You certainly get the feeling the Calgary Flames, while their fingers remain crossed, are bracing to be without their captain and best defensive forward for at least a little while.
Mikael Backlund made an early exit in Wednesday’s crucial wild-card clash against the Vancouver Canucks, which ended in a 4-3 shootout victory for the visitors from the West Coast.
The 35-year-old Backlund did not participate in Thursday’s optional practice at WinSport, although the second-line centre was spotted at the rink with no cast or sling or any other obvious hint at the specifics of his upper-body injury.
“He’s still under evaluation,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “We should know more (Friday).”
While Backlund awaits the results of further medical imaging, it seems like a long-shot that he would be available for Friday’s home date against the Colorado Avalanche. Their roster, of course, is headlined by the NHL’s leading scorer. Backlund, if he gets the green light, would undoubtedly be matched up against Nathan MacKinnon.
“Backs is a really good defensive guy, a really big P.K. guy,” said Flames forward Yegor Sharangovich. “He is a really big piece of our team, so we hope it’s not a really hard injury, for a long time. We hope he comes back as soon as possible. Because he’s our captain, and we need him.”
“He’s a guy that we rely on in pretty much every situation of the game,” echoed Blake Coleman, who skates on Backlund’s wing and also wears an ‘A’ as one of his alternate captains. “So it would be a big hole to fill, for sure. Obviously, for me, it’s a guy I’ve played with pretty much every night for the past four years, so hopefully it’s not too bad. But we know that if it wasn’t, he’d be out there. It’s just one of those things where it’s not a hole that you can fill with one guy. But collectively, we have to pick up the weight.”
Here are five potential impacts of any absence for Calgary’s locker-room leader and longest-serving skater …
Potential impact on the playoff chase
Let’s start with the oh-so-obvious … It would be less than ideal, and that’s an understatement, to be without your captain as the wild-card race continues to crank up. The Flames are currently tied for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They remain the NHL’s lowest-scoring squad, which means they need to be airtight in their own zone. They lean on Backlund to be sure of that. If he is sidelined for any sort of stretch, it will be viewed by many as a possible needle-in-the-balloon moment for these Flames. History does, however, offer some reason for optimism. Back in 2015, then-captain Mark Giordano suffered a torn biceps tendon in late February. Most figured that would spell the end of a fairytale season, but the so-called ‘Find-A-Way Flames’ earned an invite to the Stanley Cup tournament and even won a round that spring.
Potential impact on opposing stars
You don’t have to work too hard to figure out how Backlund will be utilized during home games, when the Flames have the benefit of last change. Simply scan the opposing roster for the most dangerous offensive threat, and you can expect that dude will be seeing a whole lot of No. 11. That doesn’t go unnoticed, as Backlund regularly receives at least a smattering of Selke Trophy votes. So who will serve as Calgary’s shutdown centre if he isn’t available? Is it Sharangovich, who has lately been working the wing — and not especially well? Is it Kevin Rooney, who has spent this entire season on the fourth line? It won’t be Connor Zary, at least not immediately, as he was handed a two-game suspension for Wednesday’s elbow on Canucks rearguard Elias Pettersson. Whoever is tasked with shutdown duties, a massive challenge awaits. MacKinnon arrives in Calgary with 102 points already. (Auston Matthews is up next. Gulp.)
Potential impact at the faceoff dot
Backlund leads the league in the defensive-zone faceoffs — and the gap is wide enough that he could miss a week and not be bumped to second spot. Through 64 games, Huska has tapped his captain for a whopping 662 draws in his own zone. To put that stat in perspective, consider that only three other NHLers are over 500. Next among Flames is Nazem Kadri, at 300. You’d rather save Kadri for offensive-zone opportunities — he and Jonathan Huberdeau are almost singlehandedly carrying the attack — but who else can be trusted in those crucial start-of-shift battles in defensive territory? In nine games since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off, Backlund has been the Flames’ only regular pivot with a winning record at the dot, so you can’t describe any of the other options as a ‘hot hand.’
Potential impact on the penalty kill
Backlund averages 2:23 of shorthanded action each night, tops among Flames forwards in that category. Unless he happens to be the guy sitting in the sin-bin, or unless he’s absolutely exhausted at the end of a shift, it’s essentially a sure thing that he’ll hit the ice with PK1. That’s another hole that will need to be filled. The penalty kill has been a positive for the Flames of late — they have killed off 90 per cent since their break — and Backlund has been a big part of that. Among those asked to pick up the slack will be Coleman, Rooney, Huberdeau and Joel Farabee. Faceoffs will be an issue here, too. If the opposing power-play gains possession, you’re immediately on your heels.
Potential impact on the Flames’ franchise record books
Backlund hasn’t missed an outing since April of 2021, a string of 328 consecutive suit-ups. That is the second-longest ironman streak in Flames’ franchise lore, bettered by only a 441-game run by Jarome Iginla. Any sort of absence would also stall his quest to challenge Iginla’s club record for all-time appearances. Iggy totalled 1,219 loggings in the Flaming C logo. Backlund, who turns 36 next week, is currently at 1,054. The difference there is 165 games — or 82 + 82 + 1. Iginla, who now works with the hockey operations staff at the Saddledome, will be among the many hoping Backlund will be much sooner rather than later adding to his career total.
(A stick-tap to Derek Wills, the voice of the Flames on Sportsnet 960 The Fan, for the details on Backlund’s ironman streak.)