Player Notes in the Draft (Dec 7)

It has been a rocky road for Ales Hemsky and the Dallas Stars, one that has found a few bumps in the press box as a healthy scratch for the veteran Czech forward.  In 25 games this season, Hemsky only has 2 goals and 5 assists, not exactly providing the top six element that the Stars were hoping for in this season of high expectations.  It seems like a bit of a stretch that there is a market out there for Dallas to move this winger, especially with two more years on his deal and currently holding an annual cap hit of $4 million.  Burying Hemsky is an option, but it certainly won't help their cap hit, but at this point in the season, they'll probably work him in once and a while, hoping that he can recapture that scoring spark.

This all won't matter much for Brenda & Seward on Monday, because Hemsky was a target for a drop in the Week Nine Waiver Draft.  This healthy scratch was just the cherry on top for them, justifying their position with the move.

One note that I had missed writing about earlier in the week was the Islanders' Josh Bailey, who on Saturday missed out on his second straight game.  In looking for injury notes for Bailey, I have yet to see any, which leads me to believe that he's been a healthy scratch for those games.  He has also returned from a broken hand, which was a couple of weeks ago, so it may be some extra rest from coming back too early.  (Possibly?)  Nevertheless, he's had 7 points in 17 games, so it hasn't been a dominating performance from him yet this year.

Scott had a couple of other fish to fry at the Waiver Draft this week, electing not to drop Bailey, instead dropping a couple of other loose weight forwards.  Bailey missing out on a couple of games may have some benefits in the long run, but we likely won't know that until there is an update on is condition.

St. Louis Blues forward Alex Steen missed out on Saturday night's game against the Islanders, due to a lower-body injury.  Reports are suggesting that Steen suffered the injury, earlier in the week against the Predators, but the injury is considered minor and he tried to go on Saturday night, opting for the night off instead to rest.  Steen hasn't exactly had the biggest of starts, like he did last season, only picking up 16 points in 26 games, but he has been a productive help for his club, as they remain close to the top of the Western Conference standings.

Steen has also been a big positive for Grant S. in the draft, who still sits in 2nd place, going into the final day of the first segment of the season.  Grant opted to stay away from making any moves to his roster at the Waiver Draft this time around and for good reason, since his team is still 31 points clear of 3rd place.

The Anaheim Ducks are hoping that Corey Perry's knee isn't as bad as they initially thought and the player seems to be leaning that way.  Perry was hit with a devastating hip check against Minnesota in the week and had to leave the game with a lower-body injury.  It has turned out to be a knee injury, one where he is reportedly wearing a small brace, but there seems to be some confidence that he'll return before too long.  Perry will be considered day-to-day from here on in.

Not horrible news for Dale C., but not good news either, who needs his top pick to be in the line-up to both try and catch up to 2nd place and hold off the two teams behind him.  There isn't exactly a timetable on Perry's return, but you know Dale is hoping for a short one.

Montreal forward Lars Eller is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday on his upper-body injury, an injury which is expected to keep him out of the line-up for at least Tuesday night's game against the Canucks.  Eller was hurt earlier in the week, but the team has been unable to do any tests over the weekend to confirm the injury, possibly because of swelling, the usual reason for not having tests done right away.  We'll likely find out more on Monday, where Eller will be in his recovery.

All of this speculation is not working in the favour of Stacey M., who has Eller on her side this season.  An upper-body injury that needs an MRI done, which they couldn't do for a few days, does a lot to hinder one's hope for a speedy recovery.  Stacey's team is in 6th place and only 12 points back of 3rd place.  She was unaware of the injury at the Waiver Draft, so she's definitely hoping it isn't long term.

Reports out of the New Jersey/Washington tilt on Saturday are saying that Devils forward Mike Cammalleri left the game with a lower-body injury.  Of course, as teams are these days, they are very guarded on the details, especially if they have no timetable to speak of.  Cammalleri's status will likely be updated in the next few days, since they don't play again until Tuesday, hosting the Blackhawks.

Leo's band of ex-Flames has had more than their fair share of injury problems.  Cammalleri joins the list of the walking wounded on his team, but there isn't any confirmation that he'll miss any time.  Leo moved a couple of ex-Flames to pick up a couple more in Week Nine, so he may be somewhat prepared to deal with a short-term injury to Cammalleri.

Finally, a couple of notes from Senators camp on this Sunday morning... the Senators are not expecting to have Milan Michalek in the line-up on Sunday, when they play host to the Canucks.  The veteran forward is currently sidelined with an upper-body injury and is currently listed as out day-to-day.  Michalek was likely injured in the game against the Penguins on Saturday afternoon, but there hasn't been much made of it.

The second note is about goaltender Robin Lehner, who was placed on the IR earlier in the week, after suffering a lower-body injury against the Blues.  The report is that he just needed some rest on his injury and it does seem likely that he will be back in time for Thursday's game, home to the Kings.

Tony will not get one last gasp with Michalek before the Week Ten drop, which is expected on Monday.  Tony dropped the Czech forward in Week Nine and did get 1 point out of him before the drop, but that's where that story will end.  That was one of four projected games Tony had for Sunday, as he tries to make up 4-to-6 points, to pass some guys in the standings before week's end.  Lehner, on the other hand, will return to active duty, albeit not likely starting, just in time for going active on Ryan's team.  Ryan needed some goaltending help and is looking to Lehner to possibly give it to him.  A start would likely be determined on how well the Sens play against the Canucks on Sunday.

An updated list of injuries can be found here.