2019 Fantasy Hockey Injury Report: December 18
Published: Dec 18, 2019
Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Hockey Injury Report. The season is now in full swing, and so are the injuries. You can’t avoid them, but we can get a head start and plan around them. The injury report will be out every week to help you plan the rest of your fantasy hockey week. Let’s take a look at which key players are dealing with injuries.
Ryan Murray - Columbus Blue Jackets - Defence
Injury: lower-body, week-to-week.
You can’t count on three things in life: death, taxes and Ryan Murray being injured. The Blue Jackets defenceman suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday’s contest versus the Ottawa Senators and hasn’t played since. Murray wasn’t exactly tearing up the league before his injury, so if he’s on your roster, it would be best to drop him and look for another option. At this point in his career, he just can’t be trusted to produce on a regular basis because you never know when he will get hurt again.
Jason Zucker - Minnesota Wild - Winger
Injury: lower-body, day-to-day
Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker missed yesterday’s game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights due to a lower-body injury, and there is no timetable for his return. It looks like a day-to-day injury, but we don’t know more than that. He’s been productive this season-- scoring 12 goals in 34 games-- and he remains very much available on the waiver wire. The Wild have been playing some very good hockey of late, so once Zucker is ready to return, it would be wise to take a chance on him and add him to your roster.
Mathieu Perreault - Winnipeg Jets - Winger
Injury: concussion, out indefinitely.
There weren’t that many significant injuries over the last week, which is good news for fantasy owners. In deeper leagues, Mathieu Perreault is out indefinitely with a concussion after taking a hit from behind from Joel Farabee. The Flyers forward was suspended three games for his hit, but the Jets will most likely be without their third-lin winger for longer than that. The veteran forward might be on your team if you’re in a really deep format, but you don’t need to hold onto him right now. Don’t burn an IR spot for a player with six goals in 33-games.
Oskar Lindblom - Philadelphia Flyers - Winger
Injury: Ewing’s sarcoma, out indefinitely.
Flyers winger Oskar Lindblom is expected to be out for the rest of the season after discovering that he has a rare form of bone cancer. The 23-year-old was off to a pretty good start to the season-- scoring 11-goals in 30 games-- but now, it looks like his season will come to an end. It’s tough for anyone to have to deal with cancer, especially a rare form that grows on your bones. We hope that Lindblom can make a full recovery and return to the NHL.