Report: Star Veteran Staying Put

The loss of Pavel Datsyuk to the KHL with one year remaining on his contract has Detroit Red Wings fans questioning if any other veteran player will do the same.

 

In the case of captain Henrik Zetterberg, that certainly will not be the case.

 

Zetterberg signed a 12-year contract in 2009, and told The Detroit Free Press (when asked if he plans on following through on the remaining five years of his contract):

 

“Yes. Yes. But in the same way, I’m human. I know that every year it’s a bigger and bigger battle to get through. We’ll see if my body holds up for five more years. Last year, I played 82 games, which I was proud of doing — maybe it wasn’t 82 good ones, but I played 82 — and so we’ll see. By now, I’m just taking it year by year.  And obviously the next two years are big years — the last year at the Joe and then first year at new building. That’s probably where I’m looking.”

 

Evidently, he’s aware of Datsyuk’s situation and how the latter chose to join the KHL in order to be closer to his daughter, despite having a single season left on his contract. The Red Wings captain will be 41 by the time his deal expires, although he has managed to play in all 82 games last season and 77 prior.