“There’s some unknown with that,” Jeff Blashill told NHL Tonight on Thursday. “If people saw what he went through (last season) in order to play, they would expect him not to play. He didn’t practice the whole second half of the season. He just played games because he couldn’t get his back to be able to go through the rigors of everyday.
”So, we’ll see. I know that myself, Ken Holland and a whole bunch of players are hoping that he’s able to get us another year with his back, but ultimately we’ll see come training camp where his health is at.