Injury Updates (Sep 23)

There was an evening update on Tuesday night about Christopher Higgins' lower-body injury and it turns out to be a fractured foot.  The team has mentioned that they won't re-evaluate Higgins for at least three weeks, which will take him out of the lineup for about a week into the regular season.  It isn't the most ideal news that the Canucks could have received from preseason action, but with the depth they have in camp, they might be okay without him to start the year.

In most cases, the projections for Higgins has him in the mid-30s for points this year, which would put him into pool worthiness in a decent-sized pool.  If the draft is going to be big this year, he still may get some consideration at the end of the draft, waiting out the injury.

The Boston Bruins received a poor update on defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who was listed as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 34-year old German defender is going under the knife to repair a herniated disc in his back and the team now expects him to be out for at least eight weeks.

Seidenberg was hoping to bounce back from a poor 2015 season, but that won't begin now until the middle or the end of November now.  If all goes well, he could be a decent option for those teams looking for a bit more help on the blueline at the Waiver Draft.

Florida roster hopeful, forward Rocco Grimaldi, suffered an ankle injury in Tuesday night's game against the Dallas Stars, leaving the game, not to return.  The 2011 2nd round pick has been toiling in the Panthers' system for a few years now and he was looking to finally breakthrough and make a name for himself, but those hopes may have been derailed a bit by this injury.

As of Wednesday morning, Grimaldi's status hasn't been updated, but we're keeping a close eye on it.  He has been projected to be a 20-point player in a couple spots this off-season, so he isn't carrying too much for expectations early on.

Another minor injury to report on, as Washington forward Michael Latta left last night's game against the Bruins with a lower-body injury as well.  The 24-year old is likely going to be an AHL call-up through the year, so there was very little expectations placed upon him in the off-season projections.  His status has yet to be updated as well, through Wednesday morning.  I don't think anyone should be losing any sleep over this one.

Wednesday morning saw the release that Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie will be missing some time, due to a broken bone in his hand. Brodie, one of the offensive leaders from the Calgary blueline, suffered the injury against the Oilers on the weekend and he is now expected to miss anywhere between 3-to-6 weeks with the injury. He is officially considered to be week-to-week, but six weeks off will mean he'll miss the first month of the season.

Missing the first month will be a pretty big hit to a pool team that takes him too early.  I'm thinking that Brodie will be taken in the draft, since he'll be much better than many defensemen, even with his injury.  Take at your own risk though.

Not a good start for Zach Bogosian, as the Sabres have announced that he is now day-to-day with a lower-body injury. There are no specifics, just the announcement that Bogosian is hurting at the moment. If it is only a day-to-day thing, it will likely keep him off the ice for the next couple/few preseason games at the very least, giving him time to rest and recover.

With the rebuild in Buffalo progressing quickly, all of those moves will really meet its potential if everyone is healthy, including Bogosian.

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