Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom underwent left hip resurfacing surgery which will result in a very long recovery and it is possible he may not play in the NHL again.
Ryan Kesler underwent the surgery in 2019 and never played again.
Ed Jovanovski was first to do it in 2013. It took him a full year to rehab, played 37 games and retired.
Frank Seravalli
Backstrom has a Capitals salary cap hit of $9.2 million over the next three seasons and if he is put on LTIR, the Caps could target Nazem Kadri during the free agent frenzy period which opens on July 13, 2022.
NHL trade rumors have circulated that Kadri could command a salary of $8-$9 million per on the open market this summer. It is very unlikely that he will be re-signing with the Colorado Avalanche as they do not have the cap space.
Let’s hope Backstrom can resume his career in a year or so, but look for the Capitals to be aggressive in the free agent market this summer.
