Welcome to the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. Once a week, we’ll take a look at some injuries around the league that may affect your fantasy hockey team. Injuries will always happen and you can’t predict when, but it’s important to be ready for the aftermath and to have a plan ready. Let’s take a look and some players who are on the shelf for the upcoming week and beyond.

Artem Anisimov - Chicago Blackhawks - Center

Injury: concussion, day-to-day.

Forward Artem Anisimov suffered a concussion Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens and he is unlikely to play Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets. The team hasn’t said if Anisimov would miss more than one game, but it’s likely that he’s out for at least a week.Concussions are one of those injuries where you can’t put a real timetable on when a player may be ready to return, so this could be a short-term injury, or one that last months. For now, Anisimov can be dropped.

Jake DeBrusk - Boston Bruins - Winger

Injury: upper-body, day-to-day.

The Bruins’ forward has already missed two games with an upper-body injury and there’s a good chance that he misses a third one tonight. The team hasn’t come out and confirmed what the upper-body injury is, but it’s believed to be a concussion. He took a puck to the head on November 26, but managed to finish the game. The team is take the necessary precautions needed to make sure their young winger comes back at 100%. For fantasy owners, DeBrusk can be dropped if you need the extra roster spot. In deeper leagues, maybe wait a couple of more days to see if the 22-year-old is close to a return.

Curtis McElhinney - Carolina Hurricanes - Goalie

Injury: lower-body, no timetable.

Just as McElhinney was starting to get into a grove, he goes down with a lower-body injury. The team hasn’t confirmed what the injury might be, but there is no timetable for his return, which usually isn’t a good sign. Until we have more information, it’s best to take a “wait and see” approach. Once we get a clear idea of how serious the injury may be, fantasy owners can decide if it’s best to hold onto him, or move on from him.

Jordan Staal - Carolina Hurricanes - Center

Injury: concussion, out indefinitely.

Concussions seem to be the injury of the week. Jordan Staal is the latest victim and the team has come out and said there is no timetable for his return. The 30-year-old has collected 11 points (5G, 6A) in 27 games so far this season. He’s a borderline fantasy hockey relevant player, so there’s no need to hold onto him if he is part of your roster. There are lots of options on the waiver wire to replace him.

Matt Duchene -Ottawa Senators - Center

Injury: Lower-body, out indefinitely.

It hasn’t been a great year to be an Ottawa Senators fan, and it just got even worse with the loss of Matt Duchene. The centerman is expected to miss multiple weeks with a groin injury. The team hasn’t come out to say if Duchene would need surgery, so many are hoping this injury heals on its own with some rest. The 27-year-old was having himself a season, collecting 34 points (12G, 22A) in 29 games. For fantasy owners, this is a tough blow. The Ontario native was a steal at the draft and was becoming a key player in most lineups. It’s impossible to replace Duchene’s production via the waiver wire, so let’s just hope that the multiple weeks is limited to just two or three and not six or seven.

Bobby Ryan - Ottawa Senators - Winger

Injury: concussion, no timetable.

Let’s keep the concussion theme going. Bobby Ryan is the latest victim to be diagnosed with a concussion and the team has stated that they have no timetable for his return. If for some reason Ryan was on your fantasy hockey team, you can drop him and never claim him again. He isn’t the player he once was and his production hasn’t been there for a couple of years now. The veteran forward is a loss for the Senators, but it may also be a blessing for fantasy owners who were still hoping for Ryan to find his offence again. Let go and move on!

Anthony Mantha - Detroit Red Wings - Winger

Injury: hand, four-to-six weeks.

The Red Wings have confirmed that their talented young winger will be out about four-to-six weeks with a broken hand. Mantha was having himself a slow start to the season, collecting just 14 points (9G, 5A) in 27 games, before breaking his hand. Expectations for Mantha were high coming into this season, but it looks like he will fall well short of those expectations. In redraft leagues, If you can’t afford to keep Mantha on the bench, you can drop him. When it comes to hand injuries, recovery tends to be longer than expected.

Antti Raanta - Arizona Coyotes - Goalie

Injury: lower-body, out for season

We finally have some closure on Antti Raanta. The Arizona goalie is expected to miss the rest of the season with a lower-body injury. The team has come out and confirmed that it is “likely” that he won’t return this year, but at this point, it’s best to move on from him. There were really high expectations for Raanta coming into the season, and sadly, injuries took all those expectations away. The team has said that after doing a procedure, it was determined that more damage was found than previously expected. The goaltending situation in Arizona is already a mess, but at least now fantasy owners can drop Raanta and look forward to drafting him again next season with the same high expectations.

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