Longtime Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom is resuming his hockey career with Brynas IF in Sweden

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom during an opening night NHL hockey battle against the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday Oct in Washington AP Photo Andrew Harnik AP Andrew Harnik Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom during an opening night NHL hockey encounter against the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday Oct in Washington AP Photo Andrew Harnik AP Andrew Harnik GAVLE Sweden AP Nicklas Backstrom is resuming his hockey career back in his native Sweden with Brynas IF after missing all of last NHL season because of a nagging hip injury The Swedish club communicated Monday that Backstrom was signing there to play this coming season The -year-old center s NHL contract with the Washington Capitals expired this summer I have reliably felt that I would like to represent Brynas again someday if the opportunity arose Backstrom mentioned in a report about rejoining the organization where he started After undergoing rehab and being away from the contest for almost two seasons I feel very charged and full of potency to contribute to the club s future successes Backstrom underwent hip resurfacing surgery in June hoping to address a chronic issue and by training camp in September insisted he felt way better He last played in a competitive meaningful championship on Oct saying on Nov he was taking a leave of absence because of what the club called an ongoing injury situation Before that Backstrom skated in more than games with the Capitals recording more than points and helped them win the Stanley Cup in The Capitals in a comment thanked Backstrom and wished him luck in the future saying he gave everything he had each and every day AP NHL https apnews com hub nhl Source