WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Which Nicklas Backstrom will show up to Washington Capitals training camp?
Will it be the all-star center who averaged about a point per game over his almost 1,100 game career?
Or will it be the 35-year-old recovering from major hip surgery who managed just 21 points in 39 appearances last season?
Dan Holmi of Locked on Capitals says the team needs to push back sentimental feelings about Backstrom's contributions over the years and assess what he can do for the Capitals this season.
"There's a lot at stake and McLellan was non-committal about his future with the club," Holmi said. "We don't know what kind of Backstrom they're going to have. Will the Capitals be willing to pay him a lot of money to be a third-line center?"
"The most ever is at stake for Backstrom right now."
Back in May, Backstrom told The Hockey News he's pain free and still has a lot left in the tank.
General manager Brian McLellan acknowledged the difficulty in getting back to form after hip resurfacing.
"I haven't seen any other players do it: recover and get back to the level they thought they were at before," he told THN. "He's going to have to make a decision on his career where he thinks he's at."
Backstrom is under contract for another two seasons at a cap hit of $9.2 million, a good chunk of change for any 35-year-old around the NHL, and especially one coming off this kind of surgery.
If he's not ready to go, perhaps they put him on long term injured reserve. If he is able to play but not very effective, the situation gets a bit murkier.
At present, he's back in Sweden putting in work and ready to prove he can still be a valuable Cap and not a detriment against the cap.