Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund has expressed uncertainty regarding a contract extension with the team, joining several current and former teammates who have expiring contracts after the 2023-24 season. In a recent interview with Swedish outlet SportExpressen, Backlund said he’s focused on playing out the upcoming season and will consider an extension based on how things unfold.
The 34-year-old Swedish two-way dynamo expressed his openness to signing an extension if the season goes well, but he also acknowledged that the future remains uncertain if things don’t go as planned. A translated quote from the interview reads, “I’m ready to come back and play the season, and if it goes great, I might want to extend after the season. If it doesn’t go well, we’ll see what happens.”
Backlund’s situation adds to the list of pending unrestricted free agents for the Flames in 2024, which includes names such as Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov. The Flames have already dealt away one player who didn’t have an extension past next season in place, trading winger Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils for a 2023 third-round pick and forward Yegor Sharangovich.
If he does opt to test the free agent market next season, Calgary won’t want to lose him for nothing. Once a potential candidate for their captaincy, which has been vacant since the Seattle Kraken claimed Mark Giordano in the 2021 Expansion Draft, Backlund will almost certainly be dealt by the trade deadline in 2024 if the Flames aren’t in the playoff picture.
Departing Calgary would mean leaving the only NHL home Backlund’s ever known. The 2007 first-round pick has played in parts of 15 seasons for the Flames, skating in 908 games and recording 492 points while earning Selke Trophy votes on multiple occasions, especially later in his career.
In the interim, new general manager Craig Conroy has quite a lot of work to do in monitoring the situations of Calgary’s other pending UFAs. Priority number one is likely trading Hanifin, who’s been more explicit about his intentions not to re-sign. His opinion on staying in Alberta is less influenced by their performance next year than Backlund’s or Lindholm’s.
as much as I love Backlund I think the Flames should trade him