Sheet Player News (Feb. 22)

The Calgary Flames lost the services of Box 13 defenseman Chris Butler to a lower-body injury on Tuesday night against the Oilers and didn't return to the game after the collision that knocked him out. As of Wednesday morning, there was nothing for details, so his availability for the rest of week is cloudy, at best.  In 60 games this season, Butler has 2 goals and 11 assists, which is quite a bit more production that the Buffalo Sabres have seen out of his trade counterpart, Robyn Regehr for much less against the salary cap.

It appears there was another visit to the press box for Box 14 defenseman Cam Barker for the Oilers and Flames tilt.  Between healthy scratches and injuries, it has been a rough year for Barker, who has had his share of trouble finding a regular spot in the NHL, ever since he tried to break in with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Barker has only figured into 19 games this season with the Oilers, scoring 2 goals in the process, but he had much more offensive upside when he was drafted and much more was expected of him.

With the arrival of Hal Gill and his defensive responsibility, not to mention the rest of the regular blueline getting healthy for the stretch drive, we might be seeing less and less of Box 14 defenseman Ryan Ellis in Nashville. At least, there is a good possibility of it any way.  With the Predators in the thick of the playoff race and having a need for some more experience in their line-up on a regular basis, Ellis could easily become the odd-man out of the line-up before too long.  With that being said, I would not be surprised if he eventually headed back to the minors.

The Pittsburgh Penguins called up goalie Brad Thiessen from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the AHL on Tuesday to back-up Marc-Andre Fleury for their game against the New York Rangers, because the regular number two, Brent Johnson, was held out of the line-up, due to an illness.  Johnson is day-to-day with the illness and I would imagine that he will be able to dress for the team's next game, which goes on Saturday against the Lightning.  Johnson has 3 wins and an assist this season for 7 points.

Bad news for the St. Louis Blues, as they have lost one of their top veteran presences in their line-up, Jamie Langenbrunner, for more than four weeks, due to a broken foot.  Langenbrunner suffered the injury over the weekend and on Tuesday, it announced that the team will re-evaluated in four weeks.  There is certainly no guarantee that Langenbrunner would be ready to go in four weeks, but with the playoffs in about six weeks, he may be rested and ready to go then.