The Capitals reported for camp physicals Wednesday and the center was not on the ice for the first practice Thursday. General manager Brian MacLellan said Backstrom could be available to play in the regular-season opener against the New York Rangers on Oct. 13.
"We will see how he responds here," MacLellan said. "I think he is feeling better now. We will see how it goes here over the next few weeks, a better indication of where he is at over the next few weeks."
Backstrom has been bothered by the injury since last season and missed one game because of it, the penultimate regular-season game against the Philadelphia Flyers on May 8. The 33-year-old led Washington and was 20th in the NHL with 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists) in 55 games and had one assist in a five-game loss to the Boston Bruins in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round.
"Right now, it's just listed as week to week," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "As always when time marches on and you start to see players visually -- everybody, the fans and the media -- you start to see people come back and work their way back into a lineup, and obviously he's not there right now. So it's uncertain other than week to week."
MacLellan said the Capitals determined Backstrom didn't need surgery this offseason, but Backstrom was off the ice "pretty much" the entire summer.
"I think there was a recovery period then went into rehab and maybe it is taking a little longer than everyone expected," MacLellan said. "But I think he is on the road now to recovery."
In June, Backstrom told Gefle Dagblad, a newspaper in his hometown of Gavle, Sweden, that he was having trouble with the same hip that needed arthroscopic surgery in May 2015. Backstrom missed the first three games of the 2015-16 season recovering from the procedure on his left hip.
"It is part of the healing process of that injury, yeah," MacLellan said. "I guess it is wear and tear on it."
Backstrom is entering his 15th NHL season and the second of a five-year, $46 million contract (average annual value of $9.2 million) he signed Jan. 14, 2020. The No. 4 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft became the second Capitals player to play 1,000 NHL regular-season games, joining captain Alex Ovechkin.
His absence could create an opening for younger players including
Connor McMichael
. The 20-year-old made his NHL debut last season after scoring 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 33 games for Hershey of the American Hockey League, his first professional season.
"Him getting the opportunity to play last year in Hershey was really beneficial," Laviolette said. "I thought he did a good job. He finished being their top scorer and at the end of the year was playing really well. So a year like that, I think maturity and age and you're physically stronger, and that experience that you get is all positive for a player like that to come into a camp like this and try to make an impact."
Backstrom has 722 assists in 1,011 regular-season games since making his NHL debut at the start of the 2007-08 season, the most in the league over that span. His 980 points (258 goals) are fifth, behind Ovechkin (1,122), Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby (1,103), Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (1,088) and Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin (1,019).
