It is never easy to foresee the unforeseen. Injuries happen every day in the NHL and here at FantasyAlarm, our goal will be to help you try to stay on top of those maladies. This is our season ending edition. We will be back when the summer ends to further assist you on the quest on accurate injury information. It has been a crazy season and today we look back at some pivotal injuries from the last six to seven months.

Centers

Steven Stamkos missed the rest of the season with a torn lateral meniscus. He suffered the injury all the way back on November 15th against the Detroit Red Wings. The right leg has been a bit of a persistent issues for Stamkos. Most cannot forget the fact that he broke his right tibia in 2013. That cost him 45 games. The meniscus cost him 65 games in all. There was some talk that he could have returned at the tail end of the season. Ultimately, it just was not worth the risk and though he was close, it was just not worth it. He had 20 points (11 goals) in 17 games during the 2016-17 season.

Robby Fabbri had a promising season until a torn ACL derailed it on February 4th. He should be ready for training camp but the injury (as seen here) was nasty from first look. The left knee literally just bent in a way that it should not. Collisions into the boards can be dangerous and it was unfortunate. Fabbri had 29 points in 51 games on the season and center depth became an issue when he went down. It does not appear like there will be any setbacks at all. That is the best news which can be expected.

Wingers

Kevin Fiala is out for the season with a fractured left femur suffered on Wednesday night against St. Louis. He was put into the boards awkwardly and his left leg hit at a violent speed. Femur breaks like this typically need a lot of momentum and forward velocity. He was taken off via stretcher for fear of arterial and ligament tears. The expectation is that Fiala will be out 4-6 months at least. There is some growing concern that the timeline could be 6-9 months plus. Video from si.com shows this in detail and it is as ugly as it looks. Currently, Fiala is a question mark to return in time for the regular season and this will be a closely monitored situation come September. There is too much still uncertain right now.

Kyle Okposo was believed to be in some grave condition after a mysterious illness put him in the hospital. He was even in the intensive care unit for an extended time. There was a ton of concern among many in the hockey world for his recovery. No one knows to this day what fully happened. However, when neurologists are in discussions, things are never good. The most important concept is that Okposo will be fine and ready for training camp. That is all anyone can ask.

Defensemen

Kris Letang is one of the best defense in the league and there is little doubt in that claim. However, he is just injured so often that it can impact even derail some fantasy teams. The Pittsburgh defenseman had a few maladies during the year but it was a neck injury that ended his 2016-17 campaign. At first, it looked like rest might be enough. Unfortunately, it became apparent that Letang would need surgery on his neck. Herniated discs are no fun and the defenseman will be out 3-5 months. That should mean a return for training camp barring any setbacks. Consider the defenseman’s injury history before drafting him for the 2017-18 season. He is truly a risk/reward pick.

Tyler Myers was thought to return at some point during the year. The lower body injury cost him three months and then the Winnipeg defenseman received news that he needed surgery. He was expected to miss 6-8 more weeks but still had a likely return near the end of the season. That did not happen either as he was shut down at the end of March. Myers only played 11 games during the 2016-17 campaign and was one of the reasons why Winnipeg did not make the playoffs. All signs point toward him being ready for training camp at least.

Goalies

Matt Murray did return to back up Marc-Andre Fleury for Game 7 against Washington and he will be ready to go should something happen to Fleury. However, Fleury is on a roll and comes off a seventh game road shutout. Murray had a freak groin injury (originally believed to occur in practice) that was aggravated before the first playoff game for Pittsburgh. It was assumed that Murray would be a significant loss but so far that has not been the case at all. At least the goalie is healthy and did return. It will be a mystery forever though when Murray developed the groin problem.

Roberto Luongo suffered a lower body injury in early March that was thought to be a week or two tops. It turned to be a season ending malady. Luongo is dodging the surgeon’s knife for now as he will rest and rehab (believed to be groin). Understand that he is on the wrong side of his 30’s so injuries are going to be a concern. Florida missed Luongo when he did not play as James Reimer and Reto Berra were just not the answer. The goalie’s ability to return to form in 2017-18 is vital to Florida’s success. His regression at the age 37 season (now 38) is quite troubling. See how Luongo looks in September before drafting him.

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Chris Wassel can be heard on Fantasy Hockey X every week and on various places throughout the internet. He can be followed on Fantasy Alarm and Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. A special thanks this season to nhl.com, Brian Metzer, Pete Jensen, Eric Stephens, Dan Rosen, Helene Elliott, and Selene Parekh of The Fantasy Doctors for all their information. Thanks to all the beat writers that make this column possible each week. It is more difficult to find injury information of any kind in the playoff sometimes. These writers make that easier.