The 34-year-old has a lot to show when Capitals camp opens on Sept. 21.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals have gotten to see Nicklas Backstrom quite a bit over the last few weeks, as the 34-year-old's early return for informal skates offer just a small glimpse at what the team could see at the most important training camp of his life.
Backstrom is now 15 months removed from hip resurfacing surgery and is coming off his first full offseason of training in years after numerous summers of rehabilitating and managing chronic hip pain. But, since the surgery in Belgium last June, he's been pain-free.
"I think -- it was just like -- went back to -- I don't know, calmness in my body if that makes sense?" Backstrom told The Hockey News. "It was just a nice feeling, you know? I felt it right away, which was nice. It was an awesome feeling for me, personally."
While the Swede has returned to the lineup full-time, his career remains a question going into 2023-24.
After making his return in January, Backstrom put up seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 39 games. While he possesses the same elite playmaking mind and can still make crafty plays on the fly, his skating and speed raise questions, especially as the game gets faster.
General manager Brian MacLellan posed an important question with regard to Backstrom back in April, explaining that while he's is an important piece of the team's core and showed "marginal" improvement after coming back, it remains to be seen if he can continue to progress and get back to his previous level of play.
"How much better does it get?" he asked.
Backstrom was more confident in his continued recovery and said that having a full summer to work on his play would work wonders. And now, going into camp, he believes that still holds true — and he's showing it so far.
While informal skates go at about one-third of the pace as normal practices and camp sessions (no one wants to get injured during informal drills or scrimmage before the real deal), the 34-year-old has shown improvement in his speed and skating ability. His quick hands and hockey IQ are all still very much present to boot.
In the end, Backstrom has been happy with the results of the procedure and knows that he has a second chance at not only his life on the ice but off the ice as well. And now, he faces the tall task of seizing that chance at training camp.
Day 1 of camp, which features the notorious skating test, is on Sept. 21.