TJ Oshie says Nicklas Backstrom told him that his body’s ‘feeling great’ and he’s ‘having an absolute blast’ playing in the SHL
Nicklas Backstrom returned to professional hockey this summer after his contract with the Washington Capitals expired and his family moved back to his native Sweden. The 37-year-old centerman signed with his boyhood SHL club, Brynäs IF, in July and according to former Caps teammate and neighbor TJ Oshie, he’s loving life back on the ice.
“I was just texting with him last night,” Oshie said in a recent interview with the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast. “He said he is having a blast out there. I had two questions like, ‘How’s the body feeling and are you having fun?’ And he said, ‘The body’s feeling great,’ and he’s ‘Having an absolute blast.’ So I’m super happy for him.”
Oshie brought his own family back to Minnesota this summer after retiring from hockey in June due to chronic back pain. The 38-year-old husband and father of four lived just a couple doors down from the Backstroms whose children were close with his own. He understood why Backstrom decided to leave the U.S. but couldn’t help admitting he was a little jealous of his opportunity to keep playing.
“I know they wanted to go back to Sweden and get closer to family and maybe he’ll come on and tell you guys about the decision to play again and stuff. But I’m super happy for him,” Oshie said. “I told him right in the text message, ‘Dude, I miss it so much… I’m happy that you’re out there having fun again snapping it around.'”
Backstrom appears like he never lost a beat despite missing the previous two NHL seasons on LTIR with hip issues. He recorded his first competitive assist during Brynäs’ Champions Hockey League victory over Austrian club KAC Klagenfurt on Thursday after impressing in SHL preseason action.
Oshie said he wasn’t surprised his old pal has still got it, quipping that Backstrom – the Capitals all-time assists leader – won’t want to quit hockey any time soon.
“He’s the most natural passer I’ve ever seen. He’s probably gonna be doing that until he is 60,” Oshie joked. He reminisced on how perfectly Backstrom would pass pucks to scoring areas even they didn’t look technically correct.
“The amount of holes that he would hit when I was on the power play with him and Ovi to go through everyone,” he recalled. “Some guys they sauce you a puck and it’s just a little too high and you’re like, ‘Oh dang. Tough one.’ When he would sauce it and it would be too high, you knew it picked up speed on the way down or something.”
Backstrom assisted on 81 of Oshie’s 192 career goals with the Caps.
“One time he passed it – I’m not kidding – a saucer pass through my legs and then like through the back two defenders for a empty net one timer for Ovi,” he added. “And I was like, ‘How?’ Usually you’d flinch and try to stop it, but I just knew the second it left his stick, he’s trying to do this. He’s amazing.”
Saints Could Solve Safety Woes By Signing Former All-Pro Justin Simmons
The New Orleans Saints lost a key piece on Monday.
New Orleans lost starting safety Julian Blackmon potentially for the season after he suffered a torn labrum that will require surgery, as shared on social media by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
"Saints S Julian Blackmon, an instant contributor after a late signing, is feared to have suffered a torn labrum in the loss to the Cardinals, sources say," Rapoport said. "They’re still doing tests, but if confirmed, he’s looking at season-ending surgery. A tough blow...Last year Julian Blackmon had a torn labrum and underwent surgery in January. This injury, to a different part of the same labrum, may require surgery quicker."
Losing Blackmon hurts. He was one of the team's starters on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals in a secondary that already has question marks. Now, those questions are even louder with Blackmon out.
If the Saints want to look to the open market to make an addition with Blackmon out now, there is one obvious option.
Should the Saints add another reinforcement on defense?
Justin Simmons - Most Recent Team: Atlanta Falcons
Simmons has been a star throughout his nine-year National Football League career. Last year, he was in the division and started 16 games for the Falcons. Before that, he spent eight seasons with the Denver Broncos and earned four All-Pro nods over that span.
Simmons is surprisingly still out there in free agency and the Saints have over $12 million in cap space right now, per Over The Cap. Simmons talked openly throughout the offseason about looking for opportunities, and specifically mentioned the Philadelphia Eagles at the time. He didn't say anything about retirement at the time. It's surprising no one has signed him yet. With Blackmon set to miss time, the next obvious option would be to sign Simmons. At the time the Saints signed Blackmon, there was a lot of chatter out there about how he and Simmons were the two best free agent safeties. Well, Simmons is still out there for the taking if New Orleans wants him.
