Updates on Perry, Weber, Crawford, plus more…

Hopefully both you and the members of your fantasy hockey team had a chance to rest during the Christmas break! This week we take a look at Anaheim Ducking out of the Injury Ward, and new patients putting on their Blue Jackets. For quick updates on the latest injuries and news on notable line changes that affect your fantasy hockey roster, follow @BrennanDeSouza on Twitter!

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

Corey Perry – The latest update we have on the Ducks’ forward came December 23 when coach Randy Carlyle revealed there was no timeline for Perry’s return. It seems like the team expects Perry to be back after Ryan Kesler, hopefully early in January. In case your holiday memories have replaced your fantasy hockey knowledge, I’ll remind you that it’s a knee injury Perry is recovering from.

Shea Weber – The Habs’ defenseman missed time before the Christmas break with a nagging foot injury he sustained on opening night. The Canadiens have a weird way of dealing with injuries, so throw any logic out the window and wait until we get a reliable update from the team. It’s probably worth mentioning that Montreal is 6-2-1 without Weber this season. 

Oh, here's that update now:
 

#Habs Shea Weber won't make road trip to Carolina, Tampa and Florida. Neither will David Schlemko (flu), Al Montoya (concussion) or Ales Hemsky (concussion) #HabsIO

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 27, 2017

Logan Couture – Concussion = no definitive timeline. Logan Couture put it best after skating recently, when he said, “I’m not playing if I don’t feel good. It could be one game, it could be 10 games, it could be the whole season.”

Devan Dubnyk – If all goes according to plan, Dubnyk could be back in the beginning of 2018. Alex Stalock has gone 4-4 in eight games since Dubnyk’s injury, and has been giving the team a chance to win every night.

Dustin Byfuglien – No new information available, be sure to follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza for the latest update on Byfuglien as soon it becomes public. Considering he has scored 13, 19, 18, and 20 goals in the past four seasons and currently has zero, expect him to tickle some twine in 2018.

Zach Werenski – Day-to-day with an ‘undisclosed’ injury. The team hasn’t been very forthcoming with updates, so the only information I can give you is that he has 18 points in 34 games this season.

Corey Crawford – Is back on IR.
 

The #Blackhawks have placed goaltender Corey Crawford back on IR.https://t.co/WmmTIbrLmg pic.twitter.com/RXQi3V7cOR

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 27, 2017

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

Cam Atkinson – The Blue Jackets’ forward has been one of the most disappointing players of this season, with only 13 points in 32 games! A broken foot will keep him out for four to six weeks, but it doesn’t look like he will need surgery. There’s never a good time for an injury, but this one is especially unfortunate because it comes after Atkinson had started to turn the tide with four points in his last six games.

Tyson Barrie – Blocking a shot with his hand resulted in a broken bone between his thumb and forefinger. While we still don’t have all the details, it seems likely that Barrie will miss a few weeks as broken bones don’t heal overnight. The Avalanche defenseman had been having a great season with 27 points in 34 games, so let’s hope he returns soon.

Nino Niederreiter –  Coach Bruce Boudreau doesn’t seem to think the injury is long term, “it wasn’t like he broke his foot or anything”. Hopefully the team has a better update for us now that the Christmas break is behind us.

Ryan Kesler – It looks like this Duck is going to spread his wings and leave the Injury Ward soon, but we still don’t know exactly when. Kesler has been skating, and will look to make his season debut in early January. Watch out for the Ducks in 2018!

Oscar Klefbom – Not much in terms of new updates regarding the Oilers’ defenseman, but I’ll remind you that a nagging upper-body injury is keeping him on the injured reserve. Andrej Sekera’s return should buy Klefbom more time to recover, because now his absence doesn’t leave a hole in the roster. I’m a believer that the Oilers will make a push for the playoffs in 2018, so a guy like Sekera, who’s currently the only defenseman on the first power-play unit, will be very valuable.

Kyle Palmieri – Left Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks after taking a hit, but it was only for precautionary reasons. Palmieri has dealt with his fair share of injuries this season, but hopefully the Christmas break has given him time to feel better and play Wednesday against the Red Wings.

Nikita Zaitsev – We might have to wait until 2018 before getting a timetable for his lower-body injury.

Craig Anderson – Missed the team’s last game (December 23) with an illness. He should have had plenty of time to rest during the Christmas break, making him a possibility to start against the Bruins on Wednesday.

Justin Schultz – Has made “significant progress”, but we need him to start skating again before we have a concrete timetable.

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

Alexander Wennberg – After totaling 59 points in 80 games last season, owners have been disappointed by Wennberg’s 16 points in 30 games this year. While there were hopes he would turn it around, his short-term value takes a huge hit as a back injury will keep him out for four to six weeks. At this point, there has been no mention of surgery, so let’s hope for a speedy recovery.

Zach Parise – No set timetable, but he has been skating with the team in the past weeks. Although Minnesota isn’t telling us exactly when Parise will be back, coach Bruce Boudreau has given us insight into the team’s thought process.  “We want to make sure — this has been such a long, lingering injury, not only for this year, for previous years — that when he plays, he’s fully ready. To us, an extra week, an extra four or five games, an extra few games, his value is going to be tremendous when he gets back. We want him back right, and I’m sure he wants to be back right.”

David Krejci – As I write this, there’s no definitive word on whether or not Krejci will be in the lineup Wednesday against the Senators. Considering he had a few days to rest during the Christmas break, I would guess he’s in the lineup on Wednesday. With that being said, Krejci does have a history of back problems and the team might want to err on the side of caution.

Ryan Ellis – Is fully healed. All that’s left to do is mentally prepare himself for a return to the lineup, which should happen early in January. 

Roberto Luongo ­– Although he has been skating and making great progress, Bobby Lu still has a long way to go. He’s about three weeks into a non-existent timetable.

Bobby Ryan – Iconic duos? Sonny and Cher. Bonnie and Clyde. Backstrom and Ovi. BOBBY RYAN AND HAND INJURIES! The Senators’ forward was slashed on a previously broken finger, causing a great amount of swelling and putting his availability in question. Keep an eye out for an update regarding whether or not he faces the Bruins on Wednesday.

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

Jaromir Jagr – After a fantastic career, it seems as though age has finally caught up to the Czech superstar. He has played only 19 games this season and should be considered day-to-day with a nagging lower-body injury.