"I was in shock... He's my friend, he's my teammate and to see how emotional it is, it's a tough situation," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — It was a heavy atmosphere at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday, with the Washington Capitals visibly emotional and deflated after receiving hard-hitting news that Nicklas Backstrom was stepping away from the game he loves due to ongoing hip issues.
It left captain Alex Ovechkin and his teammates reeling. They'd watched the Swede work his way back and achieve what several critics once wrote off as impossible, as he underwent hip resurfacing surgery and made a miraculous return. However, now nearly 17 months removed from the surgery, his hip isn't responding how he had hoped, and it's time — at least for now — to take a break.
"I was in shock," Alex Ovechkin said, adding, "He's my friend, he's my teammate and to see how emotional it is, it's a tough situation.
"I think for him, he was trying to bounce back. He did surgery and I felt like he was feeling good. But for me, as a player, I understand when you have something sore and you don't feel 100 percent, it's almost impossible to play... right now, it's going to suck."
The news not only caught his teammates — and the entire league — off guard, but it also left the organization in unfamiliar territory.
Though he's missed significant time before, and though he's not hanging up the skates, something about this absence looms larger, and in a way, it doesn't feel like reality for the organization that has leaned on him on and off the ice for so long.
"You can tell by the feeling; it's a little odd. Even as time goes on, it's still going to be odd. It's going to be odd tomorrow coming here, it's going to be odd. It's different when guys get hurt," John Carlson said. "Guys are in and out of the locker room, that stuff is normal. But you can notice the different feeling. Certainly not an easy thing for any of us, or him.
"It sucks, it hurts... [he] gave it every single chance that he had," Carlson continued. "[He means] everything. Yin and yang he's been a pillar... it feels weird to me because I've never been here without him."
T.J. Oshie, who lives two doors down from Backstrom and sees him every day at his kids' bus stop, agreed, explaining that Backstrom, along with Ovechkin, has been the backbone of this team for such a long time that the void he leaves behind looms larger.
"To not have 19 on the bench next to you, that's a massive hole that can't be filled... selfishly, you just want him out there with you," Oshie said, adding, "It's going to be different in so many different aspects, as far as leadership, as far as a super close friend. His support on and off the ice is second to none for a lot of guys in this room. My career kind of got resurrected because he was my centerman."
Backstrom is not only Washington's all-time assists leader (762), but he is also one of the alternate captains and one of the most influential voices in the room. For years, he has led by example with his humble, down-to-earth approach on and off the ice, but he has also carried himself in a way that helped set high standards in D.C. and helped the Capitals establish a winning culture.
"He embodies what it means to be a Washington Capital," goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who has struggled with hip issues, said simply.
"He's a calming voice in the locker room and on the bench and someone that you look at and really to to keep your cool [around]," Oshie added. "I've learned a lot from him by not getting so emotional and so up and down, and he's very good at that. We'll miss that."
Now, after 17 seasons of having Backstrom have their back, it's time for the Capitals to have his. Ovechkin and his teammates all plan to be with the 35-year-old every step of the way as he takes his leave, and though he'll be around the team off the ice, Washington knows that a lot of work that will have to be done to make up for Backstrom's absence.
"You're not going to fill those shoes. We need guys to step up and lead in whatever way they're able to lead. It doesn't have to be an old guy, it doesn't have to be a guy that's been in the league six or seven years, it can be a young guy that leads by example by coming to the rink every day and doing his job and then on the ice, leading by example by knowing his assignments and doing them correctly and doing them hard," Oshie said, adding, "It's going to take everyone leadership-wise to try to make up by not having 19 in there."
Position-wise, a lot now falls on the shoulders of two young up-and-comers in Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, who are both playing down the middle with Backstrom out of the picture and Nic Dowd still ailing. And they're ready for the challenge, especially as they aim to do right by a role model like Backstrom.
"Backstrom was always the guy that I was kind of looking up to just in terms of how I could be as a player," Lapierre said, adding that Backstrom told him that he wants him to play with confidence and creativity, "He's always there for me and I really appreciate what he did for me... I got a really good chance to prove myself right now, I'm super grateful for the opportunity and I'm going to make the most of it."
"There are some guys that are going to have to step up and mature and grow up up the middle and start their own process of moulding a larger piece of the organization," Oshie said.
Off the ice, it's up to the likes of Ovechkin, Oshie, Carlson and Tom Wilson to help carry Backstrom's legacy forward and maintain the culture and standards he set. Then, there's being there for whatever he needs, too.
"He's a leader. He's been in this organization all of his career. Me and him played together since day one, and it's kind of hard to see what's happening right now, but we just support him and be with him," Ovechkin said.