DETROIT -- Steve Yzerman is apparently making good progress from facial injuries sustained in the playoffs last season, and the Detroit Red Wings continue to work toward signing him to a new contract.
By Sept. 15, Yzerman should be healthy, signed and ready for the NHL lockout.
Yzerman is one of four unsigned Wings -- center Pavel Datsyuk and defensemen Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider are the others. General manager Ken Holland expects to have a couple -- possibly all of them -- inked to new deals by Sept. 15, when the NHL's collective bargaining agreement expires, triggering a lockout that could wipe out all or part of the season.
Players not signed by Sept. 15 might have to wait months, until a new CBA is implemented, before they get a deal.
Yzerman won't be one of them. The 39-year-old captain is expected to sign a one-year extension within the next few weeks. He earned a base salary of $6 million last season.
"Much like last summer, we're trying to find something that both sides feel comfortable with," Holland said. "We hope and expect he's going to be signed prior to the (scheduled) start of training camp (Sept. 16)."
Yzerman is training and relaxing at his cottage in northern Ontario and couldn't be reached for comment. He withdrew from Canada's World Cup team a few weeks ago but expects to be ready for the start of the season, whenever that may be.
"He's been working out there every day and tells me he feels good, the knee feels good," Holland said. "Considering everything that's happened, he's pleased with how he's feeling, health-wise."
Yzerman sustained a fractured orbital bone, scratched cornea and torn iris when he was hit in the left eye with the puck during Game 5 of the second-round playoff series against Calgary.
"He said the doctor is very pleased with his condition," Holland said. "(His vision) is not fuzzy, it's clear, he's happy with his peripheral vision. It's every bit as good as he could have hoped for."