Welcome back to the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. Hockey is back, which means injuries are back too. You can’t avoid them, but we can get a head start and plan around them. The injury report will be out every Tuesday to help you plan the rest of your fantasy hockey week. Let’s take a look at which key players are dealing with injuries. 

Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins - Center

Injury: leg, six-to-ten weeks.

We all knew that Malkin would miss some hockey this season due to injury, but we didn’t expect to have to deal with it so soon. The Russian superstar is expected to be out six-to-ten weeks with a “soft tissue” leg injury. Who knows what that means, but it’s not good news for fantasy hockey owners. It would be best to stash Malkin on the IR and wait for an update in a couple of weeks time. 

Sam Steel - Anaheim Ducks - Center

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

Ducks’ centerman Sam Steel is expected to miss a couple of games with an upper-body injury. The team is being quiet about his injury, but they did place him on IR, so it’s significant enough that fantasy owners in weekly leagues might want to look for a replacement option on the waiver wire. 

Josh Morrissey - Winnipeg Jets - Defence

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

It’s becoming a real challenge for the Winnipeg Jets to roster six decent defenceman. The team has come out and stated that Morrissey will miss today’s (Tuesday) game with an upper-body injury and his status after that is still up in the air. There’s a chance that the talented defenceman is ready to go Thursday, but don’t hold your breath on it. We should get an update on his status Thursday morning.

Cory Schneider - New Jersey Devils - Goalie

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

This is the second time already this season that Cory Schneider has been dealing with cramping in his legs. That’s never a good sign for a goalie, and it doesn’t inspire confidence for fantasy owners. We know his injury history, so if MacKenzie Blackwood is available on the waiver wire, now would be a good time to add him. Maybe this is nothing to worry about, but let’s be safe rather than sorry. 

Eric Staal - Minnesota Wild - Center

Injury: unspecified, day-to-day.

As of right now, all we know is that Staal is dealing with an “unspecified” minor injury. That doesn’t really tell us much, and that should have fantasy owners on edge. It would be nice if the Wild gave us an update on his status, but who knows if that will happen. Minnesota’s next game is Thursday against against the Jets, so hopefully we will have more information by then. For now, hold onto Staal and wait for the team’s next medical update.