As a chance of pace, instead of doing a big weekend recap, I’m going to highlight some injuries, trades, and line shuffling that could have some impact on teams and players for fantasy hockey. I’ll be back to my usual set of daily notes on Wednesday morning. Let’s get to it!
Filip Forsberg was the latest Predator to go on injured reserve, as he’s expected to miss around a month with a hand injury. Kyle Turris is also on IR to add to Subban and Arvidsson. Brutal for the Preds. The current setup is Johansen with Fiala and Hartman, while Eeli Tolvanen was recalled and playing with Smith and Jarnkrok. This is a big opportunity for Tolvanen to come in and produce in an offensive role. He had a goal and an assist in his first game and is in a fairly good spot against the Sabres tonight. I would look to grab him in most leagues because he has massive offensive potential. Ryan Hartman also receives a big boost into solid streamer status, as does Kevin Fiala despite his early season struggles.
Dustin Byfuglien suffered a concussion and is out indefinitely. Josh Morrissey is currently on the lethal Winnipeg first power play unit, so he needs to be picked up everywhere. He’s played over 28 minutes in each of the last three games so the points are going to be coming, although it will probably be very assist heavy. Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers also get a slight boost, although Myers isn’t worth grabbing yet.
John Klingberg will be returning right around Christmas. That means that we have about three more weeks of Miro Heiskanen running the show there, but right now Gavin Bayreuther is on the first power play unit. That alone makes him fantasy relevant and a worthy add if you’re looking for PPP.
Ilya Kovalchuk will miss the next four weeks due to ankle surgery. You can safely cut him unless you have the free injured reserve spot. I don’t want to grab any Kings in his place.
T.J. Oshie will miss at least the next three games. He already should be owned everywhere, but Tom Wilson is on PP1 at the moment, even with Kuznetsov returning, so Wilson is a must-start.
Antti Raanta is questionable for Tuesday night’s game. Adin Hill has been on fire, but Raanta will be the guy when he’s healthy.
Tyson Barrie will return on Tuesday night, meaning you can safely cut Samuel Girard if you grabbed him.
Alex Pietrangelo missed a game with a hand injury. Just when he started to pick it up, he goes down. It sounds like he won’t miss many more games, if any, but Vince Dunn gets the biggest boost if Pietrangelo does miss.
Michael Ferland suffered a concussion and has missed the last two games. Jordan Staal moved up to the first line while Aho slid to the wing. Not a big fan of this, but it makes Staal a top end streamer.
Timo Meier has missed three straight games with an undisclosed injury, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be out much longer.
Josh Leivo was traded to the Canucks to open up a roster spot for William Nylander. There’s a chance Leivo could have some fantasy relevance but it depends where he slots into the lineup. As for Nylander, it’s unclear if he’ll play in Tuesday night’s game against the Sabres, or who he’ll play with. I would assume he goes back with Matthews, but possibly Kadri. Either way, Nylander should be owned immediately. Somebody is going to take a hit in value, and my guess would be that it’s Patrick Marleau, but it could be Kasperi Kapanen. I’m hoping it’s Marleau since Kapanen has played very well in his increased role. It’ll be something I touch on in my Wednesday notes to see how Toronto set up.
Daniel Sprong was traded to the Ducks for Marcus Pettersson. I am a big fan of Sprong’s potential; the change in scenery should do him some good. It’s hard to say where he’s going to slot into the lineup at this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a chance with Getzlaf at some point. I’m not rushing to grab Sprong, but I’m definitely watching how the Ducks utilize him. As for Pettersson, there could be something there eventually, but right now I’m not sure he gets into the Pens lineup, mostly because they won’t bench Jack Johnson after giving him one of the worst contracts I’ve ever seen.
That’s all for now guys. Feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or make any suggestions below. I’m currently in California for the next week, so if you’re asking in the morning on the east coast, it might take me a while to answer you. Rest assured, I will answer all questions as soon as I can. As mentioned above, I’ll be back Wednesday morning recapping all of the action from the next two nights. Thanks for reading, take care!
