Injury Updates (Sep 11)

As training camp opens today for the Florida Panthers (as well as every other team), it sounds like sophomore forward Jonathan Huberdeau will be missing the early part of camp, as he continues to mend from some hip problems.  Huberdeau was telling reporters at camp that he will be sitting out the early part of camp, but he does expect to play in the final few preseason games, as he gears up to help the Panthers into the playoffs this season.

I currently have Huberdeau projected at 50 points this season and I don't think I will tinker with that number too much, as I was trying to take in account that the jinx could rear its ugly head this year.  He should be getting all kinds of quality ice-time, but with the injury recovery, being conservative may be a wise decision.

A report out of the first day of New York Rangers camp is that Martin Biron has had to leave camp for personal reasons.  There have been no further details to why Biron has had to leave or any indication as to how long he will be away from the team, but in the same report, it was suggested that the Rangers would be looking to Johan Hedberg to help them get through this period of one goaltender, getting him to agree to a tryout.

Until more details drop, I wouldn't rush to change any of his projections just yet.

Lightning defenseman Brian Lee is now skating on his own, but there are reports that he will not be ready for training camp, which opens on Wednesday. Lee underwent surgery in the off-season to repair a torn ACL.  I have not seen a timetable for his return, but since he won't be ready for camp, it doesn't sound like he'll be ready to play in any regular season action before too long.

I only had Lee projected for 10 points any way this season, which is well below being projected for your hockey pool team, but just in case your pool runs really deep for defensemen, I would look somewhere else for a sleeper pick on the blueline.

The Vancouver Canucks open camp and there is some injury news, as David Booth has reportedly not been medically cleared to start training camp with the rest of the club.

Booth is being considered day-to-day with his ankle problems, according to the new coach, John Tortorella.  With so little to go on, this update is a wee bit scary, given the injury prone status that Booth has to his name.  Although NHL.com suggests that he will be a solid sleeper, he would still have to be healthy to pull that one off.  Play wait-and-see with Booth right now.