Player Notes in the Draft (Jan 7)

The Buffalo Sabres were without forward Drew Stafford on Tuesday night, when they took on the Devils (a 4-1 loss), due to the arrival of his first kid.  The most interesting point of note here is that the team has put him on the Injured Reserve for personal reasons, which took him right off the roster and should make him ineligible to play for a week, which would take him out of action until about the 13th of January, when the Sabres host the Red Wings.

There is a chance that Stafford may need that week, we wouldn't exactly know what his situation is, but if it warranted a move to the IR, then Benson loses out on some projected games and his pool team will be shorthanded until Week Fifteen.  He should manage just fine though, as his team got off to a rocking start, leading the pool with 12 points.

Also in need of some personal time, Minnesota's Zach Parise, as his father is not doing so well and the team granted the player's wish to be by his side in some dire moments.  It's an unfortunate set of circumstances for anyone to be out of their team's lineup, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.  There's no word as to how much time Parise will need, but there is little doubt that the Wild will request his services before he is ready to return.

This isn't great news for Grant K. either, who hasn't gotten off to a good start this week, having only two skater games played and only 1 point picked up in the process.  His team has dropped down from 12th to 13th, only a couple days after his team finished dropping down a spot the week before.

The Vancouver Canucks made Radim Vrbata into a late scratch, just before their home game against the Islanders on Tuesday night.  Vrbata came down with some kind of a bug and that's what forced his absence for the team's 3-2 win.  Vrbata is listed as out day-to-day and if it is only a cold or mild flu bug, he should be considered to be probable for Thursday game, hosting the Panthers.

Remind me again how Benson leads the weekly scoring through Tuesday night, while he had two players join the injury list again?  Yes, this was another body missing from Benson's lineup, as he continues to lead the way for the Jordan bobblehead for the least amount of skater games played.

An updated list of injuries can be found here.