The road to recovery has disappointed more than it has encouraged.
Niklas Kronwall milled about in the Detroit Red Wings' locker room Monday, unable to partake in an informal skate because of lingering pain in his left knee that has become a part of his daily life.
"I don't know if I'll ever be pain-free, but hopefully, I'll be able to be out there in a position where it doesn't bite as much," Kronwall said. Similar to what he said at the end of last season, there's no real surgical option.
"The surgery that was talked about was something that probably wouldn't be the best idea if I wanted to play again," he said.
Kronwall is signed through 2018-19, at an annual average value of $4.75 million.
The bottom line is that Kronwall is a 35-year-old defenseman with many hard miles on him. He played a punishing game in his heyday and remained the team's top workhorse even last season, when he twice missed time because of knee issues.
He had to pull out of the World Cup in order to better his chances of being a factor for the Wings.
"There's no question that was a major disappointment," Kronwall said. "In saying that, there was no chance of going there. And going there, then all of a sudden you're sacrificing not just the start of the season but potentially even more. I feel this was the only right decision, the only decision to be made.
"But of course I'm very disappointed that I'm not farther down the road than I am right now. I would have hoped with a few months at home, that I would be farther down the road."
Kronwall doesn't know when he might be ready to practice, much less play. All the coaching staff can do is wait for his signal.
"I think once he pulled out of the World Cup, our goal wasn't necessarily to have him ready for Day One of training camp," coach Jeff Blashill said. "It was have him Nik Kronwall ready to play and be a big impact in our first game. It takes build-up to get there."
The Wings already have one other defenseman dealing with lingering pain, as Jonathan Ericsson said last week he's figuring out how to deal with hip impingement.
