{"id":151634,"date":"2025-09-18T01:35:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T01:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/151634\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T01:35:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T01:35:09","slug":"backlund-to-lead-flames-into-new-arena-after-signing-two-year-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/151634\/","title":{"rendered":"Backlund to lead Flames into new arena after signing two-year extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was never in doubt for the Calgary Flames<\/a>\u2019 captain.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Mikael Backlund<\/a> put pen to paper on a two-year extension ($3.25 million average annual value) that\u2019ll keep him at the Saddledome\u2013and the Flames\u2019 new home\u2013through the 2027-28 campaign. <\/p>\n

Backlund, the emotional leader on the team for years and captain since the 2023-24 season, spoke of his reasoning to essentially remain a Flame for his entire career. While he admitted that there had been ups and downs since being drafted in the first round in 2007, Backlund\u2019s been buoyed recently by the vision general manager Craig Conroy<\/a> has.<\/p>\n

Calgary stunned many by remaining in playoff contention until Game 81 last season, and both feel they can build off that momentum where they alluded to outside expectations still being modest. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a good talk at the end of last year and let it sit for the summer,\u201d Backlund said, of when discussions on a new agreement first began. He then reached out to the GM right after he returned to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called Connie and said, \u2018We want to say.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The feeling was mutual.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo pressure either way,\u201d Conroy said of the approach. \u201c\u2018We\u2019d like to have you back and you\u2019ve earned the right to make your own decision.\u201d <\/p>\n

In his ex-teammate Backlund, Conroy has the quintessential captain for a Flames squad that has both a core of under-26-year-olds (Dustin Wolf<\/a>, Kevin Bahl<\/a>, Connor Zary<\/a>, Matthew Coronato) and veterans over 30 (Backlund, Nazem Kadri<\/a>, Jonathan Huberdeau<\/a>, MacKenzie Weegar<\/a>, Blake Coleman<\/a>) signed long-term. Backlund remains valuable on the ice as a defensive, penalty-killing forward. He\u2019s vocal publicly and privately when needed. Backlund is an ambassador for the city and does countless hours of community work with his wife, Frida. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith Backs, we know each other,\u201d Conroy said of their 15-year relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe puts everybody ahead of himself, but he wants to do what\u2019s best for the team\u2026he can go to players, challenge players\u2026it\u2019s just that nice to have that security blanket for me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conroy has always felt it paramount that the Flames\u2019 new core be surrounded with quality vets. Coronato and Wolf mentioned the culture and environment after they recently signed their long-term extensions, which was cultivated in large part by No. 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cBacks is exactly what we want in our captain and our leader,\u201d Conroy said, \u201cand it sets an example of where we want to go as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since making his NHL debut in the 2008-09 campaign, Backlund has toiled in the charming, but antiquated Saddledome. He mentioned the allure of the new rink on several occasions Wednesday afternoon, despite the new building\u2019s construction currently making the commute longer for players, fans, and even media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drove out there today and it\u2019s kind of a pain,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super exciting for the whole city and organization\u2026to be a small part of that is really exciting. Spending a lot of years here in the Saddledome, it\u2019s going to be really cool to step into a brand new arena. At the time, probably the best arena in the NHL, have every recovery [tool], the best locker room, all that. It\u2019s going to be really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backlund\u2019s extension is far from a modest hand-out to a franchise legend. <\/p>\n

Last season, he led all Flames\u2019 forwards in shorthanded time-on-ice. Backlund was also among head coach Ryan Huska<\/a>\u2019s most-valuable shutdown forwards. Eight of the last nine seasons, he\u2019s earned votes for the Selke Trophy given to the NHL\u2019s best defensive forward. <\/p>\n

For years, players like Coronato, Zary, and even Matthew Tkachuk<\/a> have started their careers as his winger and been better off for it. Conroy alluded to the captain again finishing near the top of this season\u2019s fitness testing, another indicator that the Swede isn\u2019t slowing down.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can probably keep going after this contract, but we\u2019ll get these three years down and then go from there,\u201d Conroy said with a laugh. <\/p>\n

Should Backlund remain relatively healthy through the 2027-28 season, he\u2019ll add another milestone to his storied Calgary Flames<\/a> career. He\u2019s just 154 games from catching Hall of Fame forward Jarome Iginla<\/a> for the most-ever in Calgary colours.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018We can sit him right, so he can only get to 152?\u2019\u201d Conroy said of Iginla\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw Jarome\u2019s how longevity and what he meant to the city and everything, both on and off the ice and you\u2019re thinking, \u2018No one\u2019s really going to catch Jarome.\u2019 I think now that we\u2019re sitting here with this contract, it\u2019s in sight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was never in doubt for the Calgary Flames\u2019 captain. On Wednesday, Mikael Backlund put pen to paper…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[712,49,80260,48,80261,448,82],"class_list":["post-151634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-calgary-flames-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-20","tag-canada","tag-mikael-backlund-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8474150","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}