Sheet Player News (Feb. 14)

Bad news for Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund, as his upper-body injury that he suffered against the Canucks on Saturday night is far more serious than one could have hoped for and it will keep the young centre out of the line-up for 4-to-6 weeks.  Backlund was hurt in a tussle with Canucks defenseman Andrew Alberts and had to leave the game immediately after the skirmish and after evaluation on Monday, the announcement of his time away was made.  Backlund has been disappointing this season, already having missed the first 14 games with a broken finger, he was dropped from the draft pool and is now left to toil on the Injured Reserve and the sheet pool.

The season debut for Box 25 forward Ryan White was held off for an extra night, as the Canadiens didn't have an immediate spot for the now-healthy forward, who has missed the whole season to this point with a sports hernia and his rehab process.  White was called up from the minors and his conditioning stint about a week earlier than the maximum time allotted, since he was doing well with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.  It's not terribly clear when White will suit up for the club, but I would imagine it would have to be soon or else they wouldn't have recalled him from the minors.

Coyotes' Box 7 forward Taylor Pyatt was on the receiving end of a hard hit from the Canucks' Aaron Rome, which forced the big winger out of the game with an undisclosed injury. It did look like it rang his bell, which gives you the impression that Pyatt may have suffered a concussion on the play, but until that is confirmed, that will have to remain as speculation.  I would imagine that his status for their next game on Thursday is still in doubt, but we'll await official word from the Coyotes, which will likely come in the next day or so.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated Box 30 defenseman Simon Despres from the Injured Reserve on Monday and they had sent him down to the AHL in one fell swoop.  Despres missed out on the last 15 games with a lower-body injury and since he doesn't have to clear waivers, the Penguins have more than enough flexibility to send him down to the minors for however long they see fit.  Despres has plenty of potential and offensive upside, but he will try to get his legs back down in the AHL and if that takes one week or three, the Penguins will be able to use him whenever.

On Monday night against the Capitals, the San Jose Sharks welcomed Tommy Wingels back to their line-up, which meant someone had to come out of the line-up and it was Box 9 forward Benn Ferriero who drew the short straw there.  Ferriero has not been a regular fixture in the Sharks line-up this season, only playing in 26 games for the club this year, scoring 7 goals and 1 assist in that time.  It wouldn't be terribly surprising to see him sent down to the AHL for some more ice-time, especially if the Sharks are happy with the contributions that Wingels brought on Monday night.