Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund reflects on joining NHL's 1,000-game club

CALGARY — Blake Coleman believes his Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund can beat the franchise record for most games played.

That means hitting the 1,219 currently held by former captain Jarome Iginla. Backlund is on his way after reaching 1,000.

"He's an old man in a young body, so he takes good care of himself," Coleman said Friday at the Saddledome. "He does the right things, so if anybody can hold on and maybe get there, it'd be him."

Asked to elaborate on the old man and young body combo, Coleman said "he's just an old soul. He likes to be in bed at nine and awake at six and walk his imaginary dog at seven. He is just very routine-oriented. He's very structured and scheduled, but he's still first in fitness testing every year, and in incredible shape and takes good care of himself."

Imaginary dog aside, Backlund doesn't argue with his teammate's assessment of his disposition or his approach to his craft.

"That's fair to say," he said. "I feel better physically today than when I came into the league as a rookie. I feel stronger. I feel everything, my cardio, my speed, everything's better.

"My wife tells me all the time too that I'm an old soul. I'm not a night person, except for game nights. In the off-season, I rarely go past 10 p.m. I don't know if it's an old-man thing to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, but I like to do that as well."

Backlund hit the 1,000-game milestone Wednesday in Salt Lake City in Calgary's 5-1 loss to Utah.

The 35-year-old from Vasteras, Sweden, became the 73rd player in NHL history (72 skaters and one goalie) to play each of their first 1,000 career regular-season games with one franchise, and just the second to do it in Calgary after Iginla.

"A thousand games in the league is impressive on its own, but with one organization is pretty unheard of," Coleman said.

Backlund was set to receive the silver stick awarded to newcomers in the 1,000-game club during a pre-game ceremony before the Flames' game against the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

"It means a lot," Backlund said Friday morning. "It just means the world to me, my family, we're so proud to call ourselves Calgarians, and really it's our home. We're just really thankful that we got to live in one city so far in a whole NHL career.

"A silver stick is a silver stick, but to get recognized in front of the fans I've played for so long and the only fans I've played for ... I'm really thankful and proud that I'm still here and really excited to still be a Calgary Flame."

Backlund was named the club's 21st captain last year on the same day his two-year, US$9-million contract extension was announced. That extension kicked in this season.

He’s the fourth active NHLer born in Sweden to reach 1,000 games, joining Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom, Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, and Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson, and the 19th player of Swedish descent to achieve the milestone.

A solid two-way centreman, Backlund had 202 goals and 334 assists heading into Friday's game.

Backlund credited his career longevity to "some luck, some good help (from) teammates and coaches along the way, some good mentors and advice from people, and just a lot of good people around you."

"Also some hard work and dedication for me," he added. "My dad says I've got my grandpa's stubbornness and I'm a really disciplined person, so I think that's key as well."

Calgary drafted Backlund in the first round, 24th overall, in 2007.

Within days of representing Sweden in the men's world junior hockey championship, Backlund made his NHL debut Jan. 8, 2009, for just one game before he was assigned to the Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets.

Current Flames head coach Ryan Huska coached the Rockets to a WHL title that year.

"People recognize that sometimes a player has a choice, and he's always chosen the Flames," Huska said.

Backlund's billet family in Kelowna was invited to be part of his contingent on hand for Friday's ceremony, along with 20 family members and friends who made the trip from Sweden.

Coleman says the players' gift to Backlund was a large, engraved bottle of wine and tickets to next year's Wimbledon finals.

"We'd do anything for that guy," Coleman said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press