Red Wings GM: Alfredsson 'only wants to play if he feels he can contribute'

The question of whether Daniel Alfredsson will resume his NHL career this season remains unanswered, and a decision isn't likely to be made until the Detroit Red Wings gather for training camp on Sept. 18. 

General manager Ken Holland said Wednesday the 41-year-old does have a desire to play at least one more season, but only if he can have a positive impact on the club.

“I haven’t talked to him in about a month,” Holland told the Detroit Free Press. “He’s training hard. He’s training to play. He does want to play. When I last talked to him, he said he felt good - he wanted to feel great. He would love to play another year. He wants to play for us. He only wants to play if he feels he can contribute. The best test for him is to skate a couple weeks prior to training camp."

Holland added that Alfredsson may attend camp without a contract, allowing both sides additional time to figure out the best course of action. “I’ll talk to him next week," Holland continued. "We’ll wait 10-12 days. Do we sign him to a contract? Does he just want to come to camp? I'm lobbing everything out there.”

Alfredsson co-led the team in scoring last season with 49 points, albeit with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen missing significant time due to injury.