It’s gotta hurt a little, right? After an offseason where plenty speculated Rasmus Andersson would get the ‘C’, he instead watched his longtime teammate Mikael Backlund get the honour. For plenty of time, after Mark Giordano’s tenure ended, it seemed as though Backlund was the easy choice to be the team’s next captain. However, Darryl Sutter chose to go without one for each of the past two seasons, and with Backlund’s contract status uncertain all summer, it seemed his time may have passed.
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As for Andersson, he was one of few Flames who continued to speak highly of the Flames organization when many others on the team expressed hesitancy to return. When asked himself about the possibility of being the Flames’ next captain, Andersson admitted it would mean a lot.
“I would obviously love to be the captain of the Calgary Flames,” Andersson said when appearing on the 32 Thoughts podcast. “We have a lot of great leaders. Whoever [Craig] Conroy and [Ryan] Huska pick, it’s gonna be the right pick. I would embrace the challenge and opportunity. If it’s not me and it’s someone else, it’s gonna be the right call. I have so much trust in Conroy, Huska, and the owners.”
In those few sentences, Andersson displayed the same team-first mentality he has shown throughout his entire Flames tenure, including Wednesday when Backlund was named the franchise’s 21st captain.
Andersson Happy for Backlund
By no means am I trying to suggest that Andersson may be, or should have been mad at how the situation played out. He is friends with Backlund and understands that the 34-year-old is the Flames’ longest-tenured player. He even went as far as to congratulate him on X shortly after Backlund both re-signed and was given captaincy.
“Congrats Backs!!!!” Andersson wrote. “Fantastic leader on and off the ice no one deserves it more than you! Can’t wait for the team dinner.”
Clearly, Andersson’s excitement is genuine, and good on him for it being so. As mentioned, he has always been a team-first player, and him expressing any attitude other than excitement would be very uncharacteristic. That said, it had to sting ever so slightly hearing what some of his teammates were saying when the captaincy was up for grabs.
“Obviously, we all know Backs should be the captain, but we’ll see what is going to happen,” Huberdeau told Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun. “I think everybody should say it should be Mikael. I mean, he’s been here 14 years. He deserves to be and he’s a guy that is a leader. You can just tell. He gets everybody together and stuff like that. So, in my opinion, it should be him. Obviously, there’s contract stuff, but hopefully he stays with us and is the captain.” (from ‘Wes Gilbertson’ Is captain candidate Mikael Backlund ready to re-up with Flames?,’ Calgary Sun, 09/23/23).
Meanwhile, a teammate of both Backlund’s and Andersson’s for the past two seasons also made it clear before the announcement that he believed the former was the only player up for debate.
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“I feel like, in my opinion, it’s only one guy in the room who should be captain,” Zadorov said during a guest appearance on Flames Talk. “I think Mikael is definitely our captain. He’s been our captain for the past two years that I’ve been here. It’s just a formal thing to put a ‘C’ on his shoulder. That’s how simple it is.”
While you can certainly understand why players have felt like Backlund was the captain in the past, the fact they seem to have been suggesting he was the only logical option had to have bugged Andersson. After all, these comments came from teammates despite the fact Backlund didn’t yet have an extension. That said, you’d never know it, as he has shown nothing but class throughout this entire ordeal.
Andersson May Be Next in Line
Though he certainly would have liked the opportunity beginning this season, there is a very good chance that Andersson could be next in line for the ‘C’ once Backlund’s time is up. He, like Backlund, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in three years’ time, but based on all the comments he has had regarding the Flames organization, it seems probable that he will want to sign an extension. Flames fans should feel very fortunate to have him as a member of this team.
