Draft Player News (Feb. 14)

Word out of Sabres camp on Monday morning is that defenseman Christian Ehrhoff is questionable for Tuesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils, as he is currently dealing with some flu-like symptoms at the moment.  The bugs have been running rampant through the league and they have been short (and likely not all that sweet), so if Ehrhoff misses Tuesday night's game, there is a pretty good chance that will be all that he missed.

Not great news for Dale B., who lost the lead in the draft on Monday night, mostly due to not having any of his players going on the schedule, but he'll start the evening 2 points back and he could be a man down.  Just something to consider when play starts this evening.

One of the big discussion pieces for the trade deadline has reportedly been hurt, as Tuomo Ruutu of the Carolina Hurricanes suffered an upper-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens.  Ruutu is scheduled to have an MRI on Tuesday, which could greatly affect his overall value going forward, as his name has been the centre of much trade talk, being as though he is an unrestricted free agent forward in July and he could fetch a price for being a rental player on a playoff contending team.

Brenda F. was probably looking forward to seeing Ruutu getting moved to a contending team, where he might be able to pick up some more points for her team, which currently sits in 10th place, but for now, she'll likely just be pleased with a day-to-day diagnosis for whatever ails her agitating Finn.

Another defenseman was hit by the flu bug on Monday, as Derek Morris of the Phoenix Coyotes missed out on his team's game against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night. Morris has been scratched a few times already this year for other reasons, but since the flu has been going around, it seemed like more than a reasonable reason to be sitting in the press box for a game (or possibly staying in the hotel room).  I would expect to see Morris back in the line-up, when the play in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Despite not making any moves in the second waiver draft, Darren S. has closed the gap between his team and Derek W.'s team down to 10 points, which could make the race for the basement a little more interesting.  Until it gets a bit closer, I don't know how much it will need to be covered.

Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarsson suffered a leg injury in practice on Monday, was scheduled to have an MRI done on the injury, while in Calgary, to determine his status for Tuesday night's game against the Flames.  There has been no announcement, but from what I could tell, I would say that his status on Tuesday morning is likely doubtful, likely going to err on the side of caution with this injury, especially since the Leafs are in the thick of the playoff race.

Gunnarsson is a second waiver draft pick-up of Jani K.'s, who is off to a great start in Week Twenty, picking up 10 points on Monday night.  Gunnarsson has yet to register point for his new pool team, playing in four games last week, but as a defenseman, you know the points are likely going to be few and far between, especially when they are picked in the waiver draft.

It isn't just defensemen getting sick this season, the goaltenders are also falling prey to the illness' out there.  Tomas Vokoun missed out on a scheduled start on Monday, against the Sharks, due to a spell with the flu bug, which opened the door for a recall and a start for prospect keeper Braden Holtby, but unfortunately, the team couldn't do anything for their prized prospect, dropping a 5-3 result in the process.  Holtby was sent back to the AHL on Tuesday morning and Vokoun should be good to go when the Caps play next.

It sucks when keepers miss out on scheduled starts, not to say that Vokoun would have guaranteed a win for Washington over San Jose, but as a poolie, you always want your keepers to at least give it the college try.  Leon G., who sits 15th, 22 points out of 10th, may not have really missed out on the start, since there really isn't too much his team can play for, except for possibly the third segment prize.