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After struggling with problems last season, Niklas Kronwall’s knee issues continue

Niklas Kronwall, Martin Havlat

Detroit Red Wings’ Niklas Kronwall checks Chicago Blackhawks’ Martin Havlat during the first period of Game 3 of the NHL hockey Western Conference finals in Chicago, Friday, May 22, 2009. The play drew a five-minute interference penalty and a game misconduct on Kronwall. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

AP

While his hits often (in my opinion) straddle the line of charging, there’s really little doubt that Niklas Kronwall is an impact player. (He even has a very cool last name that some choose to turn into a verb, in a good way.)

Beyond those game-changing body checks, Kronwall also brings a nice bit of offense to the ice to boot. That being said, Kronwall had an awfully tough 2009-10 season, dropping from a career-high 51 points in 80 games in 08-09 to 22 in only 48 games in an injury-ravaged campaign. Knee problems hobbled the Swedish blueliner last year and unfortunately it doesn’t sound like things will get all the way better soon.

George Malik provides a helpful translation of a Swedish interview between Kronwall and journalist Marie Hallman, which includes this troubling bit of information about his wonky knee.

Do you think you’ll need surgery now?

“I don’t know, the knee’s still not feeling quite 100% yet. I can keep going this way and there are some things that are more problematic than others. My knees feel a lot better than they were during the past spring, but they’re still not as good as I think they should be.”

How are they hindering you?

“I don’t have strength in certain situations, where I’m still [feeling pain]. We’ll see how it it goes. There’s a risk that I could go over [to Detroit] a bit earlier than usual. It’s for the best to go through the situation with the doctors and the organization over there.”

Who decides if there’s an operation?

It’s a joint decision. We have the same interest that I can play at a reasonably high level.”

How long would you be out if there’s an operation?

“I don’t have an idea, but it would involve, for the most part, going in with a camera and looking how it looks, and having an MRI. It’s not an unusual occurrence. And there are people who have it significantly worse [than I do]. I just have to listen to my body and then do what I can. Hopefully it’ll loosen up in the next week or two,” says Niklas Kronwall.

Well, that’s not good news for the Detroit Red Wings. When healthy, the team is still almost as loaded as they were when they made two straight runs to the Stanley Cup Finals. Yet, in the case of injury prone Swedes Kronwall, Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg, optimal health is rarely found outside of the imaginary world of video games.

It’ll be interesting to see if Kronwall (and the Red Wings) opt for surgery or decide to take a wait-and-see approach. It’s never an easy situation, especially when it comes to knee surgery, but we’ll let you know if he decides to go under the knife this summer.