From beginning to end, it was a special night. Mikael Backlund’s evening began with his family out on the ice and a silver stick presentation to celebrate his 1,000th NHL game. It ended with a group of his close friends mobbing him outside of the Calgary Flames’ dressing room following a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. His friends sang a song in Swedish, they hugged his teammate and just generally caused a delightful ruckus. Nobody seemed to know exactly what they were singing, and nobody seemed to mind that one bit.

Win or lose, Friday night would have been a memorable one for Backlund. Winning just made it that much sweeter. The Flames captain had his wife Frida, daughter Tillie and son Oliver — both of whom received little silver sticks of their own — with him on the ice as the team celebrated the forward becoming only the second player in franchise history to play 1,000 games in a Calgary jersey.

That’s a big accomplishment, and the Saddledome crowd was appropriately appreciative as current and former teammates spoke in a video about the impact the centre had on their careers. And then, the Flames went out and played their best game in a while, grinding out the Devils and scoring three late goals to secure the victory.

“It was a special moment to share with my family and yeah, to see some current teammates and old teammates up on the screen and seeing (Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy) on the ice, and then to get that silver stick from (Flames owner Allan Markin), it was awesome.

“It’s hard to put a word on it, but I was really proud to hold that stick and even better when the kids got it.”

Backlund’s 1,000th game was actually Wednesday night against the Utah Hockey Club, but that contest took place in Salt Lake City. Friday was the big celebration, and wouldn’t have felt quite the same without a win. The Flames lost 5-1 in Utah and felt like they’d owed him a better performance.

On Friday, they gave him one, snapping a four-game losing streak with a solid 60-minute performance.

“He’s an emotional guy, too, so I think it means more to him than people might realize,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “We didn’t play well our last game in Utah and I think we got a little bit closer to the way our team needs to play to have success and it was even nicer to see it happen on a special night for Mikael.”

Backlund's Record Chase

Now into quadruple digits, now with a commemorative silver stick to hang on his wall at home, the next major games-played target for Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund is 1,220. That is the total required to eclipse Jarome Iginla’s franchise record.

“That would be pretty cool to beat Jarome,” Backlund allowed. “I mean, what a player he was, and such a legend in Calgary.” These two were teammates for parts of five seasons at the Saddledome. In fact, when the Flames selected Backlund in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft, many envisioned him as Iginla’s eventual centre on the top line. While they didn’t skate side-by-side all that often, they now share a perch in the club history books — the only players to log 1,000-plus regular-season appearances in the Flaming C logo.

Backlund hit that milestone in Wednesday’s lopsided loss in Utah. He was presented with his silver stick — one of the NHL’s coolest traditions — prior to Friday’s home date with the New Jersey Devils. And now … next stop 1,220?

“I definitely would be happy for him,” said Iginla, who also reigns as Calgary’s all-time leader in goals and points — it will be a long while before there is a threat to either of those marks — and is now working with the Flames’ hockey-ops brain-trust as special adviser to the general manager. “If people are going to break a record or whatever that milestone number is, I think it’s cool when you know them as a friend and a teammate. So I’m pulling for him and I’m excited for him, and I think he’s got lots left.”

A lot will need to go right for Backlund to bump Iginla into second spot on this particular list. He needs to remain healthy. It’s a good sign that the 35-year-old won the fittest Flame crown this fall, something that Iginla made a habit of during his own heyday. As Backlund told reporters Friday: “I feel better physically today than I did when I first came in the league as a rookie.”

He needs to remain effective. This shutdown centre and ace penalty-killer led all Flames forwards in average ice time during the month of October, so he’s certainly showing that he can still be leaned on for a major workload. He would need at least one more contract with the club. Given his reputation in the locker-room and the community, given that the ‘C’ is stitched on his jersey, that hardly seems far-fetched.

If Backlund remains an every-night lineup lock, he could potentially hit 1,220 GP during the late stages of the 2026-27 campaign, right around his 38th birthday, although he seemed to hint that the early portion of 2027-28 might be more realistic.

“I love playing in Calgary and if I can play that many games, that probably means I’m playing in the new arena, as well, so that would be very special,” Backlund said. “I’m going to keep doing what I can to stay healthy and keep up with the young players so I can stay in this league as long as I want to.”

Long enough to suit up for 1,220 games in Flames’ silks? After Friday’s morning skate, and just hours before Backlund’s silver stick salute, his current teammates weren’t willing to rule it out.

“He’s an old man in a young body,” teased his linemate Blake Coleman, poking fun at Backlund’s early bedtime on off nights. “He takes good care of himself and he does the right things. So if anybody could hang on and maybe get there, it’d be him.”

“I think he can do it,” agreed fellow forward Martin Pospisil. “He’s a pretty special player. The way he acts and the way he treats the players around him, it’s very special. When we had the Dad’s Trip last year, my dad, he could tell right away who was the captain. We were talking — ‘That’s the version that one day I want to be.’ ”

Around the Saddledome, they’re hoping for an extended run from this version of No. 11 — and not just because of this record quest.

“He definitely makes teams better,” praised Iginla, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who totalled 1,554 career appearances when you include his stints in Pittsburgh, Boston, Colorado and Los Angeles. “He’s made a lot of Calgary Flames teams better over the years, and he still is now … He’s still going really well.”

“Like I told him, ‘You’re still a young man. You’ve got lots of game left,’ ” added Flames general manager Craig Conroy. “I mean, I didn’t get to 1,000 games until I was 39. So he’s very young. And just the way he plays, the way he takes care of himself, I easily could see him tracking that record down.

“Backs plays hard, but he’s always taking care of himself, and that’s going to give him longevity in the game. And he just loves the game, that’s the other thing, and that is part of it. You see some guys where they’ve played a long time and hey, they’ve had enough and they’re ready to go on to do something else. But watching Backs, he just loves the game and I think he’ll play as long as he can.

“So yeah, I think it’s within grasp,” Conroy concluded, starting to chuckle. “But Jarome, being on this side now (in management), he might have something to say about that.”

Flames Snap Losing Streak

In Friday's 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils, it wasn't just Backlund who made the night special. Flames goaltender Dan Vladar secured his first shutout since Nov. 21, 2021, and made a couple big saves of Jack Hughes breakaways that kept the game tied in the second period.

He was excellent throughout the night and while it wasn’t his busiest game in the crease, Vladar stopped all 22 shots that came his way and, again, made the big saves when the Flames needed them. And recording a shutout to beat the Devils and Jacob Markstrom, in particular, was extra sweet.

Vladar was Markstrom’s backup with the Flames for three seasons, after all, and they remain close. “He’s such a great person and we’re still really good friends,” Vladar said. “For me, going into the game I wasn’t nervous, I guess I didn’t feel comfortable to be honest, playing against Marky because he’s a really good friend of mine. (Flames goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera) got me ready.”

Vladar has been rotating with Dustin Wolf in the Flames’ net, and while their platoon has served the team well it’s possible that a shutout could see Vladar get two starts in a row for the first time this season. “It may,” Huska said. “It may.”

Looking Ahead

There are a lot of other takeaways we could touch on here. We could easily talk about the impact of Ryan Lomberg laying a beating on Nathan Bastian in their first-period fight and the spark that seemed to provide. We could talk about Matt Coronato looking sharp in his return to the lineup after being sent down for an AHL stint with the Calgary Wranglers a week ago.

But it’s worth mentioning that Andrei Kuzmenko had his night cut short by Huska and didn’t touch the ice for the final 28:45 of the game. Kuzmenko didn’t seem to have one bad play that caused him to get benched. “He wasn’t moving his feet all that much tonight and I thought (Anthony) Mantha was doing a better job of that,” Huska said.

The Flames’ head coach has shown he’s more than willing to glue a guy to the bench if he isn’t playing up to the team’s standard. Huska also sat Martin Pospisil for an extended stretch in a game earlier this season.