The latest injury news on Spezza, Sharp, Rask, Rakell, Backes and others

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

Sidney Crosby – As predicted, Crosby returned to the Pens lineup this week. He wasted no time either, potting a goal before the end of the 2^nd period. The Pens’ woes continue, as they’ve been losing defensemen left, right, and center, but at least their captain and engine is back. His fantasy owners are breathing a large sigh of relief too, I bet.

Jack Eichel – Eichel’s moderate ankle sprain still has him in a walking boot and scooter. He’ll likely remain out for up to six more weeks. Without him, the Sabres are 2-2-1, and thanks to the loser point, that’s .500 hockey. If they can keep it up until Evander Kane and Eichel return, they’ll likely improve their place in the standings pretty well over last year. As for Eichel, it’s never great for a young player to miss a lot of time in their developmental years, but Eichel’s pretty special. He’ll be fine.

Kris Letang – The Penguins are being pretty ambiguous about Letang’s injury, other than saying it’s upper-body. It looked like it was caused by this late hit by Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher, but apparently it’s been nagging Letang for a while now. The hit just exacerbated things. Head Coach Mike Sullivan thought Letang looked great in practise yesterday, but Letang said he felt awful. He could slot in sometime in the next week, but it’ll depend on how he’s feeling. I’d be wary though. He’s got a history of brain injuries and this sounds like a concussion.

Jonathan Quick – Thanks to what looked like a groin injury, Quick’s out for up to four months. That takes him to mid-February, which is practically the entire season. He’s not quite in the top tier of goalies, and if there’s any team that can handle losing a goalie of his calibre, it’s the possession-dominant Kings, but beyond a drop in save percentage, this might even cause them to change up their play style to compensate. If you’ve got an IR spot and think you can make it to playoffs in your league, keep him. Otherwise, trade him to a team that fits that description for a little value at least.

Jason Spezza – Spezza is day to day with a lower-body injury, but he did miss practice Wednesday so his odds of getting back in the lineup for Thursday's game don't look good.

Patrick Sharp – Sharp is out with a concussion and although he hasn't skated yet, he was on the ice shooting pucks (how does that work – he was out in his shoes? Shrug). It's considered a step in the right direction. A small one, but a step nonetheless.

Tuukka Rask – Considered day to day with a leg injury, Rask could return Saturday. He was placed on IR retroactive to the 20th so he's eligible this weekend. His battery-mate Anton Khudobin is out for three weeks with an upper-body injury said to be his hand or arm.

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

Jonathan Huberdeau – Jonathan Huberdeau is still out with a lacerated Achilles tendon. It’ll be at least January before he returns (last week, I said December, but that’s a miscount by me. My bad!). Follow the same advice as Quick: If you can hold steady until your playoffs, keep him. Otherwise, trade him to a team that can or a rebuilder.

Michael Stone – The Coyotes’ defenseman is back into their lineup and has two points in three games since his season debut. He’s a top-60 (point-producing) defenseman at the very least, and probably deserves a spot in most lineups.

Matt Murray – Matt Murray is back to being a backup. After the injured hand knocked him out of the lineup, Marc-Andre Fleury took the reins and the starting job is likely his to lose. Given how well Fleury’s turned things around over the last few years, I wouldn’t bet against him.

Jeff Skinner – A middle-body injury, so they say. Hey, does that mean teams are getting more specific with injury reports? They've narrowed it down to a third area of the body! Skinner remains "day to day".

David Backes – Backes underwent minor elbow surgery. He will miss at least two games, but it is not said to be serious so it's doubtful he'll miss many more beyond that.

Jussi Jokinen – Jokinen took a stick to the mouth last week and needed dental surgery Friday. He's day to day, but it's likely he'll be back within two or three games. Kyle Rau was recalled in his place

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

Bryan Little – Bryan Little’s injury has been classified as lower-body, and his status was updated to week-to-week. The Jets recently dropped a goose egg against the Oilers at the Heritage Classic, and have posted a 48.72% Corsi at 5-on-5 this year. While the year is young and that’s not a TERRIBLE figure, it’s not great either. Losing Little also gives them less leverage against Jacob Trouba’s demands, which might end up meaning a lower return in a trade.  

Evander Kane – Kane is week-to-week now, after a crash into the boards a while back left him with three cracked ribs. The Sabres’ winger looked like a star early in his career, but between his inability to stay healthy and his recent brushes with the law, he just can’t seem to catch a break.

Niklas Kronwall – Kronwall’s injured knee is still keeping him out of the lineup. He’s been alternating working out with the team and working out on his own, and Coach Jeff Blashill noted that “He’s got to come where he can go full with us three days in a row before he’s going to have an opportunity to play”.

Mike Smith – Smith is out with a lower-body injury, and he'll be at least another week coming back. At the way the other goalies are playing for Arizona, they could rush Smith back before he's ready. There is a high risk of re-injury here, so be cautious.

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

Marian Gaborik – Gaborik’s still on the Injured Reserve with a foot injury sustained at the World Cup of Hockey. He won’t be back until late November.

Ryan Callahan – Callahan will likely suit up in early November for the Lightning, but there’s just no room in the top six for him thanks to the emergence of Jonathan Drouin. That possibly rules him out of the fantasy lineups of all but the deepest of leagues.

Conor Sheary – Sheary saw an eye doctor on Monday, and the club announced that he will be re-evaluated early next week for his eye injury. Looks like at least another five games will go by the wayside before we get to see the 2016-17 debut of the Crosby-Sheary duo.

Rickard Rakell – Rakell is now signed and he's skating…and now he has his visa sorted out. But he's out of shape and needs to get his conditioning back. He'll miss another game or two before getting back into the swing of things.

*with notes from Dobber

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