Jack Eichel – USA Today Sports Images

New year. New injuries. Here’s the latest in injury news from around the NHL. As always, follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza to see these updates as soon as teams announce them.

Rickard Rakell – The Ducks winger has been working out off the ice using a slide board and is getting closer to a return. With that being said, there are no reports of him skating or participating in practice, so I’d assume he’s at least a week or two away from being back in the lineup. If you need convincing as to why Rakell is a good buy-low option in your fantasy leagues, check out this week’s installment of Lining Up.

Cam Fowler – Still no exact timetable on his return, but he did skate with his teammates on Friday. Fowler has been out following surgery to repair facial fractures, and the good news is his vision appears to be fine. While there isn’t a particular date the team is targeting to have him back in the lineup, he seems on track to return in the next week or two.

Nick Schmaltz – The Coyotes forward is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Since being traded to Arizona, Schmaltz has 14 points in 17 games.

Michael Grabner – Has been working out off the ice and making good progress overall. Unfortunately, we still don’t have a timetable for his return.

Charlie McAvoy – Coach Bruce Cassidy hopes McAvoy will be ready to play on Thursday when the Bruins host the Flames.

Jack Eichel – Suffered an upper-body injury against the Islanders on Monday. Coach Phil Housley doesn’t believe the injury will keep the Sabres’ captain out for too long, so I guess we can consider him day-to-day. There was some doubt whether Eichel would even play in Monday’s game, so it’s believed that whatever was bothering him prior to the game, was aggravated during the game.

Jordan Staal – Hasn’t been skating. Concussions are extremely unpredictable and can require different amounts of time for different patients to fully recover. As a result, we have no timetable for his return.

Anthony Mantha – Hopes to return in about a week. So, potential dates for a return include January 6th against the Capitals or January 8th against the Canadiens.

Mike Green – According to coach Jeff Blashill, he’s still a “number of weeks away”.

Alex Chiasson – Skated before Tuesday’s practice and is aiming to return on Saturday against the Kings. Chiasson has an impressive 16 goals in 31 games this season but he’s currently scoring on 32% of his shots, that’s not going to last.

Kris Russell – There’s a 50/50 chance he returns to the lineup on Wednesday when the Oilers take on the Coyotes.

Nick Bjugstad – Last we heard, he was skating in a non-contact jersey. His absence seems to have opened a spot for Frank Vatrano in Florida’s top-six. Vatrano has three points in his last four games.

Vincent Trocheck – The Panthers forward could start skating in the next few weeks, making a return in early February a real possibility. Trocheck had 75 points in 82 games last season and is still available in 49% of Yahoo! Leagues. If you have an open IR spot, it might be a good idea to pick him up and stash him soon.

Alec Martinez – While there’s no timetable for his return, it’s encouraging to see that he has been skating.

Matt Dumba – The Wild defenseman underwent surgery to repair a ruptured pectoralis muscle and is expected to be out for at least the next three months.

Andrew Shaw – Left Monday’s game against the Stars with an upper-body injury. As of right now, there’s not much information regarding the severity of the injury but we should find out more in the coming days. Shaw has provided the Canadiens with an exceptional source of depth-scoring this season – he has 24 points in 36 games.

Carey Price – According to coach Claude Julien, Montreal’s starting goalie is getting better every day and should still be considered day-to-day. Price has a lot of term left on his contract so the team would be wise to give him enough time to rest and return to full health. While his numbers on the season aren’t the most impressive, they’ve been much better since Shea Weber returned to the lineup.

Kyle Turris – Should be considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Turris has just 18 points in 30 games this season but is definitely capable of being more impactful offensively.

Filip Forsberg – According to GM David Poile, every Nashville Predator who’s currently on the Injured Reserve should be back within the next two weeks. That’s a pretty safe estimate for Forsberg who was originally expected to miss four to six weeks back in early December. I’m expecting big things from Nashville's top line of Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen and Forsberg when he returns. Your window to pay a discounted price to acquire an injured Forsberg is closing quickly.

Taylor Hall – Did not travel with the team to Dallas, so he won’t be in the lineup when the Stars host the Devils on Wednesday. I wouldn’t expect him to be out too much longer with this lower-body injury, consider him day-to-day until we hear otherwise.

Cory Schneider – No timetable for his return from an abdominal strain. Schneider went the entirety of 2018 without a victory, posting a record of 0-14-2. Let’s hope 2019 is a better year for him. 22-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood has taken over the starting role in New Jersey and posted back-to-back shutouts against the Hurricanes and Canucks.

Thomas Chabot – The Senators defenseman will be out for the next three weeks with an upper-body injury. He has been incredible in the first half of the season, posting 38 points in 38 games.

Craig Anderson – Ottawa’s number one goaltender has a concussion, which means we can’t predict exactly how long he’ll be out. Unless you’re a masochist, I wouldn’t recommend adding another Senators goalie to your roster in Anderson’s absence.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Getting very close to a return.

Brian Elliot – Has been making progressing well as he recovers from a lower-body injury. With that being said, we’re still about three weeks away from a return.

Nolan Patrick – His status for Thursday’s game against the Hurricanes is questionable, but it appears likely he’ll be in the lineup on Saturday against the Flames.

Bryan Rust – Appears to be day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He has been on fire recently with eight goals in his last nine games. Let’s hope he doesn’t get too Rust-y while out of the lineup.

J.T. Miller – Is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Miller has 26 points in 38 games this season and is seeing more time on the power-play this season but less time at even-strength.

Frederik Andersen – Has been skating and appears very close to a return. In the event he doesn’t start against the Wild on Thursday, I’d expect him to play against the Canucks on Saturday. Andersen has been fantastic this season, sporting a 20-9-1 record and .923 SV%.

Max Pacioretty – His status is day-to-day but it sounds like he’s getting close to a return. It’ll be interesting to see what Vegas does with Brandon Pirri when Pacioretty is healthy. Pirri has six goals and three assists in seven games this season.

Dustin Byfuglien – A lower-body injury will keep the Jets forward out until at least the all-star break – which is about four weeks from now. Unfortunately, there’s a chance he’ll be out longer than those four weeks, but we should have another update after the all-star break. Expect Josh Morrissey to take on a bigger role in Byfuglien’s absence.