Steve Yzerman comments on the future of Nicklas Kronwall.

Update on Kronwall from the boss.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Steve Yzerman comments on the future of Nicklas Kronwall.
Daniel Lea/CSM/Zuma

The Detroit Red Wings have a very interesting situation on their hand. 

The stats of veteran defenseman Nicklas Kronwall is seemingly hanging in limbo at the moment and there seems to be no clear indication of what the future holds for arguably the most recognizable face on the entire Detroit Red Wings roster. Kronwall of course will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and technically will have the option of signing with any of the 31 teams in the National Hockey League.

Of course that makes Kronwall no different than any of the other free agents that will be on the market this summer, however the difference when it comes to Kronwall is the durable legacy he has established as a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization. Kronwall of course was drafted by the Red Wings in the 1st round (29th overall) of the 2000 National Hockey League Entry Draft and he has never played for another organization since being selected by the team.

Additionally Kronwall has appeared in 953 games for the organization and would in theory hit a major career milestone of 1000 career games as a Red Wings if he were to return for an additional season. Now it may seem like with Kronwall so close to free agency that the Detroit Red Wings have decided to move on, but it actually sounds like the ball may be in his court. Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman recently spoke on the subject of Kronwall's future and appeared to indicate that the Red Wings would love to welcome him back.

"We're going to go about our business," Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told the Detroit Free Press at the 2019 NHL Draft on Saturday. "Nothing really changes. If Nik wants to come back and play, he'll have a spot on the team. I don't anticipate giving you anything really until the end of the summer."

The wording here would appear to indicate that it is Kronwall and not the Red Wings who are contemplating a return to the organization. If that is indeed the case I would put my money on the choice being between the Red Wings and retirement, and not Kronwall contemplating the possibility of signing with a rival team.

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