On a possible extension for Mikael Backlund and how it affects the Calgary Flames
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: Predicting that the Flames will extend Mikael Backlund to a three-year deal with an AAV of $5.5 million.
SDPN Sports: Chris Johnston and Julian MacKenzie on the possible contract extension for Mikael Backlund and how it affects the Calgary Flames.
MacKenzie: “Okay, let’s go from Ottawa to Calgary. I’ll start with the captaincy thing because it seemed entering the weekend last week that Rasmus Andersson and maybe some other targets, they would look to be the guys at the front of the captaincy debate.
Mikael Backlund, of course, would be there too. It’s just that the contract that is what is a big thing holding everything up.
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And now all of a sudden we hear more and more reports of, of, you know, the discussion being had about him staying. Even his agent confirmed to me on Friday morning that that discussion is being had.
Jonathan Huberdeau went out of his way to say that Mikael Backlund should be captain. It really should be him, in all honesty. But I don’t think this could happen without a new contract.
But it’s, there’s this growing sense, at least just talking to some of my colleagues, that some kind of contract is going to be coming up within the next few days.
I would love to know your, your thoughts on what’s going on in Calgary with how they might be handling this captaincy thing.
Johnston: “I found the whole Backlund situation interesting that, you know, he was very clear at the end of last season that he didn’t really want to engage in contract extension talks over the summer just cause you’ve got someone who has a legitimate chance to spend his entire career in one city. And that, you know, that’s awfully rare in the NHL.
I mean, that basically never happens. You can understand if you’re in Backlund’s skates though. He wants to win a Stanley Cup and he probably had a lot of questions at the end of last season about the direction of the organization. He wouldn’t be alone for that and reason to doubt it.
This decision must be weighing on him I would think, just because, you know, you contrast the fact that you’ve been in one place so long you would be, I mean, I’m with you, I think on July 2nd, had the Flames just signed Mikael Backlund to you know, a couple year extension, there wouldn’t be much debate about the captaincy thing. Maybe they would have given him the ‘C’ on the same day, you knows how they might have handled that.
But, you know, now you get into training camp and you’ve got these other players on expiring deals and there’s a lot of different sort of factions in a way, ways that is could go.
I mean, I don’t think truthfully, the captaincy is as important as figuring out what they’re doing with these players, right? I mean, I think one falls in line with the other, but it’s all kind of mixed together in this stew now.
And so, you know, maybe the fact that those conversations are happening has put, put on hold the need to stitch a ‘C’ on someone’s sweater for the time being.
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Flames and Mikael Backlund extension talk to continue
TSN: Chris Johnston said there’s been some positive talk around the Calgary Flames and a Mikael Backlund. Despite saying earlier that he didn’t want to talk extension, the sides have started and will continue.
“But after thinking about it over the last couple of months, getting back to Calgary at the end of the summer and seeing where the environment is at under a new coaching staff led by Ryan Huska, Backlund is in a position where he’s willing to engage on a commitment – a longer-term commitment than he has remaining for this season. Those talks have started to happen.”
