Flames have offered captaincy to Backlund: report

Mikael Backlund will become the Calgary Flames’ captain if he is willing to sign a new contract.

While reports have surfaced that the 34-year-old isn’t interested in re-signing with the Flames, it is believed that he has been told he will be named team captain if he does indeed sign an extension.

“I think they’ve offered him the captaincy,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. “I’ve said this before on this pod, the captaincy was very important to him and I think he was bothered they didn’t give it to him last year. The players at their end-of-season meetings said that one of the reasons this year went off the rails is because there was no specific captain who felt the responsibility to deal with Darryl Sutter. A number of the players I think said it should have been Backlund.”

Many Flames fans have been vocal in that they believe Backlund should have been this team’s captain ever since the departure of Mark Giordano. The first-round pick from the 2007 draft is the Flames’ longest-tenured player, having spent his entire 908-game career in Calgary.

Despite reportedly wanting to be named as captain this past season, Backlund’s frustrations with the organization have been growing for some time, as Ryan Leslie reported on the Big Show with Rusic & Rose that the Swedish centreman asked for a trade after the 2021-22 campaign.

Ultimately, a trade never came to be, and Backlund returned to the Flames to have his best season yet, registering a career-high 56 points in 82 games. Even with the recent personal success, it still seems as though he may wish to see what else is out there. That said, having the chance to become the organization’s 13th captain may be enough to get an extension done.

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