Another Swede Milestone

When the Capitals take the ice on Friday against the New Jersey Devils, they'll do so with the top two point-leaders in franchise history.
Nicklas Backstrom climbed up the Capitals record books on Monday, just weeks after reaching 600 career assists. With three assists in Washington's 4-1 over the Islanders Monday, Backstrom passed Capitals legend Peter Bondra (825) on the franchise's all-time point list, with 827.

"My record has now been broken by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom - those are generational players," said Peter Bondra, who played 14 seasons in Washington, from 1990 to 2004. "I'm honored to be associated with those two. And I think I speak for every coach and player when I say that Nicklas Backstrom is a guy you want on your team."

Bondra, who follows the Capitals closely and works as the director of alumni affairs, praised Backstrom's style of play and his dedication to sustain such success.
"He almost lulls you to sleep he's so smooth," Bondra said. "He can slide passes anywhere and he has such great chemistry with his teammates, especially on the power play. That [ability and longevity] comes from talent but also his hard work and professionalism. He prepares all year."
Aware of Capitals history and the great players who came before him, Backstrom returned the sentiment.
"Bondra was a great player, a great goal-scorer, and he played for a long time in Washington and did a lot of great things," Backstrom said. "To be up there with him, it's also an honor [for me]. When I came into the league 12 years ago, this was nothing I expected. But now we're here and it's a nice milestone."

The Capitals are now the only team in the NHL with both of their franchise point-leaders active and rostered. The Sharks' and Wild's top two are still active but Patrick Marleau, who leads San Jose in all-time points, and Marian Gaborik, second in Minnesota history, both now play for different teams.
Backstrom's milestone marks a rare achievement for the entire Capitals organization. The goal is always to draft future stars and retain them once they develop. And while it's impossible to foresee the plan materialize this well, general manager Brian MacLellan remembers evaluating the top prospects in 2006, eyeing a certain Swedish center who he believed would one day help lead the team to a championship.

"We talked a lot about the top five guys in that draft, and we talked about him being a No. 1 center," said MacLellan, who's been in the Capitals front office for the last 17 years. "There were three legitimate centers (Jonathan Toews, Jordan Staal and Nicklas Backstrom) - and we thought he was a first-line power-play guy, a first-line center. I think we knew what we were getting into all along. We were pretty excited to get to draft him."
He quickly justified that excitement and continued to progress. Backstrom's 0.99 points per game rank fourth in franchise history among Capital players who played at least 200 games. His 827 points (215g, 612a) are the most in his 2006 NHL draft class, 58 points ahead of fellow '06 draftee Phil Kessel despite skating in 98 fewer games.
"I think since Day 1 he's had a lot of respect from teammates and everyone in the organization. He's been a main part of our team for his whole career," MacLellan said. "[Ovechkin] gets a little more attention than he does, but they're on equal levels in my mind. They complement each other really well. The organization won a Cup last year because of those two. He's just as important as Ovi's been to us."

Todd Reirden, for his part, called it a privilege to coach Backstrom, who he labeled a "coach on the ice." The Capitals head coach recently went through the Backstrom-congratulatory tour after 600 assists, but he doesn't seem to get tired of praising the steady alternate captain.

"I really can't describe to you the impact he has on our team," Reirden said. "As a leader, this is the best I've seen him in that role, especially with [other veterans] out. And just his consistency, how he comes to work and his practice habits. He's just a joy to coach. I'm fortunate, as all our coaches are.
"And then his performance on the ice. It's not just the points - that's great we were able to celebrate that the other day - but he plays the top lines every night, he penalty kills. At the end of games, when we need a goal, or we need to stop a goal, he's out there and he takes charge … We as a team are very fortunate to have him, [and so is] the entire D.C. area."