NASHVILLE — In this case, no introduction was necessary.
Michael Stone and Mikael Backlund – now teammates with the Calgary Flames – have already met.
You can find the footage on YouTube.
During the Western Hockey League’s championship series in 2009, Stone cranked Backlund with an open-ice, ouch-that-must-have-hurt bone-cruncher at the offensive blue-line.
Backlund hasn’t forgotten. In fact, after the Flames welcomed Stone in Monday’s swap with the Arizona Coyotes, Calgary’s leading point-producer posted the video on his Twitter account, wise-cracking: "I guess I'll have to keep my head up in practice now."
“I think it hurt me just as it much as it may have hurt him,” Stone insisted prior to Tuesday’s tilt with the Nashville Predators.