NHL injury report – the latest on Letang, Palat, Couture, Streit, Reimer and others…

Loyal readers, hockey cultists and what-have-you, here’s your injury report for the week, with a special section for a Pens forward who made the right call yesterday.

The Big Guns (>80% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Kris Letang – It was only a matter of time before Letang showed up here again. He missed the weekend’s games versus Anaheim and LA, but by all accounts, it doesn’t seem much more than day-to-day. That being said, with a player like Letang, it’s probably best not to hold your breath.

Connor McDavid – No updates to the generational clavicle this week, but with Dylan Larkin posting 15 points in his last 18 games, you have to wonder if McDavid has a shot at the Calder upon his return.

Carey Price – Some excellent work here by Habs Eyes on the Prize, on the job Mike Condon has been doing in Price’s absence. The Habs’ franchise netminder and reigning MVP is out for another five weeks with an LBI.

Devan Dubnyk – Dubnyk was injured on Saturday as the Wild played the Avalache. He should return to practice on Thursday.

Tyler Johnson – After missing significant time (seriously, it seems like I’m writing about this guy every week), Johnson returned to the Lightning on Sunday versus LA. Might as well not have though, with zeroes across his entire stat line.

Logan Couture – After a long recovery from a freak accident at practice that left him with a broken fibula, Couture is ready to step back into the NHL. He scored an assist and took a couple of minor penalties in his return Tuesday night.

Sergei Bobrovsky – The top cop on the force sustained an injury last night against the Kings. No word yet on the severity or location of the injury, so keep an eye on Twitter for updates on this one.

The Second Liners (50%-80% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Brendan Gallagher – Gallagher had surgery on his broken hand, suffered while blocking a shot, and could return in 3-4 weeks.

Mark Streit – The Flyers’ #1 option on the powerplay is still around three weeks away from seeing action (rehabilitating after pubic plate surgery), although he has resumed semi-regular skating and is feeling good about it.

Ondrej Palat – Palat was cleared for contact on December 2^nd, but still has not been deemed fit for play. Coach Jon Cooper suggested that he could return this week, but it’s “questionable” that he will on Thursday.

Jaden Schwartz – Schwartz is still on the IR with a broken ankle. No idea yet on a return date for the Blues’ forward, but the original timetable was three months, so sleep on him until at least January.

Ondrej Pavelec – Pavelec’s strained knee will keep him out of the lineup for at least another month or two.

Frederik Andersen _ Andersen got hit by the injury bug pretty hard, missing seven games since November 21^st with the flu. He served as the backup on Sunday versus the Pens, so it won’t be much longer before he’s ready for starting action.

The Depth Guys (20%-50% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

James Reimer – Reimer has missed time with an undisclosed injury, but Mike Babcock expects him to play “sometime next week”. Between Sparks’s inexperience and Bernier’s gaffes, he’ll have very little competition upon his return.

Derek Stepan – Stepan is still out 3-4 weeks (per his original schedule) with injured ribs.

Nail Yakupov – The Oilers’ most disappointing first-overall pick was scheduled to return in 2-4 weeks, and that was two weeks ago. So any minute now, he should be back. Keep your ear to the twitterverse for updates on this one, though Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal says it likely won’t be until after Christmas.

Olli Määttä – Määttä, master of the umlaut, has returned to the Penguins’ lineup and has two goals and is averaging 20:04 minutes per game since.

Nick Bjugstad – The hulking Panthers forward had been out of commission since last Tuesday with an upper-body injury. Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant has specified that the injury is not a back injury, but will not go any further in identifying it. George Richards of the Miami Herald has some ominous suspicions, but will say no more on the subject either.

Tyler Ennis – Ennis is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. He has been out since November 23^rd and is week-to-week from here.

Martin Hanzal – Despite Coach Dave Tippett’s words, Hanzal was NOT available to play on Tuesday. That being said, a coach wouldn’t say something like this unless either A) the player was real close to returning; or B) The player is Kris Letang or Joffrey Lupul, in which case all bets are off.

Jason Demers – Demers was boarded last Monday and has been day-to-day since. The Stars are calling it an upper-body injury. Demers skated this week and might play on Friday.

Nazem Kadri – I’m not sure if you’re lucky enough to be in one of the seventy-six percent of leagues that have Kadri available, but if you are, go pick him up and stash him on the bench. He’s playing excellent hockey and the bounces will go his way eventually. He missed practice on Sunday with the stomach flu, but is good to go.

David Pastrnak – Pasta is out with a broken foot, but he has reportedly been skating before practice, so signs are good for a return before too long.

Andrew Hammond – Kyle Turris needs to pass some of his voodoo magic on to the Hamburglar, who is out with a concussion. He has been skating, taking shots, and will likely be back in your lineup soon.

Jonathan Bernier – The Leafs’ once-hopeful starter was sent to the AHL to help that thing between his ears. He’s posted two shutouts so far, so there you go! It’s working!

The Mr. Irrelevants (<20% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Vlasic has now missed two games with a lower-body injury. He’s been fairly pedestrian this season, but expect his numbers to improve with Couture coming back from injury.

Travis Zajac – The Devils’ center is out for an unknown amount of time after landing awkwardly on his arm. New Jersey is calling it an upper-body injury and “indications are that the veteran center is not seriously hurt”, according to Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger.

James Wisniewski – For the 16% of you who still own Wisniewski: I’m 99% sure he’s not going to be of value to you this season. If you’re in a keeper league, great! If not, drop him.

Jonathan Drouin – The Lightning sophomore returned to the lineup last Tuesday, posting two points and seven shots in three games.

Kris Russell – The Flames’ defenseman is out with an upper-body injury, but is “not far”, according to Coach Bob Hartley.

Joffrey Lupul – Toronto’s Band-Aid Boy extraordinaire is out again on the IR, but has resumed skating and will likely be back in the lineup next week per Head Coach Mike Babcock. The injury is undisclosed this time, but it’s apparently been chronic. I’m usually a staunch defender of injury-prone players, as long as they suffer injuries to different places. A chronic, nagging injury is a HUGE red flag for me. Take it from a former Lupul-owner, he’s not worth the headache.

Kevin Klein – The New York Rangers will miss their depth defenseman for at least another week as he recovers from a strained oblique.

Colin Wilson – Wilson is out with a lower-body injury, though he was likely to play yesterday so I doubt it’s a serious issue.

Trevor Daley – Daley got his bell rung when Chris Thorburn’s knee unintentionally hit him in the side of the head on Sunday. He missed last night’s game against the Predators, and is not skating yet. However, Coach Quenneville doesn’t think that Daley was knocked out by the hit, so they’re not considering it a serious injury.

Brandon Sutter – Sutter had sports hernia surgery and will miss another 3-5 weeks.

Honorable Mention

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis has been on the road to recovery from blood clots that have kept him out of the lineup for large chunks of time, dating back to January of 2014. I’m sure you’ve heard about this already but, as of yesterday, he has officially stepped away from playing hockey. His concerns over his health and his family led him to this decision, and it’s absolutely the right one. From all accounts, he’s an amazing human being and I wish him nothing but happiness ahead. However, don’t take this to mean we’ll be missing him; he’s not going anywhere. He said that he intends to remain a part of the Penguins organization and help them win a Stanley Cup. That help will just come from off-ice activities now. Check out the DobberHockey analysis of the impact this will have on fantasy lineups here.

As always, thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter for injury updates and general hockey-related tomfoolery! @AjayDaCosta, in case that address bar is too far away.