Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom strode into the team’s dressing room at Kettler Iceplex on Monday morning with a big grin on his face. And why not? The 22-year-old star now has all the security in the world after signing a 10-year contract worth $67 million. Come to think of it, Caps general manager George McPhee was all smiles, too. He locked up one of the NHL’s best players at its most critical position for a salary-cap hit of just $6.7 million per year. The deal runs through 2020 — escalating from $6 million in the first year to $8 million at the end of the decade. So any pressure living up to that shiny new deal?
“I think last year we had some pressure and we had a great team,” Backstrom said. “Everybody wants to win. That is just the pressure we are putting on ourselves. The pressure from the media is okay, but we have high expectations for ourselves, too. I don’t think it is going to be anything different. We want to win the [Stanley] Cup.”
With Backstrom on his big day were his father, Anders, his mother, Katherine, and his brother, Kristoffer. Agent Marc Levine was also there. The family was headed back to Sweden tonight, where Backstrom will spend his summer. Also in attendance — Caps prospect Marcus Johansson, who himself signed a three-year entry-level contract on Monday and was introduced to the media. More on his day, later.
The contract is an intriguing one for both sides. There are plenty of young centers with bigger salary-cap hits than Backstrom. As an extreme example — veteran Vincent Lecavalier, 30, makes $10 million per year now with Tampa Bay for a cap hit of $7.73 million. A better comparable player in age is Philadelphia’s Mike Richards, who at 25 has a five-year deal with a $5.75 million cap hit. That seems low. Chicago’s Jonathan Towes — last seen tearing up this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs at age 22 — has a five-year deal that costs the Blackhawks $6.3 million on the cap. Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar, 22, has the longest deal from that group — seven years. His cap hit is $6.7 million. The NHL salary cap is $56.8 million. Alex Ovechkin obviously, is the team’s highest paid player at $9.653 million. Alex Semin is just behind Backstrom with a one-year $6 million contract for next season.
But Backstrom led all those comparable players in points per game this season at 1.23. Only Sidney Crosby and Henrik Sedin were better at the center position. In 28 career playoff games Backstrom has 30 points, including five goals in the first-round loss to Montreal this season. That’s a pretty good bargaining chip, too. It’s not a deal without risk. Who knows what the league salary structure will be in 2019-20 or what a 32-year-old Backstrom is capable of producing for $8 million and a $6.7 million cap number. But the Caps analyzed the risks and rolled the dice anyway. The ceiling is too high.
“Sometimes the risks are a player doesn’t meet the expiations of the contract. But I never for one minute with Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom think that they won’t compete all the way through,” McPhee said. “They’re outstanding players. They’re the real deal. I think we’re lucky to have them on long-term deals. It sends the right message to our fans and to this franchise that we have outstanding young players ready to commit for the rest of their career. And you win championships with these kinds of players. And so, again, you want to hang onto them.”
