Player Notes in the Draft (Feb 1)

It has been a rough week, both being sick and extremely busy at week, so the updates have been non-existent.  Well, since it's Saturday and I'm somewhat coherent and only in a little bit of pain, I think I'll try to recount the injuries and news from the week.  From what I've seen, there is quite a bit of bad news, so this could be a pretty sad post by the end.

Monday

It sounds like the days in Colorado for forward P-A Parenteau are numbered, as his name has been popping up in trade rumours coming into the week and ever since, he's been a healthy scratch for the team. Many are speculating that the Avalanche are saving him for his potential deal, so everyone is just holding their breath, waiting for something to happen.

Parenteau was one of Allan's second Waiver Draft picks, picking up 2 assists in three games played, but he hasn't seen any action in Week Eighteen, which hasn't helped him much in the week.  Allan is keeping up in the money, so it can't be all bad this week.

At the end of Week Seventeen, things were looking good for Johan Franzen and the Detroit Red Wings, as Franzen was able to return from a concussion. His return was deemed to be somewhat premature, as he was immediately place on the Injured Reserve on Monday, as his concussion symptoms returned after the game and he isn't expected back any time soon.

It was a gamble for Grant to take Franzen in the second Waiver Draft, as Chris dropped him earlier in the week.  Grant goes into Saturday outside of the money, as injury problems continue to plague his side.

Tuesday

The Ottawa Senators have been dealing, quite well, without defender Chris Phillips, who has been dealing with an undisclosed injury this week. The word is, heading into the weekend, that he is not expected to be traveling with the team, as they travel before the Olympic Break.  With a couple of wins this week, it doesn't seem likely the Senators would be rushing the veteran defender back.

Brenda has been up and down in the standings, making it into the money last week, but since fallen out in Week Eighteen.  Don't think Phillips being out of the line-up is the big reason for the drop, but the race is so tight, having all your bodies in is key.

The recurring hand injury that Evander Kane has been dealing with this season has come to a head, as he has now been sidelined until after the Olympics, due to an infection that has emerged in his injured hand.  Kane is now listed as out indefinitely with his hand infection and it will be interesting to see if he will indeed be ready for a return when everyone comes back from Russia.

It hasn't been a great year for John and Kane has been somewhat of a disappointment.  Doesn't look like John is going to move up too much in the third segement, especially without Evander's help.

Thursday

Thursday, it was a bout of the flu that kept defenseman Christian Ehrhoff out of the Sabres line-up against the Phoenix Coyotes.  On the plus side, it looks like Ehrhoff is back in the line-up for their game on Saturday afternoon in Colorado, so it was only the one game that he has missed.

One game missed from the blueline isn't a deal-breaker for Stacey C. this week, as his team still sits in the prizes, heading into Saturday's action.

He has been injured lots in his career, but it was mentioned that Tomas Fleischmann has never been a healthy scratch in his NHL career. That didn't sound quite right, but I wasn't going to look that up to confirm. Nevertheless, Fleischmann was a scratch on Thursday night and should be expected to return over the weekend.

Dale B. has Fleischmann and is stuck in the middle of the pack of the standings.  It may be somewhat indicative of his season, as a whole.  Dale goes into Saturday in 16th place, 38 points out of the top 10.

It has been a very inconsistent year for Kristopher Letang, as he hasn't been able to get much traction on the ice.  Injuries throughout the year and this week, he had to take a night off, due to the flu.  I would imagine he would be okay to go for the weekend, but he just hasn't lived up to expectations from the start of the season.

Stuart is mired in one of the bottom groups in the standings, sitting safely in 22nd place, with a 30-point cushion below him.  Letang's inconsistency for being such a high pick is a big reason why Stuart is so far down in the standings.

It was another appearance on the news/injury page for San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Irwin, as he was a healthy scratch earlier in the week and then returned to the line-up on Thursday night.  Irwin has been a marginal scoring defenseman, scoring only 2 goals and 13 assists.

Ryan M. has been trying to jump up into the top 10 all year long, but hasn't been able to keep up with the top end teams.  Irwin was a reasonable bet, but hasn't been able to impress.

Friday

On Friday, the Anaheim Ducks placed forward Nick Bonino on the Injured Reserve, due to an upper-body injury.  Bonino is expected to miss the next three games, through the minimum time on the IR, a week, and then will likely be re-evaluated when he is eligible to come off.

Bonino has been an added spark to an already threatening Ducks team and has been a good Waiver Draft pick-up for Stacey M. this year, picking up 25 points in 30 games.

More Buffalo Sabres news and it isn't what some people were hoping for.  It sounds like Matt Moulson will not be able to dress for the basement dwelling NHL club until after the Olympic break, due to an upper-body injury.  Moulson's injury has been linked to an arm injury, but it isn't believed to be too serious.  Moulson will not be available for games this coming week, but should be good to go later on in the month.

It doesn't look like Wes is going to make the jump into the top half of the standings this year, thanks again to injuries in his line-up.  It has been another unlucky season for him this year.

There was a huge injury scare in the Nashville Predators organization, as Shea Weber left Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets with a back injury, but was fortunate not to miss more time, returning on Friday night for the game against the New Jersey Devils.  Losing Weber for any significant amount of time would have been rather devastating for the Predators, but fortunately... that was a moot point.

Weber has been an absolute rock in Derek Wilton's team, as he sits in 2nd place and a jersey prize already in his back pocket.  Derek would have really missed Weber, if he was to have missed much time.

A bruised foot is expected to keep Kevin Bieksa out of the Vancouver Canucks line-up until after the Olympic Break, as he will miss all of Week Nineteen with the injury.  The Canucks also announced this week that Mike Santorelli is now going to miss the remainder of the season, after undergoing shoulder surgery that will keep him off the ice for 5-to-6 months.  Santorelli was a good shot in the arm to the Canucks line-up, but now they'll look to replace his scoring around the trade deadline.

Bieksa belongs to Clayton, who is struggling to keep afloat in the top 10 and then Santorelli belongs to basement dweller, John, who has had terrible luck with injuries as well.

Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green is believed to be dealing with a concussion, but there are reports that he may end up playing on Sunday.  If Green does end up playing, the league concussion protocols wouldn't be served properly, which would call into question what the Capitals are doing with their medical staff.

Green belongs to the pool's duo of Kristy & Don, a team that sits 18 points out of the top half of the standings.  The defense is the biggest part of their team, since their goaltending has been sub-par throughout the year.