East Lansing — So how do you follow a career-best season?
Justin Abdelkader is excited to go out and try.
Whatever way you analyze it, Abdelkader was at his best last season. All the numbers were career highs — 23 goals, 21 assists, 44 points, eight power-play goals, five game-winning goals, 154 shots on net, and 72 penalty minutes.
And they came at a timely point in Abdelkader’s career. Abelkader, who’ll be 29 in February, will enter unrestricted free agency next summer while in the prime of his career.
A similar season, or improving upon those statistics even more, could mean a lucrative payday for the 6-foot-2, 218-pound power forward.