Bruce Boudreau believes Nicklas Backstrom will eventually be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
During an appearance on NHL Network\u2019s NHL Tonight with host Tony Luftman, the former Washington Capitals head coach recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming candidacy of several former NHLers, making it clear that he would love to see Backstrom receive hockey\u2019s highest individual honor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI, certainly, for me, would love to see Nick get in,\u201d Boudreau said. \u201cI\u2019d love to see Ryan Getzlaf get in and Eric Staal \u2013 three guys that I\u2019ve coached that are all on the potential list. And I mean, three of the greatest people you ever want to meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all three deserve it, as well as I think Rod Brind\u2019Amour deserves it. If you look at his hockey career, let alone his coaching career, what he\u2019s done, to me, there\u2019s no reason that he shouldn\u2019t be in. Next year should be the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boudreau coached Backstrom with the Capitals for parts of five seasons from 2007-08 to 2011-12, the first five years of the Swedish pivot\u2019s career. During those campaigns, Backstrom quickly established himself as one of the NHL\u2019s premier playmakers, becoming a foundational piece of the Caps alongside Alex Ovechkin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Backstrom finished his NHL career with 1,033 points (271 goals, 762 assists) in 1,105 regular-season games, ending his stint with the Capitals as the franchise leader in assists and ranking second in points, only to Ovechkin. He also helped Washington win its first Stanley Cup in 2018, posting 23 points (5g, 18a) in 20 postseason games.<\/p>\n Among all-time NHL players, Backstrom is one of just 103 to reach the 1,000-point mark, ranking 91st overall in league history. Among just Swedish players, he ranks sixth all time in scoring and the five players ahead of him, Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson, Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Sedin, and Daniel Sedin, have all already been inducted into the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Top 10 Swedish NHL players in career points<\/p>\n Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
\nPlayer
\nGP
\nG
\nA
\nPoints
\nHockey Hall of Fame<\/p>\n
\nMats Sundin
\n1,346
\n564
\n785
\n1,349
\nYes (2012)<\/p>\n
\nDaniel Alfredsson
\n1,246
\n444
\n713
\n1,157
\nYes (2022)<\/p>\n
\nNicklas Lidstrom
\n1,564
\n264
\n878
\n1,142
\nYes (2015)<\/p>\n
\nHenrik Sedin
\n1,330
\n240
\n830
\n1,070
\nYes (2022)<\/p>\n
\nDaniel Sedin
\n1,306
\n393
\n648
\n1,041
\nYes (2022)<\/p>\n
\nNicklas Backstrom
\n1,105
\n271
\n762
\n1,033
\nNo<\/p>\n
\nHenrik Zetterberg
\n1,082
\n337
\n623
\n960
\nNo<\/p>\n
\nErik Karlsson
\n1,177
\n218
\n736
\n954
\nNo (active)<\/p>\n
\nPeter Forsberg
\n708
\n249
\n636
\n885
\nYes (2014)<\/p>\n
\nMarkus Naslund
\n1,117
\n395
\n474
\n869
\nNo<\/p>\n