The Blues shipped him to the Rangers for a fourth-round pick. That is not much of a return, but the once-promising defenseman didn’t play well for Andy Murray.

Period.

Also, he made $2.2 million per year. Since the Blues just signed Barret Jackman to a $14.4 million deal, John Davidson was looking to realign the team’s finances. With offensive defenseman Steve Wagner, steady Jeff Woywitka and hard-hitting Roman Polak ready to push for jobs next season, Backman’s exit made sense.