Cam Atkinson - Columbus Blue Jackets - Winger

Injury: lower-body, week-to-week.

Just as Cam Atkinson was slowly starting to find his game, he goes down with a lower-body that will keep him out until the new year. It’s been a difficult season for the winger, and Fantasy owners were hoping that his strong play of late was going to get him back on track. With teams off for the holidays, we won’t get an update before Friday, so fantasy owners can look for his replacement on the waiver wire.

Oliver Bjorkstrand - Columbus Blue Jackets - Winger

Injury: rib/oblique strain, four-to-six weeks

This is a huge blow for a team that is dealing with a rash of injuries. Bjorkstrand has been playing some excellent hockey since the beginning of the season-- scoring 12-goals and adding 11-assists-- but it looks like they will be without the talented winger for about four-to-six weeks as he recovers from a rib/oblique strain. He’s only 18% owned in Yahoo! leagues, so there’s a good chance that many fantasy owners probably don’t own him, or are dropping him. That being said, once healthy, he deserves to be on a fantasy hockey team. The kid has too much skill and is going to get every opportunity to contribute. 

Sonny Milano - Columbus Blue Jackets - Winger

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

Winger Sonny Milano has already missed the team’s last five games due to an upper-body injury, and there is still no timetable for his return. I know what most of you are thinking: why are we talking about Sonny Milano? A player who is 0% owned on Yahoo! and has three goals this season. The answer to that question is simple: when a team is dealing with an injury list that is a mile long, players like Milano are bound to get their opportunity to step up. The kid isn’t a terrible hockey player, he just hasn’t been able to produce much at the NHL level, and if he can return to action over the weekend, he could find himself playing top-6 minutes on a team that is desperate for some goals. You can forget him in shallow leagues, but in deeper formats, keep him on your favourites list. 

Josh Anderson - Columbus Blue Jackets - Winger

Injury: shoulder, four-to-six weeks.

Josh Anderson falls into the same category as Milano-- hasn’t done much this season, but could be a short-term factor if he could just stay healthy. With Anderson, the injury diagnosis is more clear: he’s expected to miss four-to-six weeks due to a shoulder injury. He’s already missed the last five games, so he could maybe be ready to return in about three weeks if all goes according to plan. If you’re holding onto him by stashing him on IR, just drop him and look for a replacement. He will probably still be on the waiver wire when you check back on him in a few weeks. 

Anthony Mantha - Detroit Red Wings - Winger

Injury: upper-body, out indefinitely.

I said I would talk only about Columbus players, but I couldn’t not talk about a player who is fantasy relevant and could be out of the lineup for a while. Mantha was injured in a tussle with Leafs defenceman Jake Muzzin, who slam the Red Wings forward to the ice, WWE style, causing Mantha to fall on his head/shoulder. In my eyes, this deserved a suspension, but Leafs twitter and the NHL decided to turn a blind eye and say no supplemental discipline was needed. The team has said that Longueuil native will not play following the holiday break on Saturday, so there’s reason to believe that this injury could be serious and require an extended period of time out of the lineup. Hopefully we can get an update on his status over the next couple of weeks.