Detroit Red Wings defender Jonathan Ericsson saw his 2013-14 season end prematurely, as he underwent a surgical procedure to stabilize a fractured finger.

Though the operation was successful, Ericsson is still feeling the lingering effects.

"Its been a frustrating summer with training and all that," Ericsson admitted in a post skate scrum on Wednedsay, via Chuck Pleiness of Macomb Sports Daily. "It's hard even holding the bar with weights on...But I should be fine."

Asked if he'll be ready to start the season, Ericsson responded affirmatively, but it's clear that he's not at full health.

"I'm not going to be 100%," Ericsson said of his readiness. "But I'll be there."

The Swedish born blue-liner has come a long way in his development over the past couple of years. A shaky third-pairing defender as recently as 2011-12, Ericsson has logged first-pairing minutes for the Red Wings over the past two seasons, and has been extremely effective while logging major minutes on a top-pairing with countryman Niklas Kronwall.

Though, barring an unforeseen setback, Ericsson seems very likely to be in the Red Wings lineup on opening night, it's clear that he'll be bothered by his injury at the outset of the upcoming season. The Red Wings will just have to hope that it doesn't impact his effectiveness, since the club doesn't really have the blue-line depth to replace his contributions.