TRAVERSE CITY - This is a key year for a couple of players who have been Detroit Red Wings for many years but whose future beyond this season is uncertain.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard and forward Gustav Nyquist are entering the final year of their contracts.
The Red Wings likely will see how they perform the first half of the season before deciding whether to offer extensions. Howard has a cap hit of $5.291 million and Nyquist $4.75 million.
Contract talk is on the back burner for both as they focus on training camp at Centre I.