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Player Discussion Nicklas Backstrom

I ran into him one day at lunch last season and he didn’t really want to talk about it. Just said he felt good. He played pickleball with our CEO a couple of weeks ago. So he isn’t just sitting around.

If OV doesn’t break the record this year, I wonder if caps would sign him to a 1 year minimum just to give him a chance to get on ice for the record
 
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usiel said:
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.
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Yeah, in the preseason I had some hope, after the regular season started and play ramped up a little bit, it was pretty evident that he lost too much of a step.
 
Ridley Simon said:
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.
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I’m almost certain that’s exactly the delicate conversation that was had albeit not so bluntly…hard feelings, now that I doubt, otherwise I don’t know that we would see him doing team events and stuff. I bet he understood the math of it all, how much him playing hurt the team at that $.
 
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I can’t believe we are having this conversation. As if a “anywhere close” to a halfway decent center Nicky would be run out to save a couple mil. This team would have never risked its relationship with the second most important player in franchise history, just to create some cap room.
 
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Good lord are we gaslighting ourselves and rewriting history here?
Nicky was given every oppty to come back

2022-23 when him and Willy both had their returns at the same time, did the Brass tell Nicky to wait a few more weeks? No, they both came back and we looked like shit to finish off RS b/c neither were 100% and in game-shape (and this was right after a great 12-1-2 run)

2023-24 did Brass say before RS when they had the oppty to use his full Cap Hit, "sorry Nicky, you need to Retire or you're LTIR'd" ?
Nope, we ate his Cap Hit and gave him every oppty to come back, Nicky looked decent but slow the 1st few games then quickly just looked cooked until it was time to step away
 
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zappa4ever said:
they both came back and we looked like shit to finish off RS b/c neither were 100% and in game-shape (and this was right after a great 12-1-2 run)
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Wasn't this right after we lost Carlson? Neither of them were in good form, but the team was in shambles and they were unfortunate scapegoats.
 
zappa4ever said:
Good lord are we gaslighting ourselves and rewriting history here?
Nicky was given every oppty to come back

2022-23 when him and Willy both had their returns at the same time, did the Brass tell Nicky to wait a few more weeks? No, they both came back and we looked like shit to finish off RS b/c neither were 100% and in game-shape (and this was right after a great 12-1-2 run)

2023-24 did Brass say before RS when they had the oppty to use his full Cap Hit, "sorry Nicky, you need to Retire or you're LTIR'd" ?
Nope, we ate his Cap Hit and gave him every oppty to come back, Nicky looked decent but slow the 1st few games then quickly just looked cooked until it was time to step away
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Gaslighting indeed.
 
Backstrom had regressed into a .5 PPG player despite getting favorable shifts. It would have been obvious to all involved.
 
Nicky has a ton of pride. No chance he wanted to limp around on the ice and be a liability. He wanted to be Nick Backstrom. But he couldn't anymore. So he stepped back. I'm 100% sure Ovie would do the same, but despite last season's rough start, he knew he still had a high-level game to offer. These guys are elite athletes. They absolutely do not want to be suck.
 
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Corby78 said:
I can’t believe we are having this conversation. As if a “anywhere close” to a halfway decent center Nicky would be run out to save a couple mil. This team would have never risked its relationship with the second most important player in franchise history, just to create some cap room.
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Let’s not pretend his number was not significant. “Couple mil”….his number pays for our entire bottom 6 lol…likely combination of both the team and him realizing he could play but nowhere near his standard, and certainly not at a $9.2 mil level. That conversation didn't have to be contentious…and I don’t think it was.
 
The team NOT utilizing his ltir cap relief last season says it all about whether or not they forced him into ltir in the first place. The most likely scenario was that both agreed that he was not good enough to play and when he decided to leave the organization didint really care either way. Not like they had much playoff aspirations at the time anyway.
 
"Bäckis" is moving home to Sweden.

www.aftonbladet.se

NHL-stjärnan flyttar hem till Sverige

Nicklas Bäckström, 37, flyttar snart tillbaka till Gävle. Men han lär inte dra på sig Brynäs tröja. – Något spel för honom tror jag inte att det blir, säger han
www.aftonbladet.se www.aftonbladet.se

Translation by ChatGPT:
After severe hip problems and several surgeries, Nicklas Bäckström hasn’t played an NHL game since the fall of 2023.

After the season, his contract with the Washington Capitals will expire, and the transfer asset will go to Gävle. But those supporters who have dreamed of a comeback in Brynäs can keep dreaming.

“It’s completely clear that he and his family will come home after this season. But there will be no more games. I find that hard to believe,” says father Anders Bäckström

This past fall, Brynäs sports director Johan Alcén mentioned on the podcast Nedsläpp Brynäs that Bäckström had been a dream signing.

“We are in contact weekly, at least. We’ve known each other since we were 13–14 years old, so it’s not just for professional and sporting reasons that we talk. Of course, one sometimes asks if it could work next year,” said Alcén.

The last time Nicklas Bäckström played for Brynäs was in 2007. Since then, he has remained loyal to Washington.
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i'm kinda surprised that Backis is going back to Sweden. i know he's a family-oriented guy, but i was convinced that he, his wife, and kids were happy with their life in DC
 
aonb said:
i'm kinda surprised that Backis is going back to Sweden. i know he's a family-oriented guy, but i was convinced that he, his wife, and kids were happy with their life in DC
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He's always seemed to want to be an agent or something like that post playing career rather than directly involved with the NHL. So it makes sense. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they keep a place somewhere in the US.
 
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