from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

David Backes had a bridge to sell. The Bruins were in the market.

With five years and $30 million as bait, general manager Don Sweeney reeled in Backes on Friday, officially making him the Blues’ former captain.

Part of Sweeney’s job is to procure reinforcements to complement Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Zdeno Chara, his primary strongmen, until their successors are ready to execute their share of grunt work. Backes is another piece for Sweeney to insert while he waits for Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Zach Senyshyn, and Jake DeBrusk, among others, to spit out their pacifiers and replace them with mouthguards.

The trouble with bridges, though, is they tend to be long, expensive, and subject to wear and tear.

Backes is 32, older than every member of his new core group except for the 39-year-old Chara.

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