Nicklas Backstrom has officially made his return to DC, jumping in for an informal skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Backstrom spent the summer in his hometown of Gävle, Sweden while continuing to recover from undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in summer 2022.

Offseason addition Joel Edmundson was also on the ice Monday, making his first appearance in DC since joining the team in a July 1 trade with the Montreal Canadiens.

👋 Nicky
👋 Eddy pic.twitter.com/xJ54VDspdj

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) August 28, 2023

Backstrom and Edmundson became the latest players to hit the ice after informal practices started last week. Other participants so far have included John Carlson, Darcy Kuemper, Alex Alexeyev, Joe Snively, and free agency-pickup Alex Limoges.

After a challenging 2022-23 season, Backstrom will face a pivotal training camp this fall. He missed the first half of the season due to hip resurfacing surgery, making his debut in January. Other than on the power play, Backstrom struggled at times to look fully himself, posting 21 points (7g, 14a) in 39 games.

General manager Brian MacLellan suggested at the Capitals’ Breakdown Day in April that the 35 year old was at a crossroads in his career. With so few athletes successfully returning from hip resurfacing surgery, Backstrom’s path forward is uncertain.

“I think it’s frustrating in that I don’t know how much better it’s going to get,” MacLellan said during his Breakdown Day press conference. “I haven’t seen any other players do it, recover, and get back to the level they thought they were at before. I don’t know where that ends up with the offseason training. He’s going to have to make a decision on his career where he thinks he’s at.”

Backstrom, meanwhile, remains confident that he can continue to recover and contribute to the Capitals’ roster. He was back on the ice in Sweden earlier this month, participating in Brynäs IF’s annual “Black and White” game.

“I’ve been quite open about everything that’s happened to me and I haven’t been able to train as I’d like in recent years, but this year I’ve had a great summer and went on the ice earlier so I’m looking forward to the season,” Backstrom recently told HockeyNews.se, as translated by Google Translate.

New Capitals head coach, Spencer Carbery, echoed Backstrom’s optimism in an interview with NHL.com.

“[He] is really, really hungry and lots to prove and his summer of training, I think having the extra time but also being able to fully recover from his surgery and now being able to prepare for a season and a training camp, having a full offseason to do that, I think he’s excited and it’s been going well for him,” Carbery said.

While Backstrom enters his seventeenth year with the Capitals, Edmundson is preparing for his DC debut. Edmundson spent the last three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, though back injuries limited him to just 85 games between the previous two campaigns.

Though he does not provide much offense recording 13 points (2g, 11a) in 2022-23), Edmundson could provide a physical element to the Capitals if he stays healthy. He spoke to the physical and net front-style of his play during his introductory press conference in early July.

“I think that’s the strong point to my game, just being solid in front of the goalie and making sure that he can see the puck. I love to use my stick to my defense with some cross checks and just make the opposition’s night miserable. I think that’s what got me to this point in my career. And I just want to be a good guy in that locker room — I hear they have a fun group in there. So I just want to go in there and be a leader in my own type of way.”

The Capitals training camp starts on September 20, with the first preseason game on September 24 against the Buffalo Sabres. The team’s first regular season game will be at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 13.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB