from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

The 6-foot-3-inch, 221-pound Backes is 33 years old, not always a kind age to power forwards. Legs that once propelled Backes through puck carriers did not fire with their previous velocity. By the time he closed on opponents, the puck was long gone.

The feedback started midseason from the bosses: president Cam Neely, GM Don Sweeney, and then-coach Claude Julien. It was not the kind that makes players comfortable.

“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,’ ” Backes said. “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.”

Backes has been training to emphasize agility, quickness, and explosiveness over bulk and power. He wants to accelerate to cruising speed quicker to help him keep pace with linemates and be more a bother to other teams.

Backes has something to prove: that he is not an overpayment. A $6 million annual price tag is a premium to pay for 38 points. The Bruins, however, aren’t the only club feeling buyer’s remorse on 2016 purchases.

Consider the deals signed by Kyle Okposo (seven years, $42 million), Milan Lucic (seven years, $42 million), Andrew Ladd (seven years, $38.5 million), Loui Eriksson (six years, $36 million), and Frans Nielsen (six years, $31.25 million). So far, they look inflationary.

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