(Another in a series of player profiles prior to training camp.)

Jonathan Ericsson

Position: Defense

Age: 35

Height/Weight: 6-4/220

2018-19 stats: 52 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, minus-10 rating, 35 penalty minutes.

Career stats: 662 games, 27 goals, 98 assists, 125 points, minus-9 rating, 531 penalty minutes.

Contract: One year remaining at a $4.25 million cap hit.

2018-19 in review: Missed 16 games early in the season (Oct. 4-18 and Nov. 3-23) and sat out 10 of the final 12 games due to injuries. … Scored third career game-winning goal Oct. 28 vs. Dallas. … Lone two-point game Jan. 12 at Minnesota (two assists). … Lowest average ice time (17:08) since 2011-12. … Season-high 24:35 in ice time Dec. 6 vs. Toronto. … Season-high nine hits Dec. 20 vs. Carolina. … Second-worst plus-minus rating of career. … Fewest points in a full NHL season.

2019-20 outlook: Ericsson was plagued by injuries at the start and end of the season and struggled with consistency once again. After a good start in the 2017-18 season, he has posted a minus-23 rating in his past 95 games.

Ericsson was a healthy scratch for back-to-back games on a couple of occasions, for the first time in his career. He’ll likely start the season alongside Trevor Daley as the third pairing (depending on the unit’s health), but unlike past seasons, Ericsson won’t have a guaranteed spot in the lineup. It’ll depend on his performance.

Defense continues to be the weak spot on this team, but coach Jeff Blashill will have other options for the third pairing (Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Patrik Nemeth and Filip Hronek are projected as the top four) – including Madison Bowey or Oliwer Kaski. Dennis Cholowski, who started strong last season before fading and being sent to Grand Rapids, also will be competing for a spot.

Ericsson is among the veteran defensemen the Red Wings will try to move at the trade deadline (along with Green and Daley, but he’ll need to be healthy and playing reasonably well to draw interest for a draft pick.

Quotable: “There’s been a lot of injuries. Too many. Myself, a few times this year and some of the other guys a few times, so it’s frustrating, especially because you never get any good rhythm. You come back and maybe you’re not feeling the best when you come back and you’re basically playing a little banged up.” – Ericsson.

Key question: Will Ericsson rebound with a healthy season and maintain a regular spot in the lineup, or will he be a frequent healthy scratch?