Backlund signs six-year, $32.1 million contract with Flames

Mikael Backlund signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract with the Calgary Flames on Friday.

It has an average annual value of $5.35 million.
"He's an important player at an important position (center) and they're hard to find," Flames general manager Brad Treliving said. "When you've got him, you hold on to him.
"In simple terms, you keep your good players and add to them, especially at that position. You look at teams that win and you do it through the middle of the ice. I'm convinced of it. Conversely when you struggle, you can point to some lack of strength up the middle."
The 28-year-old could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

"We talked a lot. In a perfect world, we would have like to get something done in the summer," Treliving said. "Sometimes it's not from a lack of trying that those things don't happen. It's got to work for him. It's got to work for us.
"When we got into the season, he didn't want a distraction. We worked away at it and he focused on hockey. It's really in the last week or so, we said, 'OK, Backs, we're getting close.' On this last trip, we said, 'Let's get this pushed over the goal line.' And we did."
The NHL Trade Deadline is Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. ET.
Backlund has 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 58 games this season, and 262 points (104 goals, 158 assists) in 519 games with Calgary, which selected him with the No. 24 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft.
He had NHL career highs of 22 goals, 31 assists and 53 points last season.
"From today to year six, is there going to be a drop-off? Sure there is," Treliving said of the contract length. "But we think Mikael for the majority of this contract is going to maintain the level he is at. He plays quick. He's an elite-level conditioned athlete. We think the term was something that was manageable."
NHL.com staff writer Lisa Dillman contributed to this report