ARLINGTON, VA — Nicklas Backstrom is currently plying his trade in Sweden, but that hasn’t stopped his former teammates from cheering him on from afar. After missing close to two seasons with a lingering hip injury, Backstrom re-joined his hometown Brynäs IF in the SHL this summer, playing his first professional game since October 2023 last month.
Four thousand miles away in DC, Backstrom’s longtime compatriots have been thrilled to see his return to the game, especially after seeing the toll his injury took firsthand. But while they’re trying to tabs on Backstrom’s comeback season, the language barrier hasn’t made it easy.
“I don’t read Swedish,” John Carlson deadpanned. “I kind of tried to poke around a little bit, hit a lot of walls, and gave up.”
In comes Rasmus Sandin, the Capitals’ resident Swede. Sandin had spent time in the SHL himself before coming to North America, and his brother Linus is a winger for Rögle BK. More importantly, he can speak Swedish and has access to foreign streaming sites.
Carlson — 10 years Sandin’s senior — figured he’d let Sandin do the heavy lifting of setting up the broadcast.
“I think I’m going to task Ras with some homework one of these days,” he said. “I heard it’s pretty difficult to get (the games). So we’ll see.”
While Carlson sounded like he was still making a plan, Sandin had a very different story, telling reporters that he’d already spent much of the offseason running tech support for his fellow defenseman.
“John’s called me about 65 times this summer trying to get my logins to the Swedish websites to watch the games,” he said with a smile. “It’s tough when you’re over here to get into the Swedish websites and watch, but we’re working on it.”
Sandin did pass along the login details, but not before making sure Carlson only had access to those specific accounts.
“I switched my passwords to ‘JohnCarlson74,’ and then I sent it over,” Sandin said. “I had to switch my passwords a little bit, otherwise I wouldn’t trust him at all.”
Besides Backstrom, Carlson has also been rooting for former Cap and current Brynäs defenseman Christian Djoos, recently leaving a comment on the team’s Instagram post celebrating Djoos’ 200th game with the organization.
“Atta boy djoooooooossssen,” he wrote.
Carlson and Backstrom played together in Washington for a decade and a half, becoming two of the most decorated players in franchise history. Both sit among the top five in Capitals scoring (Backstrom second with 1033 points, Carlson third with 725), and they rank second and third in career games played. Alongside Alex Ovechkin, the pair also formed a vital part of the Capitals’ leadership core, serving as team’s alternate captains.
Backstrom spent much of his final years in DC dealing with an injured hip: he underwent hip resurfacing in 2022 but still struggled to stay healthy, ultimately stepping away from the team early in the 2023-24 season.
While Sandin came to Washington less than a full season before Backstrom’s last game, their time together left a lasting impression. Backstrom took Sandin under his wing after the Capitals traded for him at the 2023 deadline, mentoring a player who had idolized him growing up.
Now, Sandin has been paying close attention to Backstrom’s SHL return even when he isn’t helping Carlson. Having known Backstrom both as a former teammate and a childhood hero, watching him return to the ice was something special.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “So usually I wouldn’t keep track too much of Brynäs, but nowadays, I always have the games on and stuff, want to see how he’s doing. And the fans too — I think in every arena he will go and play in, (it) will probably be pretty packed. He has a huge influence on Swedish hockey and (it’s) just awesome to see him out there having fun and playing hockey.”
