CALGARY — Mikael Backlund can catch another one of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla’s franchise records and looks forward to playing in Calgary’s new arena after signing a two-year contract extension with the Flames.

Backlund is entering the final season of a two-year, US$9-million deal. The captain’s $6.5-million extension announced Wednesday will keep him a Flame until 2028 when he turns 39.

Backlund has spent his entire 1,066-game NHL career in Calgary and is the longest tenured active skater on the Flames.

“To represent one team, it feels so special and there’s no other team I wanted to play for,” Backlund said Wednesday at the Saddledome with his wife Frida and two young children in attendance.

“My family didn’t want to move anywhere. We want to stay here. We want our kids to grow up in Calgary.

“It just became a natural decision for us to stay here and I feel like this team is going the right direction.”

On Oct. 30, 2024, Backlund became just the second skater in franchise history to play more than 1,000 games, following Jarome Iginla.

Iginla, who is a special adviser to Flames general manager Craig Conroy, holds the franchise record in career games played at 1,219.

Backlund, from Vasteras, Sweden, is within striking distance of that mark.

“I never thought when I was drafted back in 2007 that I was going to ever be close to this record so we’ll see what happens, but it would definitely be really special,” he said.

The centre had 15 goals and 17 assists in 76 games last season, and has compiled 215 goals and 348 assists in his career.

He already holds the franchise record for seasons played at 17, ahead of Iginla at 16.

The six-foot, 206-pound forward was named the franchise’s 21st captain in September 2023, when he signed his previous extension with the club.

Backlund earned the NHL’s King Clancy Award in 2023 for his humanitarian work and captained Sweden to a gold medal at the men’s world championship in 2018.

“I can’t see him in another jersey and to have him back and leading our young guys … Backs is exactly what we want in our captain and our leader,” Conroy said. “It sets a great example for where we want to go as an organization.

“The goal is to make the playoffs and make a push and we think Backs is going to be a big part of that.”

Calgary (41-27-14) missed the playoffs for a third straight year last season, albeit by a small margin in a tiebreaker scenario for the Western Conference’s wild-card berth.

It was Backlund who initiated the extension with a phone call to Conroy three weeks before Wednesday’s announcement.

“I was just hoping that the organization wanted me to be here for three more years and be part of the new arena, which was important to us,” Backlund said.

On the north side of the 42-year-old Saddledome, which is the oldest arena in the NHL behind New York’s Madison Square Garden, construction is underway on Scotia Place, scheduled to open in 2027.

The arena will cost $800 million, but the entire project is $1.2 billion when parking, transit improvements, a new community rink and an enclosed plaza are included.

“We really wanted to be have a deal that covers, or gets into, the new arena,” Backlund said.

“After spending a lot of years here at the Saddledome, it’s going to be really cool to step into a brand new arena.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.