By Mary Cunningham
So, the Caps are trying to come to a meeting of the bucks with co-captain Nicklas Backstrom.
How is that going?
The odds of Backstrom and goalie Braden Holtby leaving Washington as free agents are very slim, and they’ll both wind up taking discounts to stay.
Neither has signed an extension yet. While Holtby isn’t likely to start contract talks until the end of the year, Backstrom’s party has been in regular negotiations. The two sides are stuck on term, though. Backstrom is looking for a five-year deal. Washington, on the other hand, is looking to ink nothing more than a three-year deal. Backstrom turned 32 in late November.
Per a piece in the Post, Backstrom is fighting to be more involved in the negotiation process. He said, “I want to know what is going on, like, behind the scenes. When you have an agent, you only hear what the numbers are. I just wanted to see how people react and stuff.”
Backstrom’s wanting to see peoples’ reactions is a likely testament to his care for the Capitals franchise. In his interview, he went on to say, “I feel like I don’t need to go in there and be specific… We can just have a normal conversation, and that is what we are having.”
With this lenient tone, it’s likely that a Backstrom extension isn’t too far off. His tone seems to only clarify previous rumours that he isn’t likely to leave. As he becomes more involved in talks, negotiations will surely draw to an end.
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