalties as well, so can't really complain there.

The biggest thing they give up is the 18 points that Loui had over Backes last season... That being said, I don't think the Bruins had problems scoring, but they certainly had problems with leadership. So I'll easily swap out Loui's 18 pts for Backes leadership qualities.

Either way Eriksson was a part of a Bruins team that choked big time the past two seasons. Glad to see them shake things up a bit, and I think Backes replacing Loui is a good upgrade. Not sure why everyone here is advocating for more of the same...

I think you're taking the passenger thing the wrong way... not so much a passenger on the ice, but a passenger in the locker room. He never struck me as a guy that would stick his neck out for teammates, or speak up in any type of situation at all. Backes seems like a complete 180 from that type of mentality... a C for the Blues for what, the past 5 years or so? I think it's a huge locker room upgrade, and I think this was a big concern for everyone here on these boards. Not sure how you guys are looking past that.

And all of these arguments about how great of a defensive player Loui was, and how he plays PK and this and that... uhhh don't you think you are getting much of the same with Backes? He's been a Selke candidate for years now... Loui may be really good defensively, but how often has he been in Selke talks? Backes kills penalties as well, so can't really complain there.

The biggest thing they give up is the 18 points that Loui had over Backes last season... That being said, I don't think the Bruins had problems scoring, but they certainly had problems with leadership. So I'll easily swap out Loui's 18 pts for Backes leadership qualities.

Either way Eriksson was a part of a Bruins team that choked big time the past two seasons. Glad to see them shake things up a bit, and I think Backes replacing Loui is a good upgrade. Not sure why everyone here is advocating for more of the same...
- mixturebill

Yup, and Backes and the Blues know nothing about choking...

Yup, and Backes and the Blues know nothing about choking...
- mikeq672

How many years have the Blue made the playoffs recently compared to the Bruins?

Bruins with Eriksson couldn't even make it to the playoffs... I'll take the guy that took his team there for the past 5 seasons straight.

It's fair if you would have preferred Loui, but let's not be acting like the B's made some huge mistake here. They wanted to get heavier so they replaced Eriksson with a similarly talented, but heavier player for the same money. It's a wash between the two IMO, all about what style you wanna play.

How many years have the Blue made the playoffs recently compared to the Bruins?

Bruins with Eriksson couldn't even make it to the playoffs... I'll take the guy that took his team there for the past 5 seasons straight.
- mixturebill

Right, Backes got the Blues to the playoffs on his own, who cares how loaded that team was or how they choked in the first round year after year. And Loui's career year is why we didnt get to the playoffs, its not because of the defense or anything, all on Eriksson.

You can like the move, but this half assed logic people keep using to support their argument is ridiculous