Veteran goaltender leaves the NHL after difficult couple of seasons.

After the past several seasons have seen him struggle both in terms of performance as well as with significant injuries, veteran goaltender Niklas Backstrom has made the decision to leave for his native Finland.

Backstrom was traded in a strange move from the Calgary Flames who acquired him at the deadline, and despite that he only appeared in four games for the Flames and posted abysmal numbers during that stretch. 

The official announcement came when it was announced that Backstrom had signed a one year contract with HIFK Helsinki, the team with whom he started his professional hockey career. 

With his history of injuries as well as his performances over the last several seasons, an eventual return to the NHL for Backstrom seems unlikely.

[pub]