The latest injury news on John Tavares, Joe Thornton, Steven Stamkos and many more…

The Big Guns (>75% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Zach Werenski – The Blue Jackets’ rookie is currently day-to-day with a shoulder injury. As of right now, the team is assuming they will be starting the playoffs without him, but something tells me he’ll be in the lineup for the first game of round one. With all the hype of the Patrick Laine-Auston Matthews battle for the Calder, we sometimes forget the brilliance of Werenski’s rookie season; 47 points in 78 games. Not too shabby.

John Carlson – The Capitals defenseman is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He did participate in warmups, which makes me wonder whether this is an injury, or a little rest for an important player. 

Shea Weber – The Canadiens’ top defenseman won’t be in the lineup against Buffalo on Wednesday night. Although the injury doesn’t seem to be serious, doctors in Montreal will be evaluating him and giving us a more concrete timetable for his recovery.

James Neal – An upper-body injury kept the Predators’ forward out of the lineup for the third straight game on Tuesday. He has been skating, and should be considered day-to-day for now.

Ryan McDonagh – Undisclosed Injury. Didn’t skate Tuesday. Should be back for playoffs (I feel like we’re going to be hearing that a lot with some of this week’s ‘injuries’).

Joe Thornton – The Sharks’ forward had an MRI on his knee on Monday, so this doesn’t seem to be a case of teams resting players. An update is expected sometime on Wednesday.

John Tavares – Bad ice. Not a viscous hit to the head, not a lumberjack slash. Imagine your playoff dreams hanging by a thread, doing whatever you can to push your team into the post season. Now imagine bad ice cutting that thread, in the form of an awkward fall resulting in a hamstring injury. With Tavares done for the season, the Islanders will probably be on the golf course sooner than they wanted to be. Can we please get this guy a better supporting cast?

Logan Couture – Still day-to-day after taking that puck to the face. Might be smart to delay his return until the postseason. 

Steven Stamkos – We all have a million question regarding the Lightning captain’s return, but they have all gone unanswered. He has been participating in morning skates and could come back soon, but time is running out. Steven Stamkos has many years of good hockey ahead of him, and is a key component of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As tempting as it is to rush him back in the lineup to squeak into the playoffs this year, it doesn’t make sense to make this injury a bigger issue for Stamkos in the future.

Kris Letang – Coach Mike Sullivan is pretty confident his star defenseman will be back in time for the playoffs. Details regarding this injury have been kept extremely private.

Evgeni Malkin – Has been skating, getting closer and closer to a return. I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses the rest of the regular season to ensure his best health for the playoffs.

The Second Liners (40%-75% owned in Yahoo Leagues) 

Sami Vatanen – Was warming up with the team before the Ducks took on the Flames, indicating that the injury isn’t too serious. This is probably a case of, ‘why make it worse before the playoffs?’. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Kyle Okposo – The Buffalo Sabres forward won’t be in the lineup Wednesday night when the Sabres host the Habs, it will be the fourth game in a row he has missed due to illness. After putting up 45 points in 65 games this season, it will be interesting to see what Okposo can do next season as Jack Eichel rises to superstardom.

Mats Zuccarello – “Day to day with ‘bumps and bruises’”? You know what that means, rest up for the playoffs boys!

Rick Nash – “Day to day with ‘bumps and bruises’”? You know what that means, rest up for the playoffs boys! The repetition was intentional by the way.

Aleksander Barkov – Has missed the past three games with an undisclosed upper-body injury, and with the Panthers already out of the playoffs, why risk making it worse? This season was definitely a step backwards after last year’s playoff appearance, but an injury riddled campaign can be blamed for that. Some fantasy GMs might avoid the young Panthers’ come next year’s draft, but that could greatly benefit you.

Aaron Ekblad – Pretty similar situation to Aleksander Barkov, his status is day-to-day but we probably won’t see him play for the rest of the season. This offseason will be a great opportunity for Ekblad to fully recover from any neck/concussion issues, and come back healthy next year.

Roberto Luongo – It’s no coincidence that three Florida Panthers appear one after another, they’re all in pretty much the same situation; they probably won’t see action for the rest of this season. Luongo’s best years seem to be behind him, as he’ll finish this season with a 2.68 GAA and .915 SV%.

The Depth Guys (10%-40% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Radim Vrbata – A lower-body injury prevented the Coyotes’ forward from participating in Tuesday’s game against Dallas. I guess 53 points in 79 games this season can be considered good when comparing it to the dumpster fire that is Arizona. Maybe hope for next year?

Olli Maatta – Has been skating. I have a feeling Pittsburgh’s long list of injuries will magically shrink come playoff time.

Hampus Lindholm – Still day-to-day today. With only a few games left in the regular season, and the Ducks already in the playoffs, it doesn’t make sense to let important players further aggravate minor injuries. Elias Lindholm has been having a pretty good season though!

Artem Anisimov – Healthy enough to resume skating, should be available for the Blackhawks playoff run, it’s only a matter of when.

James Reimer – Unlike the other Panthers on this list, we might see Reimer before the regular season comes to an end, specifically on Thursday against the Blues. I wish I could tell you Reto Berra was surprisingly good in the absence of his team’s top two goalies, but I can’t. As much as I don’t want to be the Berra of bad news, you must know he put up a .876 SV% and 3.45 GAA while posting an 0-5-0 record.

Paul Stastny –  Day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Bobby Ryan – Left Monday’s game against the Red Wings with an upper-body injury. I would consider him day-to-day for now until we get a better update. 

Chris Kunitz – Lower-body injury. Timetable unknown. Jeez Pittsburgh is dealing with a lot of ‘injuries’.

Michal Neuvirth – Sinus trouble and dehydration might have played a part in Neuvirth’s collapse against the Devils. By collapse, I don’t mean he played really poorly, he physically collapsed. You’ve probably already seen this by now, but I’ll leave it here just in case.

The Mr. Irrelevants (<10% owned in Yahoo Leagues)

Shane Doan – A lower-body injury kept the Coyotes captain out of the lineup on Tuesday against the Stars. Doan had missed seven games before returning to the lineup for two, and now he’s out of action again. With the season almost done, it would be silly to rush Doan back in when his team has nothing to play for.

Anthony Mantha – The Red Wings’ forward seems to be out for the rest of the season with a fractured finger. The young winger has shown great flashes of talent this season, and it will be exciting to see where he takes it next season. Hopefully he won’t be scratched as often.

Mikko Rantanen – Missed Tuesday’s game against the Blackhawks with a lower-body injury. Not many details have been publicized just yet, so look out for a better update in the coming days. The 20-year-old forward has given Colorado hope for the future after an awful 2016-2017 campaign for the team.

Jacob Markstrom – Will have surgery on his knee this week.

Zack Smith – Out for the rest of the regular season.