from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

The pandemic has forced a flat salary cap of $81.5 million for the foreseeable future. Many teams, already strapped near the cap ceiling, are shedding players.

It’s making for an unprecedented time in the NHL.

Because of those factors — and the fact the Wings still are in the beginning stages of their reconstruction — general manager Steve Yzerman expects to be cautious in his free-agent spending.

“I would say we’ll be relatively conservative,” Yzerman said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty as to what the economic landscape in the NHL looks like in the next couple of years.

“I wouldn’t rule out anything. Again, it’s got to make sense, the contract has to make sense, what you have to pay the player, and the term depending on their age. We’re not opposed to anything.

"But it’s got to make sense.”

The Wings have ample space under the salary cap, but need to work out deals with restricted free agent forwards Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi.

They acquired defenseman Marc Staal from the New York Rangers (along with a 2021 second-round draft pick), absorbing a contract the Rangers couldn’t keep.

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