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.


Alexander Edler - Vancouver Canucks - Defence

Injury: head, day-to-day.

Canucks’ defenceman Alexander Edler had to be stretchered off the ice after falling face first onto the ice in yesterday's game and his status for the next couple of games is unknown. The team has not given an update on his status, but he was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons. There’s a good chance that Edler suffered a concussion, and that will most likely keep him out of the lineup for multiple weeks. We should get more information as the week moves forward, but fantasy owners may want to start looking for a replacement on the waiver wire.

Jeff Carter - Los Angeles Kings - Center

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

Kings’ forward Jeff Carter left last night’s game due to a lower-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Devils is still up in the air. Just like the rest of the team, the 34-year-old isn’t having a great season. His 25 points in 51 games puts him on pace to finish with less than 40-points, something Carter hasn’t done since 2012-13 (He had 22 points last season, but only played 27 games due to injury). It’s no secret that Carter isn’t getting any younger and his offensive abilities aren’t what they used to be. For fantasy owners, it may be time to let go of Carter and look for someone else to replace him, even if his lower-body injury isn’t serious.

Brayden Point - Tampa Bay Lightning - Center

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

Centerman Brayden Point is dealing with a lower-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Golden Knights is still undetermined. He was held out of Saturday’s game for precautionary reasons, but Derek Lalande did say that “had Saturday been a playoff game, Point would have been available”. That’s good news for fantasy owners. We should get an update on the kid’s status for tonight’s game at practice, but as of right now, it’s safe to expect that Point will play.

Paul Byron - Montreal Canadiens - Winger

 

Injury: forearm, day-to-day.

Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron suffered a forearm/shoulder injury on Sunday and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Ducks is questionable. Byron was visibly upset leaving Sunday’s game after falling awkwardly on his arm, and since then, the team has not updated his status. There’s a good chance that the veteran speedster isn’t ready to go tonight, or for the remainder of the week. The 29-year-old isn’t a huge fantasy loss, but he’s fantasy relevant thanks to his speed and his ability to score short-handed goals. We should get an update on his status before tonight’s game.

Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins - Center

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

Penguins’ forward Evgeni Malkin has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game is still not known. The Russian superstar suffered the mysterious injury prior to the all-star break and it seems that the injury was serious enough that he was not 100% ready to go this past weekend. The team hasn’t placed the veteran forward on IR, so there’s a good chance that Malkin is getting close to a return. For fantasy owners, it’s probably best to wait this one out before looking to add a player off the waiver wire.

Erik Karlsson - San Jose Sharks - Defence

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

It looks like defenceman Erik Karlsson is in danger of missing multiple games due to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old was a non participant in Saturday’s game against the Coyotes and there is talk that he will miss more than one game. The team hasn’t given an update on their superstar defenceman, but we should know more about his status for tonight’s game after morning skate. For fantasy owners, this isn’t good news. After a slow start, Karlsson has found his all-star form and has been nothing short of great for his new team. Let’s hope he returns to the lineup sooner rather than later.

 

Sami Vatanen - New Jersey Devils - DefenceInjury: concussion, out indefinitely.

Looks like Sami Vatanen is going to be out of the lineup for awhile. The Devils’ defenceman was placed on IR last week with a concussion and the team has no timetable as to when we can expect him to return to the lineup. At this point, fantasy owners may want to drop him and look for a replacement. Concussions are hard to handle and timeframes are usually quite vague. Even if he does return in a couple of weeks, that may be too late for fantasy hockey teams looking to make a playoff push. If you can stash him on IR, great, but if you don’t have that luxury, just cut him loose.