Friday, March 11, 2016

Afternoon Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 11)

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Friday that they have activated Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the Injured Reserve, as his broken hand appears to be healed up and everyone has given him the green light.  Nugent-Hopkins has been out since the middle of January with the injury and now will just get in some more action before the end of the year, hopefully helping out his numbers.

At the end of Week Sixteen, Stacey C. saw his team in 18th spot in the standings, the week that Nugent-Hopkins was placed on the IR.  Since then, his team has seen a low of 21st, but currently sits in 20th, heading into tonight's action.

On Wednesday, Marian Hossa was officially taken off the Injured Reserve, but wasn't added to lineup that night.  Tonight, with the Blackhawks up against the Stars, Hossa will make his triumphant return from his undisclosed injury.  He has been out since the middle of February and will be a very welcome addition back into the lineup.

Derek & Dan been patiently waiting for Hossa to return, so they can add his mean streak to their hopes of winning the PIM pool.  Hossa has 20 PIM in 53 games this year, so the Stars better keep their heads up with that crafty Slovak back on the ice.

Finally, the ruling from the independent arbitrator came down in favour of Dennis Wideman and the Calgary Flames, but at the time of the decision, he had already served 19 of the 20 games of his suspension, but the decision to cut the suspension in half means that he is active tonight and the league has reinstated him, effective immediately.

It's a good thing that Mike didn't drop Wideman, when he had the chance.  He's getting one extra game out of the deal, starting tonight against the Coyotes.  His team is 24 points clear of 27th place in the standings and a refreshed Wideman can't do anything but help his cause.

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