Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg confirmed his back issues will force him to miss training camp and the start of the season, he told Swedish newspaper Sportbladet, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

"I have not been able to train and I cannot play NHL matches without being well prepared, especially not at my age," Zetterberg said.

Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill told MLive's Ansar Khan on Sunday that if Zetterberg wasn't ready to play by opening night, it's likely he won't feature at all this season.

Though a comeback shouldn't be completely ruled out, it's possible that the NHL has seen the last of Zetterberg, who will turn 38 in October. He does, however, have three years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6.083 million.

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