Only Jarome Iginla has had more seasons where he’s played in every single regular season game
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The list of Calgary Flames who have played 82 games in a season five times is not a long one.
Currently, it’s a list of exactly one person.
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Jarome Iginla played in every regular season contest a remarkable nine times for the Flames, but nobody else has done it more than four times.
On Thursday night, Mikael Backlund will change that.
For the third straight season and fifth time overall, the Flames captain will skate in all 82 games this year.
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“I take pride in playing as many games as possible and late in your career you kind of appreciate it more and more and understand the meaning of it,” Backlund said this week. “Being out of the playoffs, it’s been kind of my main focus. Obviously, winning games, but also to finish the year with all the games.”
Assuming they play in Thursday’s regular season finale against the San Jose Sharks, four players will finish the year having played every single game for the Flames. Backlund is joined on that list by Nazem Kadri, MacKenzie Weegar and Yegor Sharangovich.
When you consider the physical toll that playing 82 hockey games over a seven-month stretch takes on the body, the ability to make yourself available every single night is remarkable.
“You don’t play every game or try to play every game without playing through things,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “Mikael is probably in the best shape of everybody on our team and nowadays, everybody’s in shape, it’s not like it used to be.
“He’s the leader in that department and there’s a reason he’s able to keep himself in a position where he can play all the games.”
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That starts with fitness, of course. You’ll hear again and again from the Flames that Backlund remains in phenomenal shape and does all the little things away from the rink both in-season and during the off-season to keep his body operating at the highest possible level.
As young teammate Matthew Coronato marvelled when he was asked about Backlund, the Flames captain is “as professional as it gets.”
Getting to that point took time, though.
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Backlund didn’t play 82 games in a season until his sixth year in the league, but if we don’t include COVID-interrupted seasons he’s played in at least 81 games in six of his last seven years.
Apparently, he’s gotten better with age.
“Early on I had some injuries and kind of had to learn to train the right way, maybe quantity isn’t always the best,” Backlund said. “Some of it was bad luck with injuries — I missed 15 games with a broken pinkie in training camp, there’s not much you can do about that — but just over the years I learned how my body works more and more and how to train in the summer.
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“I think in-season I’ve done a good job taking care of my body in training and taking care of myself away from the rink.”
MANAIGAPANE FOR KING CLANCY
Andrew Mangiapane is the Flames’ nominee for the 2024 King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
That’s a big deal and speaks volumes about Mangiapane’s efforts to contribute to the Calgary community outside of the rink. The annual award is given to the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
Mangiapane is a regular at community events hosted by the team and this year started Mange’s Breadsticks with his fiancee, Claudia. The community hockey program is based out of the Youth Centres of Calgary. With backing from the Flames Foundation and the Calgary Italian Open, it has helped mentor and create opportunities for a group of aspiring young hockey enthusiasts to experience the game.
He also partnered with the Italian Centre Shop to create a unique loaf of bread that was available for purchase at the shop. For every loaf that was sold, a meal kit was provided to the Youth Centres of Calgary.
Four Flames have previously won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Lanny McDonald in 1988, Joe Nieuwendyk in 1995, Jarome Iginla in 2004 and Mikael Backlund last year.
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