“Nothing is finalized yet” – Nicklas Backstrom undergoes hip resurfacing surgery with no timeline for return

Washington Capital’s centre and alternate captain, Nicklas Backstrom underwent hip resurfacing surgery on his left hip on Friday. The team announced Saturday afternoon that he would immediately begin a “lengthy” recovery process. The team did not provide a recovery time on Saturday while telling the procedure which is less invasive than a full hip replacement surgery.

Backstrom is said to begin his rehabilitation immediately which will be covering a lengthy process. The hip surgery was performed at the ANCA Clinic in Belgium. The Capitals are hopeful for his full return as defenceman Ed Jovanovski also had hip surgery but could come back and play for the Florida Panthers. Backstrom will be leaving for a while to fully recover himself before skating once more.

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Nicklas Backstrom underwent a “lengthy” medical procedure

Nicklas Backstrom has his left hip surgery in 2015 and was hoping to avoid a second procedure until it began to bother him once again last season. He has already missed the first 28 games of this season rehabbing his hip and on his return scored 31 points with 6 goals and 25 assists in 47 games for Washington Capitals. 

After the Capitals got eliminated in the Eastern Conference First Round by the Florida Panthers, Backstrom said that he may need another surgery again. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he had 6 points with 2 goals and 4 assists in 6 games. He commented, “The hip is not going to be 100 per cent”. “That’s something we all know. Some days are good. Some days are less good. That’s just life. … The best thing I want to do is play hockey, and that’s my life. Obviously, I want to be back. I want to be back to normal, not worrying about this. We’ll see what’s going to happen. Nothing is finalized yet.”

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As of now, Nicklas Backstrom is 2nd in Capitals history behind Alex Ovechkin with 1,011 points in 1,058 games over 15 NHL seasons. He has 3 seasons left on his 5-year contract which he signed in 2020, as noted on nhl.com. General manager Brian MacLellan said, “Not the way it is”. “It’s hard for him to play. … I think he’s going to explore all options here. He wants it to be better. He wants to be more physically comfortable when he plays, so he’s going to explore it.”

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