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.


David Pastrnak - Boston Bruins - Winger

Injury: thumb, two weeks.

It’s not everyday that a player gets hurt leaving a private event, but that’s what happened to Pastrnak. The Boston forward fell and injured his thumb on Sunday and is expected to miss a minimum of two weeks. The surgery did go well, so now it’s a question of waiting for the thumb to heal. Freak accidents don’t happen very often, but this one is a tough blow for fantasy owners. Pastrnak is having another great season and hopefully he won’t miss more than two weeks.

Craig Anderson - Ottawa Senators - Goalie

Injury: eye, day-to-day.

Speaking of freak accidents, goalie Craig Anderson suffered an eye injury after taking a tennis ball in the gym and is questionable for Thursday’s game against Detroit. It doesn’t appear to be a serious injury, so it’s likely that Anderson will at least be able to backup Thursday night. We should get an update on his status either Wednesday at practice or Thursday after morning skate.

Olli Maatta - Pittsburgh Penguins - Defence

Injury: upper-body, no timeline.

Tough loss for the Pittsburgh Penguins as it was announced Monday that Olli Maatta will be out indefinitely after suffering an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old isn’t a huge loss for fantasy owners because he’s probably not part of many teams. The defenceman has only 13 points in 55 games, so if he is on your team, go ahead and drop him.

Ondrej Palat - Tampa Bay Lightning - Winger

Injury: upper-body, day-to-day.

Lightning forward Ondrej Palat was a late scratch on Sunday night and he was once again held out of the lineup Tuesday. The team has confirmed that Palat has an upper-body injury, but there is no word on when he may be ready to return. It doesn’t seem to be anything serious, so he’s more day-to-day. Tampa Bay is in action Thursday against Dallas, so the 27-year-old could be ready to return then. Palat has missed some time due to injury this season, but he has collected 21 points in 39 games and is seeing some time on the top line with captain Steven Stamkos. We should get an update on his status before Thursday.

Mikko Koivu - Minnesota Wild - Center

Injury: knee, out for season.

Really tough to see Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu miss the rest of the season due to an ACL tear in his right knee. The veteran forward finished the season with 29 points in 48 games. The 35-year-old is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for next season. He still a great two-way center in the league, but his offensive abilities are starting to decline. He was borderline fantasy relevant this season and he will most likely go undrafted in many redraft leagues next season.

Thatcher Demko - Vancouver Canucks - Goalie

Injury: knee, one-to-two weeks.

Tough blow for rookie goalie Thatcher Demko, as it looks like he will continue to be out of the lineup with a sprained right knee. The 23-year-old has already been out of the lineup for the last week and there hasn’t been an update on his status. He’s expected to be back before the end of February, so fantasy owners can hold onto him if they absolutely need a goalie. Demko is the future in goal for his team, but there’s no guarantee that he gets many starts down the stretch.  

Ben Bishop - Dallas Stars - Goalie

Injury: upper-body, out indefinitely.

There is still no timeline for the return of Ben Bishop. The veteran goalie was placed on injury reserve last week with an upper-body injury and that’s all we know. He’s already missed three games since hitting IR, but there is some hope that he can return this week. Bishop was on the ice this morning for an optional skate, but head coach Jim Montgomery didn’t give an update as to when we can expect the starting goalie to return. For fantasy owners, it’s a “wait and see” approach. Bishop will regain his starting job when he comes back, but the question is--when? Let’s hope he can return at some point this week.