Image: @PTJennie
The Capitals season ended just 47 days ago, but players are already returning to their daily workouts and conditioning routines for the upcoming 2021-22 season. Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, who was dealing with a nagging hip injury at the end of last season, has also returned to workouts in his hometown of Gavle, Sweden.
Backstrom’s trainer, Jennie Abrahamsson, says that his current workouts have been tailored to his specific needs. “We work a lot with treatments and the right exercises for him…but yesterday it was time for some intervals.”
Backstrom did not participate in this year’s IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia, stating he needed time to recover from the season. Backstrom was invited to join Team Sweden immediately following the end of the Capitals season, but declined because he was dealing with a “troubled hip.”
Nicklas Backstrom re: injuries: “We all played. I feel like at this time of the year everyone on every team has players banged up. There is no excuse.” #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/8u3DfMcUup
— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) May 24, 2021
Backstrom was asked about the status of his hip in a interview with Swedish media at the end of June. “I [had it] operated on six years ago and then it was okay. Now I will be honest and say that it feels “like that”,” he told Gefle Dagblad.
The Capitals begin play in just 94 days, as time in this shortened offseason begins to quickly dwindle.
By Jon Sorensen
