What You Need to Know About the 2014 Training Camp for the Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings open up training camp in Traverse City with a much clearer picture of the immediate future of their opening night lineup thanks to recent events.

The Wings will kick off the 2014-15 season without the messy logjam of forwards that they had at the beginning of last season, but that could mean a lack of depth as well.

Here are five things you need to know about the 2014 Detroit Red Wings training camp.

Daniel Alfredsson Could Very Well Retire Before the End of Training Camp

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It isn't a matter of wanting to play for Daniel Alfredsson. It is his body just simply refusing to let him.

Alfredsson discussed the injury with Ansar Khan of MLive saying that he "had some issues with [his] back throughout the year, but nothing serious until the end when [he] started getting some tingling in the nerve down the right leg...[he] would love to play, there's no question, but at the same time you have to listen to your body."

Sometimes hockey, like life, doesn't seem fair.

Alfredsson didn't just exceed expectations last season, he led the entire team in scoring. One could make an valid argument that it wouldn't have happened if Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk were healthy the whole season. But it didn't matter.

The long-time Senators captain helped Detroit reach the playoffs for the 23rd season regardless of the boatload of injuries that came upon the Red Wings. Now, somewhat ironically, he may be forced to retire because of his back issue.

Detroit will give him the benefit of a doubt. That much is for certain.

Per Brendan Savage of MLive, Red Wings' GM Ken Holland will "give him time to (where) hopefully his back gets to the point he feels better."

But Alfredsson is 41 years old. He still has the skills to play at this level but will his back ever heal enough for playing to be an option for him?

No Anthony Mantha, Alfredsson, Means No Roster Battles to Speak of

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LONDON, ON - MAY 23: Anthony Mantha #8 of the Val'Dor Foreurs battles Dysin Mayo #37 of the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 1st period of overtime during the Semi-Final of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup at Budweiser Gardens on May 23, 2014 in London, Ontari

The season hasn't even started yet, and already injuries are dominating the storylines for Detroit.

In what seems like a bad case of deja vu, Detroit has lost its top prospect, Anthony Mantha, to a broken right tibia. According to Helene St. James of Detroit Free Press, Mantha could be out for six to eight weeks, and there's no guarantee that he will be anywhere near hockey shape when he gets back.

This takes the drama, excitement (and whatever other eyebrow raising one might have done) out of training camp, as Mantha will obviously not be able to challenge for a roster spot.

Mantha's injury combined with Alfredsson's back issue results in little to no serious roster battles to watch in training camp.

This is because Detroit already has 14 players signed at forward, seven players signed on defense, and two goalies signed with only one of those players (Tomas Jurco) being eligible to clear waivers.

Although Mantha was a long shot to make the opening night roster to start with, he now has no chance of doing so after breaking his leg.

A Friendly Reminder That Mike Babcock Is Entering the Last Year of His Contract

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Technically speaking, Mike Babcock isn't a free agent. But, per Brendan Savage of MLive, his ultimatum of not talking about his contract (of which he is in the last year of after the season starts) remains in effect.

The season doesn't technically start until October 9, but the Red Wings organization risks losing a coach that ranks No. 1 in franchise coaching wins if he can't come to terms before that date. 

Assuming the Wings make the postseason (or even if they do not), the window that the team has to retain Babcock as a head coach shrinks drastically, as the season wouldn't be over until April or later.

Does Detroit really want to lose one of the best coaches in the game through a lack of a contract?

Friendly reminder to those watching that it could be Babcock's last season in Detroit if he cannot come to a deal before the season starts.

Dan Cleary's NHL Contract Doesn't Guarantee a Spot in Opening Night Lineup

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The fury of Red Wings' fans might be mitigated by reading the above slide title.

Just because Dan Cleary was insensibly re-signed by Ken Holland earlier in the offseason, does not mean that he will or has to play a game in the NHL this season.

When healthy, Cleary is a very effective player and a valuable asset to the Red Wings as a net-front presence. When he isn't healthy, he puts up eight points in 52 games and takes up a roster spot.

Cleary will place himself in either the "healthy" or "healthy scratch" category with his play in the preseason and even more so in the first nine games of the NHL season. When Cleary plays those games, he is playing for two things.

First, he is playing for a spot in the lineup. The Newfoundland native needs to be healthy to play. But Cleary is also playing for a $1 million games played bonus.

Cap Geek lists Cleary's contract at $2.5 million for 2014-15, an exorbitant amount to pay a player who couldn't even hit double digits in points last season. But Cleary's cap hit depends on how many games he plays. 

If he plays 10 games, he gets the final $1 million of his contract.

If he doesn't, it means he isn't healthy and he won't be bumping up the Red Wings' combined cap by $1 million.

Fans can breathe easy for now.

Don't Take Training Camp Lines Too Seriously

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Once players get comfortable on a given line in the regular season, it is a little bit more difficult to break players up and expect the same scoring results.

Then there is training camp.

The part of the season where a head coach can tinker around as much as he likes with lines. The goal is to see who can play with who and how well any given combination of players can match up against another.

Per the Detroit Red Wings website, Mantha's injury opened the door for Tomas Tatar to play on a line in training camp with Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm in training camp.

Whether this could be a line come the regular season has yet to be determined, but Detroit has plenty of forwards who could see top-six ice time this season. Datsyuk also makes any forward better (offensively of course), meaning that it is imperative to try out offensively gifted players like Tatar on a line with Datsyuk.

But at the end of the day, it is just training camp.

Don't be worried if Dan Cleary happens to "replace" Daniel Alfredsson and end up on the same line as Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg.