with backstrom’s future unknown, capitals sign dylan strome

The Washington Capitals needed to make a signing down the middle with the future of long time Capital Nicklas Backstrom in question after dealing with a hip injury. Backstrom spoke on the topic in an interview with GD.se.

“In the beginning, when I came back last winter, it went well. When it gets more intense, it’s hard. I’ve had a bad hip for eight years but it has been possible to play and there is something positive about that,”  “It has been many tough days. Of course we need to find a solution to the problem. I want to be able to continue playing on two legs in any case. We are looking at solutions right now and I just look ahead.” “I had surgery many years ago, but I will not do that kind of surgery again in that way. There are some things we will test. We’ll see what happens,”

washington capitals center, nicklas backstrom

Backstrom is certainly motivated to find a solution, but it is still unknown if he will be playing in the NHL this upcoming season. He went on to say

 We have some decisions to make. Those decisions aren’t finalized yet, so we’ll take it day by day.”

washington capitals center, nicklas backstrom

The Capitals want to get the most they can out of the back half of Alex Ovechkin’s career. Ovechkin, 36, has played his entire career in Washington, playing in 1,274 games in his career. He has scored 780 goals, third most in NHL history behind only Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894). Ovechkin also has 630 assists, for a total of 1,410 points.

The Capitals signed 25 year old center Dylan Strome to a 1 year deal worth $3.5M. Strome spent the 2021-2022 season playing on the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had 22 goals and 26 assists for a total of 48 points in 69 games. He had a face off % of 52.3, and 16 of his points were on the powerplay. The Blackhawks let Strome walk for free in free agency. The Capitals currently have 0 cap space, and based on the injury situation, they might need to make a move to be cap compliant. If Backstrom can come back healthy, then a center core of Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Strome, and Lars Eller/ Nic Down is a strong group for the Capitals. If Backstrom can’t come back, Strome’s job will likely be to fill the 2C role for the Capitals, which he certainly has the potential to be able to do.

The Capitals have been knocked out of the first round of playoffs for 4 straight years after winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.