Henrik Zetterberg's Detroit Red Wings career appears to be over

Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Henrik Zetterberg won’t stop hoping until a medical professional tells him otherwise, but signs indicate he has played his last NHL game.

The Detroit Red Wings' captain is very much on thin ice with just two weeks remaining until training camp.

Zetterberg told the Free Press on Tuesday he “will not be able to play from the start” of the 2018-19 season because of pain stemming from a history of back issues.

“I will need more answers from doctors before I say I have played my last game,” Zetterberg said. “In my mind, I am hoping it can get solved.

"I don’t want to think I have played my last game. To me, it’s still early to say that. But obviously, I’ve been through this for the last few years, and I know it’s a thin line.”

Zetterberg's comments come days after Wings coach Jeff Blashill said the captain's status this season would be determined based on how he feels when he reports to camp on Sept. 14 in Traverse City.

"If he comes into camp and is in a spot where he's not cleared, I wouldn't plan on him for the rest of the year," Blashill said Sunday in Plymouth, according to ESPN. "That would be my take because I don't know how you go from not being able to train and then not cleared to all of a sudden being cleared."

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Zetterberg says he will keep trying to play until a medical professional tells him he cannot play another game.

“Every time I try to amp up my workouts, I get symptoms again,” Zetterberg said. “Surgery is not an option. Since February, it has slowly gotten worse — things like nerve pain down your legs, disc-related issues. I was able to find a way to get through it, but it has slowly gotten worse.

“I need someone to tell me I can’t play hockey anymore.”

Zetterberg underwent back surgery in the spring of 2014. He has played three straight 82-game seasons since then, but the 2017-18 season was a struggle.

“I know the last few years it has not been perfect,” Zetterberg said. “There has been a few times when I think I am getting closer. I know something was wrong since February.

“My everyday life is pretty good. It’s as soon as I try to do something uncontrolled, that’s when things start to get a little iffy. And there isn’t any more procedures to do on my back. The next thing is fusion, and you want to wait until you are 50 or 60 to do that.”

If Zetterberg, who turns 38 on Oct. 9, is unable to play, the Wings can gain fiscal relief by placing him on long-term injured reserve. He has three years left on his contract.

Replacing him physically will be harder. Even as he has aged, Zetterberg, named captain in January 2013, has been a cornerstone of the team. He led the Wings in scoring as recently as 2016-17, with 68 points in 82 games. He played in his 1,000th game on April 9, 2017, and is 40 points shy of 1,000 NHL points.

In June, Zetterberg told the Free Press that he was “in training and looking forward to a better season.” In July, he took a golfing trip to Scotland with fellow NHLers Erik Karlsson and Valtteri Filppula.

That same month, Blashill shared his concerns about Zetterberg's health in an interview with the Free Press.

“I know he spent the whole second half of last season not practicing because of his back," Blashill said. "He ground it out because he is the ultimate warrior, one of the best I have ever been around, and was able to still be a real good player. But that continues to take a wear and tear on your body.”

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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