On Hockey Night in Canada, Elliotte Friedman reported that Nicklas Backstrom has begun negotiating a contract extension with the Capitals. Interestingly enough, he seems to be doing it on his own, though there have been no reports that he has left his agent Marc Levine.
The 32-year-old centre has been with the Caps since the beginning of his NHL career. Selected fourth overall in the 2006 draft, Backstrom has played 918 games for Washington, with 235 goals and 656 assists. Backstrom has also been a great playoff performer, with 106 point in 123 games, including 23 points in 20 games during the Caps Cup run in 2018.
With both Backstrom and goaltender Braden Holtby gaining UFA status at the end of the year, it was expected that Backstrom would be the priority signing, especially with Ilya Samsonov proving himself early in the season as more than capable of being a solid NHL goalie.
