Red Wings' Abdelkader may finish MSU degree this summer

Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader said he'll spend most of the summer at his home in Muskegon, healing up from a fractured right middle finger.

"I gotta look into finishing my degree, hopefully this summer," said Abdelkader, 28, who helped Michigan State win the NCAA title in 2007.

Abdelkader said he needs six credits to graduate. He has been chipping away at the credits since he decided to leave school after his junior season to join the Wings.

Abdelkader took a big step offensively in his fifth NHL season. He had career highs in goals (23), assists (21), points (44) and penalty minutes (72) in 71 games this season for the Wings.

Marek Zidlicky had a great time with Wings

He scored more goals this season than he had in the previous two seasons combined — 10 goals in 2012-13 and 10 in 2013-14.

Abdelkader is confident he can continue to put up numbers like he did this season. He said part of the success came with playing with great offensive players — Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist.

"I think as a player this is the most comfortable I've felt, the most confident," he said. "Each summer I put in really good training to prepare myself for a long season. I think each year I've elevated my game.

"I mean, it's always a goal to score, to produce. To produce how I did, I don't know if anyone would have predicted it."

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.