The 34-year-old is looking to prove he can still be a top-6 player in the NHL following hip resurfacing surgery last year.
With just around a month until arguably the most important training camp of his career yet, Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom was back on the ice on Saturday as he is skating in Sweden in Brynas IF's black-white game.
Backstrom is playing on the third line with Oskar Lindblom and Elias Lindholm. It was his first time skating in the game in three years, as the COVID-19 pandemic and his hip problems and subsequent surgery held him out of the lineup.
It's a good precursor to the 2023-24 campaign, where Backstrom will get a chance to show general manager Brian MacLellan and the organization that he can still be a top-6 contributor following hip resurfacing surgery a year ago.
MacLellan had not been completely sold on the surgery or Backstrom's play, stating on breakdown day that Backstrom was going to have to make a decision on his career.
"How much better does it get?" MacLellan stated.
Then, in June, he told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti that Backstrom will get the opportunity to show the Capitals the progress he's made.
"We've had a couple conversations about where he is health-wise. I think he's deserved a chance to see what he can do in the offseason and come into camp and see where he's at health-wise," MacLellan said at the time. "It's a major surgery, so I don't know that anybody knows exactly where he's going to be."
Meanwhile, Backstrom is more optimistic, and said at season's end that having his first normal summer in years will make all the difference, especially with more time to train rather than simply rehabilitating.
"The progress has been better, I mean, better and better," Backstrom said in April. "Obviously, it's not ideal to come in midseason with a big surgery like that and you missed a lot and you're trying to catch up. It's not ideal, but I'm optimistic about next year. IHave a good summer, the first really good summer in a couple years, and be ready at training camp and be a part of that. That's what I'm looking forward to."
Capitals training camp begins on Sept. 20, with informal skates taking place before that early in the month as players return to D.C.