Washington Capitals legendary center Nicklas Backstrom had offseason hip resurfacing surgery in June and is expected to be out for a large portion of the 2022-23 season due to the extensive rehab process.
That did not stop the Capitals from adding the silky Swede to their 68-man Training Camp roster. It also did not stop Backstrom from throwing on a full set of gear to participate in Wednesday’s Media Day activities.
Hit 'em with the classics#ALLCAPS | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/z4KktcsIWY
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 21, 2022
The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir reported last week that Backstrom has been rehabbing daily with head athletic trainer Jason Serbus at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. This photo shoot may be the first time that Nicke has laced his skates up since the end of last season.
“My cap ball had unevenness which caused pain,” Backstrom described to Expressen’s Magnus Nyström in August. “Now the cap ball is cut in half and I have like a metal coat around it. It protects it in the slot. I feel really good right now. We’ll see how it is when games get more intense this winter. It’s really amazing, the things they’re [the doctors] are able to do. I’m optimistic for the first time in years.”
Injured forward Tom Wilson also participated in full gear during the on-ice photoshoot. The 28-year-old tore the ACL in his left knee in the playoffs against the Florida Panthers. In late May, he had surgery to repair that tear and has been rehabbing ever since.
“It was one of those things where I was trying to be the unique situation where the odd person can kind of [come back from it],” Wilson said on Capitals’ Breakdown Day in May. “Get a brace and get out there and there’s a chance. I was trying everything I could. I just wasn’t able to do it.”
With an initial recovery timeline of six to eight months, Wilson was expected to miss, at the very least, the first two months of the season and find a return anywhere from late November to the end of January.
El-Bashir had good news on that front in his report from last week as he said Wilson is believed to be ahead of schedule recovery-wise. He gave “early December(ish)” as the new potential timetable.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
Share On