Hockey season has started and hopefully we're all enjoying every single game so far that our teams have played – unless you're a San Jose Sharks fan then it's just been a bunch of pain with a rocky start to say the least. With the start of hockey season, there are always a bunch of injuries to either start the season or some that linger into the year. This week I will be discussing players who are currently injured (as of the time of writing this article) who provide solid fantasy production. The main point of this is to help identify players who are hurt who may have been dropped from someone's team due to lack of roster flexibility in the moment, these could also be 'buy-low' targets in your league. I will also highlight in each player's blurb who are some players who could gain value by proxy of the injuries ahead of them in the lineup.

* For this article, I won't be including the stat tables that I'm sure many of you are used to seeing from me. With the nature of this being a discussion about team fit, line chemistry, projected usage, etc. This to me doesn't require stat tables as this isn't discussing the value of a contract to a real-life perspective. *


#1) Tom Wilson – RW – Washington Capitals

Contract: $5.166M – 2 Years remaining

While Tom Wilson is a 'character' to say the least, he is still a quality right winger at the NHL level, and we'd all be foolish to think otherwise. In May of 2022 he had surgery to reconstruct a torn ACL in his left knee and his timeline to return to the Capitals star-studded lineup was 'six-eight months' from the time of the surgery. Based on the latest news, it seems that the earliest that we could expect Wilson to return to game action would be late November on the optimistic end and up until sometime in January at the latest (barring any setbacks that is). Realistically, he could miss about 25-games or more which is a little unsettling considering the type of player that he is and the type of injury he is recovering from. Wilson may come out of the gate a little slow upon arrival to the lineup, but he should be placed back in their top-six alongside players like Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, as well as Dylan Strome who has seen some reps on the top line. While Wilson is injured, players who are seemingly going to benefit from this would include the likes of Connor Brown (dependent on what his injury looks like as he is now listed as "out" and awaiting news on if he needs surgery), Conor Sheary, Marcus Johansson, Anthony Mantha, and T.J Oshie. The main pieces that I mentioned are ones that would be most likely to either receive a slot on the top powerplay unit, or ones who would be most likely to be slotted in Wilson's role as the first line right winger. Depending on your style of league, Wilson may not have been drafted so he would be a good stowaway option on your injury reserved list for the time being. This could also be a time where you may be able to trade for him at a lesser value given his injury.



#2) Tyler Bertuzzi – LW – Detroit Red Wings

Contract: $4.75M – 1 Year remaining (UFA this upcoming summer)

Overall, Tyler Bertuzzi is a nuisance to play against in the NHL but in the fantasy hockey realm he isn't a slouch as he posted career highs in points, goals, and assists last season with 62 points (30 goals) through 68 games. His 'in your face' way of playing has translated very well to the NHL level, last year he was stapled to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond for most of the season and expect that to continue once he returns in four-six weeks (his expected return timeline as of now). While Bertuzzi himself isn't one of the elite players in today's game, he certainly works very well within a system who can effectively play up and down the lineup when needed. If Bertuzzi is placed back with Raymond and Larkin upon his arrival, I don't see why he can't come close to replicating his numbers from last year. While I don't view Bertuzzi as a 30-goal scorer each season for the rest of time, I do see him as a guy who can put up goals within the high 20s often. Players who may benefit from his absence would include Dominik Kubalik, Filip Zadina, Elmer Söderblom. The reasoning for these three mainly is because it seems that the Red Wings enjoy running a duo of Andrew Copp and David Perron on the second line, Kubalik has shown glimpses of scoring ability from his time in Chicago. Zadina could be placed up there to help replicate scoring measures if the team's offense is lacking at times. Söderblom offers an extreme amount of size to help create room for Larkin and Raymond while possessing talent and skill for a guy of his size. Söderblom is also listed as being on the top powerplay unit as of now, could be a very good net front presence and get points by playing with higher level players. Detroit isn't currently viewed as a powerhouse team in the way of scoring goals, but their top players know how to do it and a player like Bertuzzi may be seen as underrated, so if the price isn't too exorbitant, he may be worth adding.


#3) Gabriel Landeskog – LW – Colorado Avalanche

Contract: $7M – 7 Years remaining

We all know Gabriel Landeskog is one of the better left wings in the game. He was a key contributor to the Avalanche in their quest of winning the Stanley Cup in the 2021-22 NHL season with 59 points (30 goals) in 51 games in the regular season. When you look to the playoffs, the Avalanche Captain was a menace as he posted 22 points (11 goals) through 20 games en route to winning the Stanley Cup. This roster will miss him for the next 12 weeks or so as he tries to recover from knee surgery, he is the team's captain, he is their first line left winger and has been for many years. He leads by example, but now let's hope that he has left a lasting impression on how to be a great player in the NHL for some of the guys who we can expect to replace him on the top line in Colorado for the time being. Artturi Lehkonen and Evan Rodrigues are the main two pieces who could slot into Landeskog's usual role alongside Nathan MacKinnon, I lean Lehkonen receiving that role though. Landeskog's absence creates a very lucrative spot for a player to fill as he plays the top line, along with the top powerplay unit as well. While obtaining Landeskog in a trade may be hard when he's healthy, depending on the team who has him in your league he may be able to be obtained at a decent price. At this point though, I would be running to free agency to see if I could get my hands on whoever fills his place on MacKinnon's wing.


While there are a lot of injuries in the NHL at this point, these are probably the biggest three in terms of value they can provide to a more standard scoring format in fantasy. Their respective teams also have appealing options to replace them with in the interim as well, the players replacing them may not be star players themselves but to me that doesn't matter as you're getting a player with individual skill who is now gaining a role alongside better players. This generally means that they should be performing at a better rate in the moment. In salary cap leagues this can be critical to winning matchups along the way because you're getting a player who is realistically cheaper when it comes to their cap hit and generally provides value above what their cap hit has them at.

If you're looking to discuss anything hockey with me, check out my Twitter account (@JamieMolloy_DH), as well as on the articles themselves!