West Notes: Flames, Carlsson, Blackwell

The Calgary Flames have their leadership group to supplement new captain Mikael Backlund for the 2023-24 season, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, center Elias Lindholm, and defenseman Chris Tanev will rotate in and out of the two alternate captain spots per game throughout the campaign.

All these names are notable for a variety of reasons – starting with Andersson, 26, who expressed interest in becoming the team’s captain earlier this offseason before Backlund received it, signing an extension in the process. The 2015 second-round pick has solidified himself as a top-flight defender in this league, logging significant time on both the power play and penalty kill over the past two seasons while posting 99 points in 161 games since the beginning of 2021-22. He’s also the only player who didn’t wear a letter on his jersey last season. He essentially replaced Backlund, while Huberdeau, Lindholm and Tanev all wore ’A’s on their sweaters at different points throughout 2022-23.

More from the Western Conference this weekend:

• Anaheim Ducks promising center prospect Leo Carlsson will not be out long-term after sustaining a lower-body injury in practice yesterday, says Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. There is no exact timeline for the 18-year-old’s return, however, meaning he could miss the team’s season-opening game on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights next Saturday. The second-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is coming off a strong camp, one GM Pat Verbeek said earlier this week has secured him a spot on the Ducks roster for the entire 2023-24 season.
• Chicago Blackhawks depth forward Colin Blackwell practiced for the first time in over six months today as he continues his recovery from sports hernia surgery in March, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Blackhawks expected Blackwell back for the beginning of camp, but the player said he hadn’t fully recovered when he first took the ice last month. With the pending return to health, the 30-year-old becomes a waiver candidate in the coming days after posting just two goals and ten points in 53 contests with Chicago last season.