from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Summer hockey in July seems like a strange concept, but it’s one Justin Abdelkader is ready to embrace.

To get back to simply playing NHL hockey again, for normalcy, and the opportunity for Abdelkader and the Red Wings to finish this regular season on a positive note.

“For sure individually, and as a team, it would have a lot of benefits,” Abdelkader said, if the NHL were to resume its paused season because of the coronavirus pandemic. “You can work on your skills and development, you can get better, and there’s going to be opportunity to get better. As a team, and for me personally, that can help lead into the following season.”...

For a 33-year-old with three years left on a seven-year contract worth $29.75 million, it wasn’t the season Abdelkader envisioned for himself or the team.

“No, it wasn’t,” Abdelkader said. “I still feel good and healthy and I feel I can contribute. I’ve just got to get myself going into next season the best opportunity to contribute, and it’s not always points and goals and assists. There are intangibles and you have to make sure you’re bringing those intangibles and doing the little things every night.

“But when you go through a season where you’re not finding the back of the net like you think you can or have in the past, it can weigh on you and it was frustrating, for sure.”

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