Player Discussion Nicklas Backstrom

[trick9]

Let's make one thing abundantly clear: I don't believe it. I was just asking. I don't follow the Capitals. The bolded part is exactly the kind of confirmation that I don't have any knowledge of and was looking for to dispel these kinds of rumours. So thank you for that.

Fair enough, my bad on that account.

It's just that these rumours have been floating around last season too, and it's getting really old since there is nothing pointing towards that being even remotely true.

 

[Midnight Judges]

In Sweden, there have been loose rumours circulating for a while now that Bäckström is not really injured but got into some kind of argument with the coaching staff last season and is just sitting out the last bit of his deal before he returns to Sweden in 2025. Have any of you Caps fans heard anything with regards to this? Personally, I doubt it, but it has been repeated by several different sports journalists here, so I thought I should ask.

That is misaligned with everything I know.

During Backstrom’s entire career he’s been a consummate pro and a team player. Ask him to block shots, he blocks shots. Ask him to kill penalties, he kills penalties. There has never been the slightest whiff of an ego or a disparagement between Backstrom and the Capitals. His last contract was player friendly after his previous contract was team friendly.

All signs point to an amazing career that was handled well by the franchise.

 

[kicksavedave]

In Sweden, there have been loose rumours circulating for a while now that Bäckström is not really injured but got into some kind of argument with the coaching staff last season and is just sitting out the last bit of his deal before he returns to Sweden in 2025. Have any of you Caps fans heard anything with regards to this? Personally, I doubt it, but it has been repeated by several different sports journalists here, so I thought I should ask.

Those rumors don't pass the sniff test, and are purely click bait. Nicky played last year for Spencer Carbury, after his surgery, which required extensive rehab just to get back on the ice. He wanted to play, he gave it his all, 100% left it all out there, but couldn't compete anymore with a bad hip, that as of now has claimed 100% of its victims who've had the surgery.

Nicky is Caps foundation and team player at its very finest. He'd be our first line center right now if not for the hip injury. As Trick9 points out, he still hangs around with the team.

Being repeated doesn't make it any less garbage of a rumor.

 

[Calicaps]

Those rumors don't pass the sniff test, and are purely click bait. Nicky played last year for Spencer Carbury, after his surgery, which required extensive rehab just to get back on the ice. He wanted to play, he gave it his all, 100% left it all out there, but couldn't compete anymore with a bad hip, that as of now has claimed 100% of its victims who've had the surgery.

Nicky is Caps foundation and team player at its very finest. He'd be our first line center right now if not for the hip injury. As Trick9 points out, he still hangs around with the team.

Being repeated doesn't make it any less garbage of a rumor.

Didn’t Kane have the surgery and actually make it?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Didn’t Kane have the surgery and actually make it?

IMO so did Nicky. He just wasn’t being paid $2.5 mil like Kane was his first year back and now $4 mil + incentives this year…..his play was intolerable at his pay level over $9 mil.

If he was making $2.5 mil, he might be playing still, somewhere….

 

[Silky mitts]

In Sweden, there have been loose rumours circulating for a while now that Bäckström is not really injured but got into some kind of argument with the coaching staff last season and is just sitting out the last bit of his deal before he returns to Sweden in 2025. Have any of you Caps fans heard anything with regards to this? Personally, I doubt it, but it has been repeated by several different sports journalists here, so I thought I should ask.

It was a blessing when he stepped away because of salary cap relief, the idea that he did it out of spite doesn't compute. Even if he were to play in Sweden in 2025 I would assume there was an understanding with the Caps and he had been sitting for insurance reasons.

 

[kicksavedave]

Didn’t Kane have the surgery and actually make it?

I guess technically he did, but Kane was never remotely as disabled as Nicky or the other guys who had the surgery, Kane was still able to play/score at a really solid level up to when he had his surgery. Still, I think Kane is the only one who came back to play at a legit NHL level.

I doubt anyone would have picked up Nicky last year had he been a UFA. He could barely move. He only lasted 8 games after his surgery.

Also, the talent of the surgeon and the nature of the damage appears to have a lot to do with the success/lack of success.

Su (the surgeon) was particularly confident about Kane's prognosis. Other athletes underwent hip resurfacing as a last resort, having done several procedures beforehand. That meant bone cartilage was shaved down, leading to muscle atrophy. "Part of [Kane's] incredible recovery is that he did this right off the bat instead of having other surgeries and letting the condition deteriorate further," Su said. "He also may have more success than others because he's incredibly fit. He's not really heavy. He's just an agile person."

 

[Acallabeth]

I guess technically he did, but Kane was never remotely as disabled as Nicky or the other guys who had the surgery, Kane was still able to play/score at a really solid level up to when he had his surgery. Still, I think Kane is the only one who came back to play at a legit NHL level.

Arguably Jovanovski as well (he was operated on by the same surgeon that performed Kane's HRA, btw). IIRC, Jovocop hadn't even expected to play at all (one of those players who chose the surgery as the last resort), but felt so much better after his rehab he managed to play half a season before being CBO'd.

 

[Brian23]

IMO so did Nicky. He just wasn’t being paid $2.5 mil like Kane was his first year back and now $4 mil + incentives this year…..his play was intolerable at his pay level over $9 mil.

If he was making $2.5 mil, he might be playing still, somewhere….

The flip side is he also wasn't doing it for his original team.

Cap hit aside, Its kinda like Dubois I think, where Nicky's expectations from the team are always going to be paired with Ovi's and he just can't live up to them now. Meanwhile Dubois came in with none, and has been enjoyed here.

I think if Nicky wanted to come back and grind out a bottom 4 role on a team for a milly or two, he could maybe do it but I don't think he'd do well. He also just had a much smaller margin then Kane in terms of athleticism to lose.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

The flip side is he also wasn't doing it for his original team.

Cap hit aside, Its kinda like Dubois I think, where Nicky's expectations from the team are always going to be paired with Ovi's and he just can't live up to them now. Meanwhile Dubois came in with none, and has been enjoyed here.

I think if Nicky wanted to come back and grind out a bottom 4 role on a team for a milly or two, he could maybe do it but I don't think he'd do well. He also just had a much smaller margin then Kane in terms of athleticism to lose.

He definitely could have held on elsewhere a few more years, at a much lower salary and reduced role. That’s all I was saying.

 

[kicksavedave]

He definitely could have held on elsewhere a few more years, at a much lower salary and reduced role. That’s all I was saying.

I doubt he could. He could barely skate, and couldn't win a board battle at all. He had no use on a 4th line, and couldn't keep up on the top 6 role. He was done, the surgery simply couldn't save his hip (too damaged already).

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I doubt he could. He could barely skate, and couldn't win a board battle at all. He had no use on a 4th line, and couldn't keep up on the top 6 role. He was done, the surgery simply couldn't save his hip (too damaged already).

Just not true…..I bet if you asked him in private, he’d be like “f yes I made it back, and I worked my ass off to get there, but it wasn’t good enough at my salary”…

 

[kicksavedave]

Just not true…..I bet if you asked him in private, he’d be like “f yes I made it back, and I worked my ass off to get there, but it wasn’t good enough at my salary”…

He could barely skate at an NHL level, that's absolutely true. He lost every one on one battle he had, pretty much. I love Nicky as much as anyone, but he was thoroughly cooked. We all saw it and the team and Nicky saw it also. It wasn't a matter of salary, he was a liability on the ice.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

He could barely skate at an NHL level, that's absolutely true. He lost every one on one battle he had, pretty much. I love Nicky as much as anyone, but he was thoroughly cooked. We all saw it and the team and Nicky saw it also. It wasn't a matter of salary, he was a liability on the ice.

He was slow but he could skate at a minimum NHL level. It was definitely salary-related.

This is a safe place Dave we don’t have to pretend.

 

[usiel]

I thought Backis was faster in his games played this season that last year when he came back so I suspected there was evidence the repaired hip was showing some wear damage. Thats my armchair MD opinion.

 

[Ridley Simon]

He was slow but he could skate at a minimum NHL level. It was definitely salary-related.

This is a safe place Dave we don’t have to pretend.

Wasn’t he the slowest player on the NHL, by skating metrics, right before he “walked away”?

I love Nick. Huge man crush.

But he couldn’t even be close to who he was. You can’t be the slowest skater in the whole league, and be ready to roll.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Wasn’t he the slowest player on the NHL, by skating metrics, right before he “walked away”?

I love Nick. Huge man crush.

But he couldn’t even be close to who he was. You can’t be the slowest skater in the whole league, and be ready to roll.

That wasn’t the question…

 

[HTFN]

He was slow but he could skate at a minimum NHL level. It was definitely salary-related.

This is a safe place Dave we don’t have to pretend.

dude, he was all the way done.

He put up some points when his IQ could get him there and he has one hell of an IQ but... that was it. The team was night and day once he was gone, and I love that guy to bits.

He was fully cooked.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

dude, he was all the way done.

He put up some points when his IQ could get him there and he has one hell of an IQ but... that was it. The team was night and day once he was gone, and I love that guy to bits.

He was fully cooked.

Whatever…

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Backstrom was done. He wasn’t anywhere near fast enough for a top six role and the problem with putting him at 4C is that he’d be expected to play in a defensive role against the other team’s best forwards and in tough situations and he just wasn’t physically capable of it.

That said, he’s such a smart player that he might have been able to carve out another year as a 4C if he was making < $2M and if you insulated him with fast wingers. I think Nick probably would have been decent with players like Duhaime and Hathaway on his wing. If he didn’t have to carry the puck or do a lot of the board grinding he could have been useful.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Backstrom was done. He wasn’t anywhere near fast enough for a top six role and the problem with putting him at 4C is that he’d be expected to play in a defensive role against the other team’s best forwards and in tough situations and he just wasn’t physically capable of it.

That said, he’s such a smart player that he might have been able to carve out another year as a 4C if he was making < $2M and if you insulated him with fast wingers. I think Nick probably would have been decent with players like Duhaime and Hathaway on his wing. If he didn’t have to carry the puck or do a lot of the board grinding he could have been useful.i

Again….not the original point, I just believe he “made it back”. And I fully believe he could have hung on elsewhere at $2 mil to start just like a Kane did, and maybe like Kane, he continues to improve in health and strength and gets another more lucrative year or two after that.

Dude made it back (and was probably politely pulled aside and asked to LTIR for the sake of the team given how his salary was cratering them).

 

[Ridley Simon]

I don’t honestly think so. And we also do not know how he actually “felt” while playing (pain etc).

I guess we won’t ever know, unless he signs a new deal this summer. Or retires.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I don’t honestly think so. And we also do not know how he actually “felt” while playing (pain etc).

I guess we won’t ever know, unless he signs a new deal this summer. Or retires.

From 9/27/23 article…


Only one other player in NHL history previously came back from hip resurfacing, and Patrick Kane is aiming to be the third. Backstrom, who turns 36 in November, insists the entire process and the injury that nagged him for quite some time is behind him and he’s back to normal.

“I got nothing more to say about it,” Backstrom said. “I mean, I’m 100%. I’ve done everything I can this summer. I worked really hard and really excited to be here for training camp. Love this team, love this city, love the fans. There’s nothing I’m more excited about than going back and playing hockey.”

Then from the November announcement from Carbs “hip isn’t responding the way he would like”.

Nothing about pain, very vague….

Would anyone really be shocked if he tried to play next year somewhere, maybe Sweden after the Insurance has been collected?

 

[Ridley Simon]

Agreed. Nothing said. Very vague. I dunno.

Maybe he wanted to play and the team told him “you aren’t good enough”, and that did lead to some hard feelings etc.

It’s gotta be amazingly hard to have to give up your dreams. Even though he had a great run.

Like I said, he either will sign somewhere, or retire.

 

[Brian23]

I feel like it was pretty heavily implied by the beat reporters that Nick was 100% healthy, but the surgery just didn't let him play to the level he was accustomed too or expected. Lots of talk about how prideful he was as a player.

Part of me would love if they had the balls too tell Nick it was over and him step aside, but there's no way Ted would ever allow that. Ovi, Nick, and Oshie are all players that this team would gladly let die on the ice if that's what they wanted, we'd need near 5+ years of absolute dog water play before it could even be questioned about letting them go.