Draft Player News (Nov. 30)

On Tuesday night, the Buffalo Sabres lost the services of defenseman Jordan Leopold to an upper-body injury. Leopold was hurt in the 1st period and didn't return to the game. On Wednesday afternoon, the Sabres have said that he has been ruled out of any action on the weekend. I would imagine that he will be re-evaluated on Sunday or Monday and a further update will be provided, but for the time being, he'll be listed as out day-to-day.

Leopold has played in 24 games for the Sabres, scoring 5 goals and 4 assists, currently ranking 270th in pool scoring.

This is one of two hits to Scott G.'s blueline, the other being a little bit further down in this post.  A few games away from action won't hurt Scott too badly, but if there is anything more significant, I'm sure he'll be hoping for news before the waiver draft ends.  Scott currently sits in 10th spot, 27 points out of 3rd place, going into Wednesday night's action.

The Flames squeaked past the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, but they did pay a small price for their win, as defenseman Marc Giordano left the game with a hamstring injury. There was mention on Wednesday that the injury could be somewhat significant, but there was no official word, so he'll be on the list as day-to-day for the time being, but it sounds fair to assume that he'll miss a couple weeks worth of action.

Giordano has not been terribly productive for the Flames early on this season, only having 4 goals and 4 assists in 23 games, ranking 297th in pool scoring to this point.

It has not been a good waiver week for Munden G., who has yet to pick up a point in the first two nights of action.  Munden has dropped down to 18th spot and is in real danger of dropping even further down in the standings.  It's good timing to have the waiver draft for him, as he should improve his team, but will it be too late?

There is a new coaching regime in Carolina, but that doesn't appear to have stopped the cycle of scratching defensemen, as Jamie McBain made his return to the press box under new head coach, Kirk Muller.  It's hard to say what the actual rotation will be like in the end from the new coach, but it hasn't gotten off to a good start for one player, at least.

McBain has not been tearing up the Southeast Division by any means, picking up only 6 assists in 21 games this season, good enough for 394th in pool scoring.

This will count as another hiccup in the season for Allan S., who continues to struggle into Week Nine with only 2 points in two nights worth of action.  Allan is down in 14th spot at the moment, but fortunately for him, the teams around him are off to slow weeks as well, but the waiver draft will likely help him out greatly as well, with a pretty good spot to pick from.

The Florida Panthers lost the services of defenseman Dimitri Kulikov on Tuesday night to a deep laceration on his leg, which was just above the boot of his skate.  There was no word as to what any further evaluation has determined, as to the severity of the injury or how long it will keep the Russian defender out of the line-up, but I imagine it could be a while, given that it is considered a deep laceration.

Kulikov had been enjoying a pretty good start to the season, scoring 1 goal and adding 14 assists in his first 23 games this year, providing a good start to many Panthers rushes up the ice or quarterbacking the power play.  He begins action on Wednesday night in 131st in pool scoring.

This is a sizeable ding to Peter H.'s foreseeable future, as Kulikov has been his best defenseman in the early third of the season.  Peter currently ranks 19th with 152 points, already falling behind quite rapidly to the money leaders.  He already sits 53 points back of 4th place.

The Penguins decided to send Kristopher Letang home to Pittsburgh after he was complaining that he couldn't breathe on the ice through his broken nose. There has also been some rumblings that Letang may have also suffered a concussion when he was hit by Max Pacioretty on the weekend, a hit that cost the Habs forward three games. Letang will be re-evaluated in Pittsburgh, but it may be a bit before the official word gets out.

Letang has been very good this season, even with the early absence of Sidney Crosby, scoring 3 goals and adding 16 assists, tanking among the best defensemen in pool scoring this year.  As of Wednesday afternoon, he was sitting in 70th spot.

This is the second hit that Scott has taken in this post, both hits going to the blueline.  Scott's defensemen have been doing well, making up for 43 points or 24% of his total points this year.  That's a pretty good number to be at.  Unfortunately, both injuries will put a dent in that number.

Finally, in this all-defenseman edition of the draft player news, Alex Pietrangelo sat out of the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, thanks to a flu bug. Pietrangelo will likely be ready to go for the team's next game, which goes on Friday night, so there is some good news to this little bit. He's just day-to-day for right now.

The young defenseman hasn't quite put up the numbers that some may have expected from him yet this season, scoring 4 goals and 5 assists through 23 games, but those numbers are not too bad, ranking him 278th in pool scoring to date.

The 11th place team belonging to Benson G. missed out on a Pietrangelo start, which is somewhat disappointing, since he is in the thick of the top 10 race going into Wednesday night.  As for the money, he only sits 27 points back of 4th place.