“Timeline will be uncertain” – Nicklas Backstrom wishes to play for Washington Capitals next season after hip surgery

“Timeline will be uncertain” – Nicklas Backstrom wishes to play for Washington Capitals next season after hip surgery

Nicklas Backstrom

Swedish ice hockey centre and alternate captain Nicklas Backstrom has expressed his wish to return for the Washington Capitals at some point next National Hockey League (NHL) season after recovering from resurfacing surgery on his left hip. However, the uncertainty still remains about when the Valbo native will be next ready to play. 

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said that Backstrom faces a lengthy recovery following surgery at the ANCA Clinic in Belgium on June 17. However, they remain hopeful that the 34-year-old will be able to return after dealing with pain in his hip for the past two seasons.

“I think everybody is happy, the trainers and doctors, with the surgery, the results of the surgery,” MacLellan said on Wednesday, as quoted by NHL.com. “I think it’s Nick’s intention to come back and play at some point this year and the timeline of that will be uncertain, to be determined as his recovery comes. We’ll monitor that as we go forward and make a decision down the line during the season.”

“Nick will come back at some point”

Nicklas Backstrom
Nicklas Backstrom undergoes hip resurfacing surgery

For those who don’t know, Backstrom is second in Capitals history behind the current skipper and winger Alex Ovechkin with 1,011 points (264 goals, 747 assists) in 1,058 games over 15 NHL seasons.

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“It’s not like we [will] go out and sign a $9 million player,” MacLellan said. “We’re anticipating Nick will come back at some point. Until that goes away, we’re planning on him coming back.”

“We’ll explore trade opportunities there, we’ll look at the free agent market and then we’ll analyze the RFA contracts that are coming for both of them,” MacLellan said. “Make a decision based on all that stuff.”

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