Mikael Backlund called Craig Conroy to request a contract extension: ‘It was an easy decision for us to decide to stay’

Two summers ago, Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund was faced with a big decision about his future. After weighing his options, he opted to sign a contract extension and become the club’s captain.

This summer, Backlund’s decision-making about his future was a lot simpler.

On Wednesday, nearly two full years after he signed his previous contract, Backlund re-upped with the Flames for another two seasons, signing an extension for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons with a $3.25 million cap hit. According to Backlund, the deal came together pretty quickly after a phone call with general manager Craig Conroy.

“We had a good talk at the end of last year, and then we kind of let it sit for the summer,” said Backlund. “And then once we got back, I made a casual call to Connie. Frida couldn’t believe it. Just one day after practice, I called Connie and said, ‘you know what, we want to stay. Can we get it done?’ It was about three weeks ago probably.”

“I wasn’t sure what exactly he was calling about,” recalled Conroy. “But, you know, I think the one thing, even at the end of the year when we did talk, I said I wanted him to have the summer with Frida and the kids and just see what you want. You know, no pressure either way. We would like to have you back. But, again, you’ve earned the right to make your own decisions. So, you know, enjoy the summer. Think about what you want to do, and then we’ll wait until we get back. And, you know, if this was a month from now or two months from now, I wasn’t going to him to pressure him on anything. I just wanted Backs to feel comfortable with the decision that they made as a family. But I did express we did want to sign him back.”

The last time Conroy and Backlund chatted about a new contract, the Flames were in a much different place. The Flames had regressed during the 2022-23 season, with general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Darryl Sutter departing the organization in the aftermath. When Conroy replaced Treliving as GM, he inherited seven prominent players on expiring contracts and an organization in flux.

Backlund was the only one of those seven players to remain with the Flames.

But if 2023’s negotiation involved some apprehension, the 2025 edition was a reflection of Backlund’s excitement for what’s being built in Calgary – both on the ice and down the road.

“Yeah, I wasn’t too anxious or stressed about it this time around,” said Backlund. “We were just super excited that we really enjoyed our time here in Calgary. It’s become our home, for me and Frida. And it was an easy decision for us to decide to stay. And then I was just hoping the organization wanted me to be here for three more years to be part of the new arena, which was important to us. We really wanted to be, have a deal that covers or gets into the new arena. And I felt me and Connie had such a good relationship playing together and working alongside for all these years. And it was easy to reach out to Connie and start a conversation. And I thought it went really smooth and no, no anxiety or anything. So, it’s all good.”

Since the 2024-25 season concluded, Conroy has locked up a lot of players to extensions that go beyond the 2025-26 campaign: among them being Matt Coronato, Morgan Frost, Connor Zary, Adam Klapka, Martin Pospisil, Kevin Bahl and Dustin Wolf. And now, he’s signed the club’s longest tenured current player.

Backlund heads into the 2025-26 season sitting second all-time in games played as a Flame at 1,066, trailing only Hockey Hall of Famer (and Flames special assistant) Jarome Iginla. He’s top 10 in every major offensive category on the franchise leaderboard.

And, most importantly, he’s someone that loves Calgary, buys into Conroy’s vision for the team’s future, and wants to help him see it through.

“He wants to be a Calgary Flame,” said Conroy. “He is a Calgary Flame. I can’t see him in another jersey. And to have him back and leading our young guys, I know we have to have young guys, and we have young guys coming. But Backs is exactly what we want in our captain and our leader, and I think it sets a great example for where we want to go as an organization.”