Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg was quoted by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet this summer saying he was likely to retire with two years left on his contract.

Zetterberg clarified his comments upon arriving at training camp on Thursday, saying his goal is to play out his contract, but his health will determine his future in the league.

“First of all, it was the not the full story that came out,” Zetterberg said. “I’ve got four more years. I hope I can play four more years. That is my goal. But also I know that I have gone through a few things with my body, especially my back, and even though the last few years has been good, you never know. 

“I will take it year by year. I am happy the way I played, especially last year, and hopefully, I can follow it up this year. But that I am only going to play two more years, I don’t think that is the correct answer.”

The 36-year-old carries a cap hit of $6.08 million through the 2020-21 season his 12-year contract. He told Aftonbladet the Red Wings added years on the back of the contract to lower his cap hit.

“The only reason why we wrote such a long contract was because of the payroll," Zetterberg said, as translated by the Detroit Free Press. "It is quite obvious that you try to fool the system. Actually, I may have two years left, but I have also learned to take one year at a time. But I will probably not play until then (2020-21 season).”

Zetterberg's salary sits at $7 million this year, then dips to $3.35 million in 2018-19 and then to $1 million in each of the final two seasons. Should Zetterberg retire with term remaining on his contract, the Red Wings will be hit with a cap re-capture of roughly $5 million per season.

Zetterberg scored 17 goals and posted 68 points while playing in all 82 games last season.