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

Frans Nielsen

Position: Center

Age: 33

Height/Weight: 6-1/188

2016-17 stats: 79 games, 17 goals, 24 assists, 41 points, minus-19 rating, 18 penalty minutes.

Career stats: 685 games, 136 goals, 254 assists, 390 points, minus-15 rating, 130 penalty minutes.

Contract status: Five years remaining at a cap hit of $5.25 million.

2016-17 in review: Fourth on team in points. ... Led team with 15 power-play points. ... Tied for team lead with 11 power-play assists. ... Scored two of team's three shorthanded goals. ... Fourth among team's forwards in average ice time (17:09). ... Led team in combined special teams time on ice (2:24 power play, 1:55 penalty kill). ... Posted worst plus-minus rating of his career. ... Two points (goal, assist) in Red Wings debut Oct. 13 at Tampa Bay. ... Two-goal games at New Jersey (Nov. 25) and at Vancouver (Feb. 28). ... Tied career-high with three points (two goals, assist) at New Jersey (Nov. 25). ... Season-high seven shots on goal April 1 vs. Toronto. ... Converted on 2-of-8 shootout attempts; 19 game-deciding goals in shootouts first all-time; 44 shootout goals (on 90 attempts) second all-time. ... Missed three games with an upper-body injury (Feb. 4-9). ... Second on team in faceoff percentage (53.8 percent) among players who took 400 or more draws. ... Made first career All-Star Game appearance. ... Had no goals and two assists in six games for World Team in World Cup.

2017-18 outlook: His cap hit might be a little higher than it should be and the length of his contract may be longer than you'd like, but Nielsen is an important player who does many things for this team.

He plays in all situations (power play, penalty kill, final minute of one-goal games). He's good defensively (better than his minus-19 rating might indicate). He's solid in the faceoff circle. He's one of the best all-time in the shootout.

The plan to keep Henrik Zetterberg at center and play Dylan Larkin in the middle will drop Nielsen to the third line. He might be flanked, at least at the start, by a couple of speedy wingers in Andreas Athanasiou (unless he signs with a KHL club) and Darren Helm.

Key question: Could Nielsen produce more points if he remains as the third-line center?