Henrik Zetterberg 4-25-16

Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg says team needs to make significant moves.

(MLive/Ansar Khan)

DETROIT - As Detroit Red Wings captain, Henrik Zetterberg has general manager Ken Holland's ear, to some extent.

Zetterberg's message to Holland in shaping the roster this summer is to be aggressive.

"I think there's going to be changes. I think we will probably find that out very soon," Zetterberg said. "I think now, too, you have to be aggressive if you want to be in the race. It gets harder and harder to make it to the postseason. More and more teams are equipped to do that."

Holland indicated on Monday he will be more aggressive in pursuing trades at the entry draft, June 24-25 in Buffalo.

"I just think you have to be ready if there is something out there," Zetterberg said. "I think a whole lot of teams are looking for the same players. If you want to get someone you have to get aggressive. Then it's (a question of) is it worth it or not worth it?"

How much input does Zetterberg have in decisions?

"It all depends," Zetterberg said. "We have our exit meetings. (Holland) talks to everyone and listens to what we believe we need, but after that I don't think we have that much input."

After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the third year in a row, the Red Wings need help offensively (they ranked 23rd in the NHL in goals per game) and defensively (top-pair defenseman).

Some of the forwards who could hit the free-agent market on July 1 include Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay), Andrew Ladd (Chicago), Milan Lucic (Los Angeles), Eric Staal (Rangers), Loui Eriksson (Boston), David Backes and Troy Brouwer (St. Louis), Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen (Islanders). A thin group of free-agent defensemen includes Keith Yandle (Rangers), Alex Goligoski (Dallas) and Brian Campbell (Florida).

"You would love to get a little bit of everything," Zetterberg said. "It's hard now. Free agency is tough.

"You've got to get most of your people from your own organization. I think we have the youth. We have the players in Grand Rapids that are playing well. We're seeing that this year, they came up and played well. I'm expecting the same next year."

Having Anthony Mantha (6-5, 220) and Andreas Athanasiou (6-2, 200) on the roster from the start of the season will upgrade the team's size, but they still need to get bigger.

"There's teams that are big and there are teams that aren't big. I think both (kinds) of teams have won it, but you're right about getting dirty goals," Zetterberg said. "In playoffs those are most of the time the goals you get. We haven't gotten them lately, or enough of them."

Zetterberg knows he must be better. He turns 36 on Oct. 9 and is coming off a disappointing season. For the second year in a row, he struggled in the second half and in the playoffs.

"I think me personally, I have to be better than this year," Zetterberg said. "I'm going to work hard this summer and try to be that next year.

"I think you're used to playing at a certain level. When you're not doing that it's harder. I have to find a way to get back to that, find different areas to get better at, whether it's different ways to work out over the summer, but just be better and be able to produce more."

Did playing all 82 games for just the second time in his 13-year NHL career have an adverse effect?

"I'm happy I was able to play all 82; that's my goal every year to be able to play all games," Zetterberg said. "If it took a toll on me I'm not sure. I should have performed better than I did. I don't think it had anything to do with playing 82 games or not."

-- Follow MLive Sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

-- Download the Detroit Red Wings on MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Follow Ansar Khan and Brendan Savage on Twitter