Christian Bäckman

Christian Rune Bäckman (born 28 April 1980 in Alingsås, Sweden) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played over 300 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, and spent the latter part of his career with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League.[1]

Christian Bäckman
Born	(1980-04-28) 28 April 1980 Alingsås, Sweden
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Frölunda HC St. Louis Blues New York Rangers Columbus Blue Jackets
National team	Sweden
NHL Draft	24th overall, 1998 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	1998–2015

Playing career

Bäckman was drafted by St. Louis Blues in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 1st round, 24th overall. It was not until the 2002–03 NHL season that he got a contract for play in the NHL. He only played four games for St. Louis in his first season, spending the rest of the season playing for Worcester Ice Cats in the American Hockey League (AHL). Between 2003–04 and 2007–08 he was a regular for St. Louis recording 64 points (19 goals, 45 assists), and 130 penalty minutes in 228 games.[2]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout Bäckman played for his Swedish youth club Frölunda in Elitserien where he totalled 19 points in 50 games, winning the Elitserien playoffs.[2]

St. Louis announced on 10 August 2006 that the club re-signed Bäckman for a multi-year contract, although no contract details was released.[3] According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet the contract gives Bäckman 50 million Swedish kronor (approx. $7 million) over three years.[4]

On 26 February 2008, Bäckman was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 4th round draft pick. On 2 March 2008, in his second game as a Ranger, Bäckman scored his first goal as a Ranger on Antero Niittymäki of the Philadelphia Flyers, off assists from Brendan Shanahan and Scott Gomez.[5]

On 2 July 2008, Bäckman was traded, along with Fedor Tyutin, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche. In October 2009, Bäckman signalled the conclusion of his North American career by signing with Frölunda HC.

Personal life

Bäckman was born 1980 in a small town Alingsås. He has two siblings. He grew up in mostly Alingsås but moved to Gothenburg to start his Ice Hockey career.

Bäckman is married to wife Jeanette Bäckman. Together they have 3 children. William Bäckman born in 2001, Thea Bäckman born in 2004 and Ellie Bäckman born in 2010. He spends his off-season in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996–97	Västra Frölunda HC	J20		26	2	5	7	16		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Västra Frölunda HC	J20		28	5	14	19	12		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Västra Frölunda HC	J20		9	0	4	4	12		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL		49	0	4	4	4		4	0	0	0	0
1999–2000	Västra Frölunda HC	J20		3	1	1	2	0		3	1	1	2	0
1999–2000	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL		27	1	0	1	14		5	0	0	0	0
1999–2000	Gislaveds SK	SWE II		21	5	2	7	8		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL		50	1	10	11	32		3	0	2	2	2
2001–02	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL		44	7	4	11	38		10	0	0	0	8
2002–03	Worcester IceCats	AHL		72	8	19	27	66		3	0	1	1	5
2002–03	St. Louis Blues	NHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Worcester IceCats	AHL		4	1	2	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	St. Louis Blues	NHL		66	5	13	18	16		5	0	2	2	4
2004–05	Frölunda HC	SEL		50	4	15	19	40		14	2	7	9	10
2005–06	St. Louis Blues	NHL		52	6	12	18	48		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	St. Louis Blues	NHL		61	7	11	18	36		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	St. Louis Blues	NHL		45	1	9	10	30		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	New York Rangers	NHL		18	2	6	8	20		8	0	0	0	12
2008–09	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		56	2	5	7	32		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Frölunda HC	SEL		47	10	18	28	46		7	1	2	3	6
2010–11	Frölunda HC	SEL		21	4	13	17	8		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Frölunda HC	SEL		55	11	16	27	48		6	0	2	2	2
2012–13	Frölunda HC	SEL		57	7	15	22	36		6	1	3	4	0
2013–14	Frölunda HC	SHL		50	2	5	7	36		7	1	1	2	2
2014–15	Frölunda HC	SHL		33	4	3	7	16		13	0	2	2	8
SEL/SHL totals				480	51	103	154	318		75	5	19	24	38
NHL totals				302	23	56	79	182		13	0	2	2	16

Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
	2006 Turin
World Championships
	2004 Prague
	2010 Germany

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997	Sweden	EJC18			4	0	0	0	2
1998	Sweden	EJC18			6	2	6	8	2
1999	Sweden	WJC	4th		6	0	3	3	0
2000	Sweden	WJC	5th		7	1	1	2	6
2004	Sweden	WC			9	1	2	3	6
2005	Sweden	WC	4th		9	1	1	2	6
2006	Sweden	OG			8	1	2	3	6
2010	Sweden	WC			9	0	3	3	10
Junior totals					23	3	10	13	10
Senior totals					35	3	8	11	28

Awards and honors

Award	Year
SHL
All-Star Team	2005
Le Mat trophy (Frölunda HC)	2005

References

1. "Bäckman retires from professional career". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 2015-06-07. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
2. "Christian Bäckman player profile". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
3. "Blues Sign Christian Backman To Multi-Year Contract". St. Louis Blues Hockey Club L.L.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
4. "Bäckmans lönehöjning: 10 miljoner per år" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet.se. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
5. "Rangers 5, Flyers 4, SO". 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-03-04.

External links

• Official website
• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Marty Reasoner	St. Louis Blues first round draft pick 1998	Succeeded by Barret Jackman