Nicklas Backstrom\u2019s move back to the SHL is expected to be made official tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Bryn\u00e4s IF has scheduled a press conference for Monday afternoon at Monitor ERP Arena, where Backtrom\u2019s one-year deal will likely be announced. News of Backstrom\u2019s planned return to his first professional team was revealed in mid-May by Swedish outlet Aftonbladet<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cInvitation to a press conference tomorrow, Monday July 28!\u201d the team\u2019s post reads, per an Instagram translation. \u201cDue to a presentation of a new acquisition to the association and the men\u2019s squad, Bryn\u00e4s IF invites press and media to a press conference tomorrow, Monday, July 28 at 1 pm.\u201d<\/p>\n Szymon Szemberg was first to point out the likely subject of the presser on Sunday<\/a>, writing, \u201cIt is widely speculated that the G\u00e4vle-club will announce the signing of Nicklas B\u00e4ckstr\u00f6m, 37. Bryn\u00e4s was the club he left in 2007 when signing with WSH.\u201d<\/p>\n Backstrom\u2019s final contract with the Capitals expired on July 1 after the franchise\u2019s top assist man spent the entire 2024-25 campaign on long-term injured reserve. He has not played in a game since October 29, 2023, and officially stepped away from the Capitals on November 1, 2023<\/a>, due to lingering issues with his surgically-repaired hip.<\/p>\n The 37-year-old center is now over three years removed from his hip resurfacing surgery. In his abbreviated 2023-24 season with the Capitals, he recorded just one assist in eight games.<\/p>\n Backstrom didn\u2019t stray too far from the club in his final year,\u00a0attending multiple practices<\/a> and being in the team\u2019s locker room\u00a0for an emotional moment with longtime teammate Alex Ovechkin<\/a>\u00a0when the latter broke Wayne Gretzky\u2019s all-time goals record.<\/p>\n Before arriving in the NHL with the Washington Capitals for the 2007-08 season, Backstrom came up through Bryn\u00e4s\u2019s junior ranks and played three seasons with their senior team. In what was then known as the Swedish Elite League, Backstrom recorded 66 points (22g, 44a) in 110 games from 2004 to 2007. He also had 7 points (4g, 3a) in 11 playoff games.<\/p>\n The Backstrom family put their Northern Virginia home up for sale last April<\/a>, and it is still on the market. They also own a luxury villa in his native G\u00e4vle, Sweden<\/a>, which Backstrom had built in 2010. Bryn\u00e4s plays their home games in G\u00e4vle.<\/p>\n