Mikael Backlund has often stressed that he’d love to spend his entire NHL career in Calgary.
His new contract should ensure it.
On the eve of training camp, the Flames announced that they have signed their captain and shutdown centre to a two-year extension with an annual cap hit of US$3.25 million.
“That’s the goal and the dream — I don’t want to play for another team,” Backlund, 36, told reporters Thursday at the Saddledome, where he was joined by his wife Frida and children Tillie and Oliver for a late-afternoon press conference. “In our mind, it’s only the Calgary Flames for us. This is where our heart is at.”
Backlund had one season remaining on his previous contract, meaning his new deal covers the 2026-27 and 2027-28 campaigns.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s big news …
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By getting this done in mid-September, it squashes any possibility that Backlund’s name will be floating around as a could-be rental in the lead-up to the NHL trade deadline.
On an expiring contract, and with his reputation as a trustworthy two-way pivot, there undoubtedly would have been interest if the Flames were in danger of missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive spring.
While nobody would have criticized Backlund if he opted to chase a championship in another city, that didn’t hold a whole lot of appeal.
“I sat down with my new mental coach in Sweden — I started working with him last year — and we were talking about it a little bit and he asked me, ‘Would it mean the same to you to just make the playoffs with any other team? Or would it mean more to make it with the Calgary Flames?’ ” Backlund shared. “I said, ‘Definitely more with the Calgary Flames. To win in Calgary would be the ultimate goal.’ So he was like, ‘Well, isn’t that the answer?’ ”
Indeed, it was.
Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund poses for a photo with his wife Frida and children Tillie and Oliver after signing a two-year contract extension with the team on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.
It’s why Backlund “made a casual call” to Flames general manager Craig Conroy a few weeks ago to tell him that he was ready to hammer out an extension, one that would keep him on the Flames’ roster even after they make the move from the Saddledome to Scotia Place in 2027.
“I see a bright future here in Calgary, and I want to be part of that,” Backlund said. “I want to lead the team in the right direction. I want to lead the team to be a playoff team again.
“We love living in Calgary. We love the people and the city of Calgary. But also, I just don’t want to be traded and play playoffs somewhere else. I want to play playoffs in Calgary. I want to turn this around for this team, be the leader for this team and play playoffs here. And hopefully when the new arena comes around, we’re a contender.”
Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund during warm-ups before taking on the Dallas Stars in NHL action at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Patience, please
Wednesday’s signing shows Conroy puts a ton of stock, as he should, in what it will mean to have Backlund around to eventually tutor young centres such as Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter, a pair of first-rounders from the 2025 NHL Draft.
Both will be playing this season in the NCAA ranks.
While there’s a lot of excitement about what the future holds for those up-and-coming faceoff men, the Backlund extension ensures the Flames won’t need to rush any of their prospects into NHL roles. If Reschny and Potter need some minor-league seasoning once they turn pro, no problem.
Remember that Nazem Kadri, who turns 35 next month, is also under contract for four more seasons in Calgary. The best-case scenario is that Reschny and Potter will be ready to rock as those guys get a little grey in their beards.
“I can’t find a better example of someone that I’d like (young players) to follow and be like — whether it’s the way he trains after games, how he handles himself, what he does in this community,” Conroy said of his club captain. “They’re going to have a great leader in Backs. And they’re going to have to try to take over his ice time, take over his spot, and push him down the lineup.”
That sort of competition isn’t a bad thing.
Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund as the Calgary Flames prospects training camp kicked off at WinSport in Calgary on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
Backlund averaged 18:44 a night last season, the third-highest mark of his career, so he hasn’t shown any signs of age just yet. He’ll continue to log substantial minutes, including both sides of special teams, in this upcoming campaign.
Since Backlund is a strong skater and perennially ranks among the fittest Flames, there is optimism that he can still be a valuable contributor as he cruises toward 40.
“The way he trains, the way he deals, the way he eats … He just takes care of himself,” said Conroy, who knows the challenge ahead because he also played in the NHL until age 39. “For sure, Father Time does catch up with everybody. But for him … You see his legs and the way he skates. He was flying out here the other day. It doesn’t look any different than it did four years ago.
“So this year and two more? I think he’s going to be able to do it no problem.”
Calgary Flames Mikael Backlund scores on Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper in second-period NHL action at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. Backlund has signed a two-year extension with the Flames.
Record watch
With Backlund signed for three more seasons, it seems like a certainty that there will soon enough be a significant update to the Flames’ franchise record books.
Backlund has so far logged 1,066 regular-season appearances in Calgary’s uniform, putting him on track to eclipse Jarome Iginla’s club record for career games played. Iginla totalled 1,219 spins in the Flaming C logo.
Backlund would be lying if he claimed that he hasn’t thought about bumping his former teammate from that all-time perch, although he insisted he hasn’t opened the calculator app on his iPhone to crunch the numbers.
Somebody else did that for him.
Calgary Flames right winger Jarome Iginla, left, gets congratulated by teammate centre Mikael Backlund after Iginla scored his 40th goal of the season against the Edmonton Oilers during second-period NHL action at the Scotiabank Saddledome on April 6, 2011.
“My older sister called me this morning and she had all the numbers in front of her,” Backlund beamed Wednesday. “She had looked it all up — the Swedish top five and Jarome’s numbers and all that. But she didn’t know there was 84 games coming up the next two seasons, so … ”
If he can avoid any absences, Backlund would be poised to pass Iginla in the late stages of the 2026-27 season.
He considers this record quest to be a big bonus.
“That it hopefully could happen, potentially could happen, that would mean a lot,” Backlund said. “It would be a very special night. But for me, it’s more that my family loves living in Calgary. It’s our home. And on the hockey side, I want to be part of something special in Calgary.”