from Samantha Pell of The Washington Post,

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, who is in the final year of a 10-year, $67 million contract, confirmed Monday that he is negotiating his next deal on his own.

Putting trust in himself and the Capitals organization, Backstrom parted ways with his agent, Mark Levine, just before the season started. Backstrom said he ideally wanted to get a deal done before the season, but he is in continuing talks with Washington’s front office.

“I feel like I’ve been here long enough and I feel like I’ve seen everything, and I don’t think it’s anything to hide,” said Backstrom, who was drafted by the Capitals with the No. 4 pick in 2006 and made his NHL debut in 2007. “We will see what happens here moving forward. We will see what happens. I just believed that I wanted to do this myself. I feel like I have a good enough relationship with the organization that we can be honest and talk, and that is how it is.”

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