Forward has spent entire 17-season career in Calgary; deal begins in 2026-27

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Mikael Backlund took it upon himself to start talks on a new contract with the Calgary Flames.

The Flames captain said he called general manager Craig Conroy three weeks ago, on his return to Calgary, to disclose he and his family wanted to stay beyond this season.

Backlund signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with Calgary on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $3.25 million and begins with the 2026-27 season.

“We love Calgary and this is our home and we’re really proud we get to represent the team for three more years and be part of the new arena and part of the leadership group that’s going to hopefully, push this team in the right direction, so we’re super excited,” Backlund said Wednesday. “Once we got back, I made a casual call to [Conroy] if you can believe it. One day after practice I called [Conroy] and told him I want to stay and can we get it done?”

The 36-year-old forward had 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 76 games for the Flames last season. He is entering the last season of a two-year, $9 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) he signed on Sept. 27, 2023, the same day he was named captain.

Backlund, who has played his entire 17-season NHL career with Calgary, is second in games (1,066), seventh in points (563) and tied for sixth in goals (215). He’s also second in short-handed goals (18) and short-handed points (41).

He has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 42 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

“I wasn’t sure what exactly what he was calling about,” Conroy said. “Even at the end of the year when we did talk, I said I wanted him to have the summer with (wife) Frida and the kids and no pressure either way. We would like to have you back but again, you earned the right to make your own decision.”

Calgary (41-27-14) finished fourth in the Pacific Division last season and fell short of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second wild card from the Western Conference in a tiebreaker with the St. Louis Blues (44-30-8).

The Flames are hoping to be a Stanley Cup contender by the time they move into their new downtown arena, Scotia Place, for the 2027-28 season.

Backlund, who was selected by Calgary No. 24 in the 2007 NHL Draft, said playing in the new arena was a motivating factor to stay with the Flames.

“This is our home, this is where we want to be,” Backlund said. “I believe in this team and we love living here in Calgary, it’s just became a natural decision for us to stay here and I felt this team is going in the right direction. I really believe in all the young guys and I’m really excited we signed a lot of those guys this summer.”

With 1,066 NHL games under his belt, Backlund is on track to play with Calgary his entire career. Only Jarome Iginla (1,219) has played more games for the Flames.

“I don’t want to play for another team, I believe in this group and I believe we have a good future ahead,” Backlund said. “I want to play these next three years in Calgary and we’ll see then if the new arena gives us another boost to play more, but we’ll see. I’ll get up in age then, but we’ll talk about that later in. In our mind, it’s only Calgary Flames for us, this is where our heart is at and this is the city we want to be in.”

Conroy believes Backlund is the right person to help lead the Flames back into the playoffs for the first time since 2021-22. Calgary won the Stanley Cup in 1989 and lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final in 2004.

“I can’t see him in another jersey,” Conroy said. “To have him back and leading our young guys, I know we have to have young guys and we have young guys coming, but [Backlund] is exactly what we want in our captain and our leader and it sets a great example for where we want go in our organization.”