Devastating update on the health of Nicklas Backstrom.

The Washington Capitals have shared some very bad news regarding the status of one of their top forwards.

On Monday, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan revealed that he did not expect to see Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom back on the ice at any point this season. Although MacLellan would not officially rule out Backstrom for the entire length of the season, he did call the prospects of a return to action for Backstrom this season "unlikely." 

Backstrom has been a staple of the Capitals offense since he joined the team for the 2007-08 season, playing all 1105 of his NHL games so far as a member of the Capitals. The former 4th overall pick at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft has been both a consistent and talented producer on offense for the Capitals but it would appear that those days may have come to an end.

Backstrom underwent major hip resurfacing surgery in the summer of 2022 and that is a procedure that most athletes, and certainly most NHL players, do not usually return from. In fact only Backstrom himself and legendary NHL defenseman Ed Jovanovski are the only two to do so. At 35 years of age you have to wonder how much Backstrom can still give after such a major surgery, especially with another season effectively taken off the books.

Backstrom is more than willing to continue to work hard to play in the NHL, but you have to wonder if his body may have other plans for him moving forward.

Backstrom's return to action this season lasted just 8 games, with the veteran forward picking up no goals and adding only a single assist, currently sitting at a plus minus rating of -3.