Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk is on schedule in his rehab from ankle surgery, general manger Ken Holland said. Datsyuk, 37, had surgery to repair ruptured tendons June 26 in Charlotte, N.C. Datsyuk is scheduled to see his surgeon, Dr. Robert Anderson, in mid-September. Anderson will determine if Datsyuk can begin hockey activities at that time.
* In a Russian television interview last month, Datsyuk said it might be "four or five months" from the surgery before he could play again. That would put his return in late October or November. Detroit opens its regular season Oct. 9 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Holland said Red Wings trainer Piet Van Zant visited Datsyuk last week.
* Datsyuk was bothered by the ankle injury late last season and missed eight of the last 14 regular-season games. He had 29 goals and 36 assists in 63 games last season after missing the first five games with a separated shoulder. Holland said Datsyuk's availability to begin the regular season will have no effect on whether the Red Wings' top prospect, center Dylan Larkin, makes the roster out of training camp.
Ken Holland: "All in all, we're encouraged by [Datsyuk's] progress. We're waiting for him to see the doctor in September and see where he's at then. If Dylan Larkin is making the team, he's making the team because he's making the team. He's not making the team because there's a spot open because someone's injured."
* Larkin, 19, was Detroit's first-round pick (No. 15) at the 2014 NHL Draft. He played the 2014-15 season at the University of Michigan and was Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He excelled for the United States at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, leading the U.S. with five goals and seven points in five games and impressing with his all-around game. Larkin also played for the U.S. at the 2015 IIHF World Championship; he had one assist in 10 games.
* The Red Wings are hopeful Johan Franzen will be able to participate in training camp after sustaining a concussion last season. Holland told Mlive.com on Monday that he spoke to Franzen two weeks ago. Franzen has been working out at Joe Louis Arena for more than a week, the report said.
"My expectations and hopes are he's going to be cleared when he takes his physical at camp. Ultimately, it's in the hands of [the doctor]. Johan told me he's gotten better over the course of the summer. He's pushed himself hard to test it. So far, so good. Obviously, there's a history of concussions. I can't read the future. I expect he'll take his physical and pass it and resume his career. As he skates and trains every day, if he has no setbacks, I don't know why he would, I'm expecting his body is going to tell him."
* Franzen has an annual NHL salary-cap charge of $3.954 million for the next five seasons, according to war-on-ice.com. He has 187 goals and 182 assists (369 points) in 600 NHL games, all with the Red Wings, and 42 goals and 39 assists (81 points) in 107 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Franzen, 35, last played Jan. 6, his 33rd game of the season. He played 54 games the season prior.
* Lidstrom, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 9 in Toronto, won the Norris Trophy seven times. He was a First-Team All-Star 10 times and played in the NHL All-Star Game 11 times. He had 264 goals and 1,142 points, all with the Wings. In 20 NHL seasons, he never missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs and won four championships and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2002. He became the first European captain to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2008.
* Alfredsson had 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 games spanning 18 seasons in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and the Red Wings. He played 1,178 games for the Senators and had 426 goals, 682 assists and 1,108 points, all Ottawa records. He led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, scoring 14 goals in 20 postseason games. He is expected to accept a front-office position with the Senators next month.
* Sundin spent 18 seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks, scoring 564 goals 1,349 points in 1,346 games. The eight-time NHL All-Star spent 13 seasons with Toronto. Sundin was the first European selected with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft in 1989 by the Nordiques.
* The World Cup of Hockey is returning in September 2016 after a 12-year hiatus. The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation also on Tuesday named Rikard Gronborg coach for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Gronborg, who served as an assistant coach for Sweden under Par Marts at the 2014 Winter Olympics, will be assisted by former NHL players Johan Garpenlov and Peter Popovic.
Rikard Gronborg: "It is with a great deal of pride and humility that I accept this fantastic coaching opportunity within Swedish ice hockey. Since I grew up during the Canada Cup era back in the 70's and 80's, when, for the first time in modern history, the greatest players in the world represented their respective nations. Therefore this will be a great honor for me personally to coach Sweden at the World Cup. I am also looking forward to work with some of the best and most respected hockey personalities that Sweden has to offer."
* The first World Cup competition since 2004 will feature national teams from the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, and there will be two all-star teams, one made up of the top 23-and-under North American players and another featuring the top NHL players from the European countries that aren't represented by their national teams, including Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Norway, Denmark and Latvia.
* Gronborg is currently the coach for Sweden's national junior team that will compete in the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland, from Dec. 26, 2015 through Jan. 5, 2016.
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