JUSTIN ABDELKADER

Captain Andy Miele had two points and Strauss Mann made 35 saves to help the United States beat Canada 4-2 in men's hockey at the Olympics.

The Detroit Red Wings started fast and strong against the Dallas Stars on Friday night in front of a rocking Little Caesars Arena crowd.

Roope Hintz scored a power-play goal with 2:09 left in overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

AdThe Red Wings ended up losing their second straight to the Lightning, 3-1, on Friday. I think we’ll see the Red Wings win at least one of these. Friday night could have gotten out of hand against the Lightning, but Greiss gave the Red Wings a chance. The Red Wings bought out Abdelkader’s hefty contract in October. He was in the 5th year of a 7-year contract he signed with the Red Wings in 2015.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 08: Justin Abdelkader #8 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Anaheim Ducks at Little Caesars Arena on October 08, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. He was in the 5th year of a 7-year contract he signed with the Red Wings in 2015. The Muskegon, Mich. native first joined the Red Wings from Michigan State University at the end of the 2008 season. AdAbdelkader struggled to find ice time with the Red Wings the past couple of seasons. More: Red Wings news

It might not feel like it, but a lot has happened in Red Wings world recently. The Red Wings are not looking for anything long-term in net. The Red Wings acquired Staal and a second-round draft pick from the New York Rangers for future considerations. I think Bertuzzi has been a consistently good player on a very consistently bad Red Wings team. I am always skeptical of every draft pick until we see him in the lineup, in a Red Wings sweater and playing well.

The NHL free agency signing period is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. The Detroit Red Wings could be quite active after offloading several contracts over the past month, most notably buying out forward Justin Abdelkader’s costly salary. The Red Wings currently have $27 million in free cap space, according to CapFriendly. I really can’t stop looking at that page -- it’s a wonderful sight for Red Wings fans. Related: Red Wings agree to 1-year extensions with Erne, HiroseFollow NHL free agency updates here:

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings announced Tuesday forward Justin Abdelkader has been placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 6, 2020Abdelkader, 33, has been with the Red Wings since 2008. He is in the 5th year of a 7-year contract he signed with the Red Wings in 2015. The Muskegon, Mich. native first joined the Red Wings from Michigan State University at the end of the 2008 season. May 17, 2020: Red Wings Justin Abdelkader on the possible NHL return, quarantine and his teammate’s golf gameSign up here for the latest news on the team and from around the league, and some jokes (good ones).

The Red Wings were in Washington March 12th getting ready for a game with the Capitols when they heard the season was suspended. Justin Abdelkader said there werent any long goodbyes with teammates because they thought theyd be back soon. We are sitting here wondering if we will finish regular season. Theyre usually directed at Luke Glendening, the NHL Players Association Player representative for the Wings. He said of the Wings players, Anthony Mantha just might be the best.

He is coming off of a real bad year (6 goals, 13 assists, -14 rating in 71 games played) and the Red Wings have suddenly added Erne to the roster. The 23-year-old winger played 60 games with the Wings this past season (3 goals, 6 assists) -- is he in the mix? There's also Madison Bowey, who the Red Wings acquired through the Nick Jensen trade in February. Who is actually going to be playing for the Red Wings? Goalies:Jimmy HowardJonathan BernierCalvin PickardI put together a quick recap of the major Red Wings offseason moves here.

He was hurt all last year, but can he be healthy enough to get a spot on this roster when the season starts? He is coming off of a real bad year (6 goals, 13 assists, -14 rating in 71 games played) and the Red Wings have suddenly added Erne to the roster. The 23-year-old winger played 60 games with the Wings this past season (3 goals, 6 assists) -- is he in the mix? There's also Madison Bowey, who the Red Wings acquired through the Nick Jensen trade in February. Who is actually going to be playing for the Red Wings?

He is coming off of a real bad year (6 goals, 13 assists, -14 rating in 71 games played) and the Red Wings have suddenly added Erne to the roster. Abdelkader has that hefty contract that does not look good sitting on the 4th line. It's just a mess of different/bad contracts, aging players, young players with unknown value, and players like Cholowski and Hronek who look like the future, but we still can't quite tell -- although Hronek dominated at the 2019 World Championships. There's also Madison Bowey, who the Red Wings acquired through the Nick Jensen trade in February. Who is actually going to be playing for the Red Wings?

The NHL Free Agency period starts today, meaning all free agents in the league will be able to make deals with teams. The Red Wings are not expected to be making any big trades, and they're not exactly what one might consider a top free agent destination, or ... are they? Yzerman could choose to acquire more talent through free agency in his first summer as Red Wings GM in an effort to speed this process up even more. Would Yzerman consider signing one of the top free agent defensemen, perhaps Anton Stralman (TBL) or Jake Gardiner (TOR)? Basically, there is reason for optimism and free agency can't ruin that.