Gang, injuries to National Hockey League players are never good news. On Friday, the Anaheim Ducks announced that centre Leo Carlsson had to undergo surgery for a lower body injury and he’s slated to be out for 3-5 weeks.

Carlsson’s a really promising young player and he’s become an important player for the Ducks. He’s so important and prolific that he was named to Sweden’s national men’s team for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

However, with Carlsson needing surgery, the timeline for his recovery creeps into the window for the Olympic men’s hockey tournament. While it hasn’t been announced or officially confirmed, it seems probable that Carlsson may miss the Olympics due to his injury.

And that begs the question: if Carlsson isn’t good to go to Italy for the Olympics, who would be replacing him on Team Sweden?

Could it be Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund?

Carlsson’s a 21-year-old left shot centre who’s now into his third full NHL season with the Ducks. He’s progressed really quickly offensively and has spent much of this season on a line with Chris Kreider and Troy Terry, playing against some of the opposition’s toughest players but getting a steady diet of offensive zone starts, too. In 44 games, Carlsson has 18 goals and 44 points.

Meanwhile, Backlund is a 36-year-old left shot centre who’s now into his 16th full NHL season with the Flames. Backlund has been one of the NHL’s most reliable 200-foot centres since around 2016-17 and regularly appearing on Selke Trophy ballots. He’s having a strong offensive season, with 12 goals and 31 points through 48 games. He’s played in a checking role for the past decade, usually with a steady diet of defensive zone starts against the opposition’s top players, plus he’s one of the better penalty-killers in the NHL.

If Carlsson can’t go, the decision will probably depend on what role the Swedish brass is looking to fill. The three Swedish forwards with the most points that weren’t named to Team Sweden were Minnesota winger Marcus Johansson (34 points), Backlund (31 points) and San Jose winger William Eklund (30 points). If they want a two-way, checking centre, Backlund’s probably their guy. If they’re looking for wingers or players that are more offensively oriented, perhaps they go another way.

Backlund has previously represented Sweden at 10 major international events, most recently captaining them to a World Championship back in 2018. He turns 37 in March, so it’s reasonable to call the 2026 event probably his last chance to represent Sweden at an Olympics.

We’ll see if he ends up making it to Italy after all.