DETROIT – His headaches are fewer and further between, he is able to exercise longer and he was spending more time on the ice before the season ended.

Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Eaves is heading in the right direction in his recovery from a concussion, and he has no doubt he will be ready to play at the start of next season.

“It's a slow process, but I think I'm getting better,'' Eaves, who turned 28 on Tuesday, said. “I'm very confident I'll be ready. We have some time here I can recover and get treatment. I should be ready to go.''

Eaves suffered a broken jaw when hit by a shot from Nashville's Roman Josi on Nov. 26 and had surgery two days later. The jaw healed by February, but Eaves continued to experience concussion-related symptoms, which kept him idled through the playoffs.

“I didn't have it mapped out this way, but it happened and we'll move on,'' Eaves said last week, when players cleaned out their lockers. “It's frustrating, but my wife took care of me the whole time.''

Eaves said his symptoms will dictate how hard he can work out this summer.

“I'm having less and less headaches and able to work out a little harder,'' Eaves said. “I just got to stay with it.

“I'm able to ride the bike and I'm just starting to walk a little bit on the treadmill. … I was able to skate a couple times with the Black Aces (playoff reserves), but not a full practice. I still have a ways to go. … Baby steps every day.''

The Red Wings missed Eaves' skating ability, his underrated shot (he scored 25 goals the previous two seasons combined) and his penalty killing.

Eaves, who played only 10 games this season, has two years remaining on his contract at $1.2 million per season.

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