Flames captain Mikael Backlund Linked To Canadian Rival
The Calgary Flames have now lost seven straight games (at least they picked up a point in their 2-1 OT loss to the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night). But with just three points, they sit with the second-worst record in the NHL, and talk is already surfacing about the potential of changing direction, and selling off veterans.
Captain Mikael Backlund has spent his entire 18-year career in Calgary. But given their current situation, is it time for the Flames to consider moving him to recoup an asset? Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province suggests the Vancouver Canucks need to consider making a run at him. You see, that team is having their own problems—at least down the middle of the ice.
Top line center Elias Pettersson has just one goal and four points in seven games.
Second-line center Filip Chytil was off to a nice start to the 2025-26 season. His play put the Vancouver Canucks' need for a second-line center a little on the back burner for the time being. Until... The devastating hit that Chytil took last weekend from the Washington Capitals' Tom Wilson. Chytil's future is now in doubt, and the Canucks' search for another center is once again urgent.
Backlund, 36, is a veteran who could help stabilize the Vancouver center spot, if he's amenable to a deal. He just signed a two-year extension with the Flames last month. It would appear that he intends to finish his career there.
"Like so many Flames, he’s struggling with one goal through eight games," writes Kuzma, "but is 50 per cent in face-off efficiency and capable of more on a better team. He has had a trio of 20-plus goal seasons, and there’s a 2018 World Championship title connection with Pettersson".
Backlund has been durable and consistent as a potential second-line center option, with 15 or more goals in each of the last three seasons.
"The Canucks could opt for a younger centre, but right now, they need veteran stability," concludes Kuzma.
