Welcome to the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. Once a week, we’ll take a look at some injuries around the league that may affect your fantasy hockey team. Injuries will always happen and you can’t predict when, but it’s important to be ready for the aftermath and to have a plan ready. Let’s take a look and some players who are on the shelf for the upcoming week and beyond.
Semyon Varlamov - Colorado Avalanche - Goalie
Injury: unidentified, day-to-day.
It looks like Semyon Varlamov hurt himself in his previous start and is unlikely to play Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks. He finished his last game without any trouble, so it’s really hard to know when he hurt himself or what he might be dealing with.The team hasn’t commented on what the Russian netminder is suffering from, so fantasy hockey players have to just wait around till more news is available. It doesn’t sound like the mysterious injury is serious, but fantasy owners will want to keep with with the situation.
Jack Eichel - Buffalo Sabres - Center
Injury: upper-body, day-to-day.
It looks like the Buffalo Sabres could be without their captain Jack Eichel for their next game on Thursday against the Florida Panthers. Eichel was questionable to play against the Islanders on Monday night, but he took warmup and looked good to go. He ended up leaving that game with an upper-body injury and did not return. We don’t know if he re aggravated his previous injury in the last game and the team hasn’t updated his status. We won’t know more before Thursday about whether or not Eichel is going to play or not, but the sense is Buffalo might want to take it slow with their superstar. For now, it just looks like he will miss only one game.
Kyle Turris - Nashville Predators - Center
Injury: lower-body, no timetable.
Kyle Turris is once again out with an injury. The Nashville forward is dealing with a lower-body injury and there is no timetable for his return. It’s been a challenge for the Predators to stay healthy this season. For Kyle, it’s the second time this season he has been placed on IR. The team hasn’t updated his status, so fantasy owners will need to be patient and see how long they should expect Turris to be out for.
Frederik Andersen - Toronto Maple Leafs - Goalie
Injury: groin, day-to-day.
The Leafs have been without their top goalie for about a week now and we don’t know how much longer Andersen is expected to be out for. He’s questionable to play on Thursday against Minnesota, but the hope is that he will be ready to go by the end of the week. The Leafs have had a few days off recently, so we should know more when the team hits the ice for practice tomorrow.
Dustin Byfuglien - Winnipeg Jets - Defence
Injury: lower-body, four weeks.
It looks like the Winnipeg Jets will be without their top defenceman again for the next four weeks. The team has confirmed that Byfuglien will miss a minimum of four weeks, which isn’t exactly great news. He injured his ankle against the Minnesota Wild after taking a hit from Luke Kunin. He needed to be helped off the ice and did not put much weight on his left leg. The hope is that he will only miss four weeks, but there is a strong possibility that he misses more than that. It won’t be easy to replace the 33-year-old, but fantasy owners will need to do their bet while he’s out.
Thomas Chabot - Ottawa Senators - Defence
Injury: upper-body, three weeks.
Really tough break for the Ottawa Senators and for Chabot. The rookie was having himself a really nice season before going down with an upper-body injury. The good news is that he’s expected to miss only three weeks of action. The 21-year-old has collected 38 points (10G, 28A) in 38 game this season. Let’s hope he can return to action in three weeks and pick up right where he left off.
Taylor Hall -New Jersey Devils - Defence
Injury: lower-body, out indefinitely.
It’s really hard for a team to have any kind of success when their best player is out of the lineup. Hall was placed on IR earlier today with a lower-body injury and there is no timetable for his return. It’s worth noting that he did not make the trip with the team to Dallas, so he will be out of the lineup for that game. Hall hasn’t played since December 23, so the IR status is nice for fantasy owners who want to add an extra player to their team. He’s eligible to come off IR at any time, and the hope is he will return to the lineup sooner rather than later.