The Washington Capitals have their work cut out for them over the next two seasons, what with the likes of Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin all needing new contracts for the 2020-21 or 2021-22 seasons, respectively.
In the case of Nicklas Backstrom, the 13-year veteran has elected to forego having an agent negotiate his next contract, deciding to bargain on his own behalf.
Backstrom's endeavor is quite unconventional in today's NHL, but it has been done as recently as 2018, when Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty negotiated his own deal to remain in LA.
“Good on him,” Doughty said, referring to Backstrom. “Those guys, the agents, they obviously do a good job for you, but once you get to a certain age and you are old enough to negotiate your own contract, it is pretty easy and you save a lot of money. I know we make a lot of money so saving money kind of sounds, I don't know, it doesn't sound great, but at the end of the day, you are saving millions of dollars not using an agent.”
With his familiarity with the Caps organization - from ownership to management and the rest of the staff - Backstrom feels confident in taking the wheel, so-to-speak, and striking his own deal. Backstrom is so comfortable with the situation, in fact, that he recently let go his former long-time agent, Mark Levine.
“It is not just about saving money,” said Backstrom, during an interview with Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. “I want to do it. I'm interested in it. I want to know what is going on, like, behind the scenes. When you have an agent you only hear like what the numbers are. I just wanted to see how people react and stuff. That is what I think is pretty cool.”
It's a pretty similar explanation to what his fellow countryman, Nicklas Lidstrom provided when he negotiated his own contract - the first Swede to negotiate his own NHL contract - before going on to become the first defenseman in NHL history to record 60 points at the age of 40.
“I wanted to gain the experience of negotiating my own deal late in my career,” Lidstrom said. “It was a good experience and having had Ken Holland as my GM for a lot of years helped … we've had a good working relationship.”
Caps GM Brian MacLellan has already had preliminary discussions with his 32-year-old star center, with both agreeing that the goal is to have Backstrom remain in Washington for the foreseeable future. The sticking point in these negotiations is not believed to be in the money, but rather, in the term of the deal. Backstrom is rumoured to be targeting a five-year extension, while MacLellan and the Caps would be more comfortable in the three-year range, taking Backstrom to his 35+ years.
Backstrom does not expect the situation to drag on, expressing his opinion that, ideally, the next time he discusses his next contract with the media, it will be to announce that a deal is in place.
“Either it is going to be done or they will be going the other direction, I don't know,” he said.
Backstrom has 900 points in 924 career NHL games, all with the organization who drafted him in the 1st round in 2006 (4th overall).
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