In Red Wings Land

Abdelkader approaching Red Wings’ coming season with urgency | Detroit News

Abdelkader’s 7-year contract, with a salary cap hit of $4.25 million per year, ends after the 2022-23 season. On a roster with several similar generous deals, it’s Abdelkader’s that fans on social media often single out as most generous, considering his performance of late.

Just know, that Abdelkader wasn’t, and hasn’t been, pleased, either.

That’s why Abdelkader got on the ice earlier than ever this summer to train, he’s been concentrating on skill work, and heading into training camp next month is eager to tackle whatever role is given him.

Justin Abdelkader was really bad last season. Sure, it’s Ken Holland’s fault that the Red Wings are stuck with his terrible contract and I don’t blame Abdelkader for signing it. Players need to take the best deals they can get, but I also don’t blame fans on social media for being critical of his deal and his play on the ice. It’s justified, especially in the salary cap world we live in.

It’s good to know that Abdelkader is not happy either. He’s saying the right things and, based on this article, seems to be taking some extra steps on-and-off the ice to be better prepared for the upcoming season... but will any of it matter? I’m not sure he will ever live up to his current cap hit even if he plays better this season and, quite frankly, there are so many other younger players I’d rather see on the ice instead of him.

Around the League

NHL farm system rankings: Best, worst prospect pipelines for 2019-20, from 1 to 31 | The Sporting News

Steve Yzerman’s tenure as Detroit’s general manager’s got off to a questionable start when he bypassed conventional draft wisdom and took two-way defenseman Moritz Seider with the sixth overall pick. The move certainly will be monitored for several years, but what shouldn’t be lost in the post-draft hysteria is that Yzerman had already inherited an excellent group of young talent and had the flexibility to roll the dice.

The Wings come in #10 overall on this list... which is apparently the exact same spot they were ranked by The Sporting News last year.