Injury notes on Alfredsson, Garrison and Kovalchuk … The Red Wings and Sharks may have a busy offseason

“We have lots of cap space, and there’ll be players available July 1,” general manager Ken Holland said. “We’re going to look at free agency, but the NHL is so tight now. The days of us having way more depth than the opposition or one extra star, those are over for everybody. It’s a league that’s very, very close.”

The Wings will have $22 million in cap space next season (# could change depending on what the new cap will be). Some will go Nicklas Lidstrom if he decides to come back. The team plans to pursue Ryan Suter, but the teams bigger problems may be upfront. It’s likely they won’t bring back UFA Jiri Hudler next season. The Wings are also interested in Zach Parise who will be looking for a raise over his $6 million contract. Other forwards that may be available: Andrei Kostitsyn, Shane Doan, Olli Jokinen, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne. The core group of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Filppula will be back to go along with Bertuzzi and Cleary. RFAs Helm and Abdelkader will be re-signed. Patrick Eaves should be recovered from his concussion in time for next season. Gustav Nyquist should stick with the big club.

“I think we’re in an era now where every year is a new year, it’s hard to sustain things for more than two to three years because of the cap,” Wings GM Ken Holland told ESPN.com on Sunday. “It’s also because we all have a better understanding of the system, there are fewer kids traded, fewer draft picks traded. There’s more parity. The days of a team being at the head of the class for seven to eight years, those years are over.”

“Certainly we’re going to explore all avenues, trade and free agency to try and improve our team,” Holland said. “Our goal is to be a playoff team and position ourselves where we have the potential to be on a playoff run.”

Notable Red Wings UFAs: Jiri Hudler, Tomas Holmstrom, Brad Stuart, Ty Conklin and Nicklas Lidstrom. Holland hopes to know by the middle of June what Lidstrom’s plans are for next year. If Lidstrom retires, it would definitely give them a lot more cap room. If Ryan Suter or Zach Parise hit the open market, the Wings will be bidding. Notable Sharks UFAs: Torrey Mitchell, Dominic Moore and Daniel Winnik. Patrick Marleau has 2 years left with a $6.9 million cap hit and a no-trade clause. Havlat has 3 years left at $5 million. Brent Burns has 5 more years at $5.76 million. LeBrun thinks the Sharks need to shakeup their core. Aside from Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe and Dan Boyle, LeBrun would trade almost anyone. GM Doug Wilson did speak with Columbus about Nash at the trade deadline.