The Washington Capitals have called a press conference for Monday at 10:30 a.m., when the organization is expected to announce the signing of star center Nicklas Backstrom to a long-term contract extension, according to an NHL source.
The 22-year-old will be a restricted free agent this summer when his original three-year entry-level contract expires. Terms of the new deal were unavailable Sunday evening. Backstrom set a career high with 101 points this season, ranking fourth in the NHL behind only Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin (112), Caps teammate Alex Ovechkin (109) and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (109).
Backstrom also scored 33 goals to set a personal best. The fourth pick in the 2006 NHL draft, Backstrom has yet to miss a game in three full seasons since making the team out of training camp in 2007. He finished with a plus-minus rating of plus-37 for Washington in 2009-10.
The Caps’ scheduled news conference is for what the team only would call “a significant player-related announcement.” Team officials had no further comment.
Backstrom had a base salary of $850,000 last season with a salary-cap hit of $2.4 million after including bonuses. That number is expected to almost triple. The Caps still must sign restricted free agents Eric Fehr, Tomas Fleischmann and Boyd Gordon — all forwards — and defenseman Jeff Schultz. The team also has seven unrestricted free agents as general manager George McPhee begins the process of revamping next year’s roster.
