Niklas Kronwall is encouraged that he will go into next season feeling better than he did last year, but uncertainty hangs over his future.
The veteran Detroit Red Wings defenseman is playing on a bad knee that surgery cannot fix. He put in 57 games in 2016-17, after missing the first month of the season because of rehab. He also was sidelined eight straight games in January and another three in February, but otherwise played regularly.
Kronwall turned 36 in January. He has two years left on his contract (at an annual salary cap hit of $4.