{"id":881409,"date":"2026-09-03T02:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T02:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/881409\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T02:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T02:22:09","slug":"20-days-20-questions-can-mikael-backlund-remain-the-flames-two-way-ace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/881409\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Days, 20 Questions: Can Mikael Backlund remain the Flames\u2019 two-way ace?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In hockey, there\u2019s a familiar refrain: If you\u2019ve got goaltending, you\u2019ve got a lot. That phrasing reflects the sheer importance of the goalie position as something that can hold a team that\u2019s out-matched in quite a few games.<\/p>\n

Well, in Calgary, there\u2019s another saying: If they\u2019ve got Mikael Backlund, they\u2019ve got a lot. In 2026-27, Backlund, the Flames\u2019 captain, will play his 16th full season in the National Hockey League and should surpass Jarome Iginla as the franchise\u2019s all-time games-played leader sometime late in the season.<\/p>\n

A product of Vasteras, Sweden, Backlund was selected 24th overall by the Flames in the 2007 NHL Draft. Drafted as an offensive player in Sweden, he adapted to the smaller North American ice and quietly became a really effective two-way player for the Flames. After the 2012-13 lockout, he added a bit of offensive swagger to his existing 200-foot game and became, well, the Mikael Backlund we know now.<\/p>\n

Dating back to 2016-17, Backlund has received Selke Trophy votes from Professional Hockey Writers Association members in nine of the past 10 seasons \u2013 the lone exception being the 2020-21 Canadian Division year where nobody outside of the Canadian markets saw Backlund play. That\u2019s a testament to the reputation Backlund\u2019s built as a reliable two-way player that can play against the league\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

But Backlund is no spring chicken. He turned 37 on St. Patrick\u2019s Day, and out of 1,038 players that hit NHL ice in 2025-26, only 23 were older than Backlund. Regardless of the mileage on the player, Backlund remains a really important figure for the hockey club<\/a>. He wears the C as the club\u2019s on and off-ice leader, and in addition to being a seasoned pro that can be a role model for the club\u2019s many young players, he\u2019s a strong enough two-way player that his line can eat up the tough minutes and allow the rookies to ease into NHL roles rather than be thrown into the deep end.<\/p>\n

The good news is that the things that make Backlund so effective \u2013 his instincts and hands \u2013 probably won\u2019t slow down as he ages. The bad news is that Father Time is undefeated, and that no matter how well-prepared Backlund is, eventually he probably will slow down a tad physically and be a bit more reliant on those instincts and hands.<\/p>\n

For now, the hope is that Backlund\u2019s speed holds up and allows him to utilize those instincts and hands for a few seasons more as he helps shepherd the Flames through their rebuild.<\/p>\n

This article is presented by Bon Ton Meat Market\"\"<\/p>\n

A Tradition of quality products and personalized service for 104 years.<\/p>\n

Proud to feature only the finest premium AAA Alberta Beef, Locally raised fresh pork, locally raised fresh free range chicken and turkey, fresh Alberta lamb and milk fed veal.<\/p>\n

Over 20 varieties of in store made salads, delicious desserts and of course our famous in store made meat pies. Proud to be Calgary, and Southern Alberta\u2019s Consumers Choice Award Winner for best Meat and Deli for 24 consecutive years! Bon Ton Meat Market, 28 Crowfoot Circle NW.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In hockey, there\u2019s a familiar refrain: If you\u2019ve got goaltending, you\u2019ve got a lot. That phrasing reflects the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":881410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-881409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881409","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=881409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/881410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}