9 – Number of days remaining until the start of the Capitals’ 2019-20 season. But it’s also…
…the number of seasons with at least 50 assists for Nicklas Backstrom; only Joe Thornton (10) has more among active players. Backstrom has hit the 50-assist mark in each of his last six seasons, the only player in the NHL to have accomplished that feat (three players are next in line with four of the last six), and joins Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid as the only three players to have topped 60 assists three times over that span.
Backstrom has only failed to crack the 50-assist mark three times in his illustrious 12 seasons as a Cap – twice when he appeared in fewer than 50 games total (2011-12, 30 assists in 42 games; 2012-13, 40 assists in 48 games) and a 47-assist outing in 2010-11.