Hutch's Hockey: Injury Attrition

It seemed like there were a lot of preseason injuries, but for the most part, teams enjoyed a fairly healthy first month of the season. Injuries are always part of the calculus for fantasy sports, and the high-impact nature of hockey makes that especially true. 

That good fortune with injuries has dried up. Very few teams are fully healthy, and there are some big names battling issues significant enough to keep them out of the lineup. Over the last couple of weeks or so, here are some players who have exited the lineup and aren't back yet due an injury concern: Mason McTavish (upper body), Cam Fowler (upper body), Robby Fabbri (knee), Hampus Lindholm (lower body), Tage Thompson (lower body), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (undisclosed), Seth Jarvis (upper body), Anthony Mantha (knee), Seth Jones (foot), Alexandar Georgiev (upper body), Simon Edvinsson (lower body), Darnell Nurse (upper body), Viktor Arvidsson (undisclosed), Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed), Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body), Mats Zuccarello (lower body), Jonas Brodin (upper body), Filip Chytil (upper body), Samuel Ersson (lower body), Kevin Hayes (upper body), Cody Glass (concussion), Jordan Eberle (lower body), Vitek Vanecek (undisclosed), Philip Broberg (lower body), Brayden Point (lower body), Auston Matthews (upper body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Brock Boeser (upper body) and Mark Stone (lower body). You could put together a pretty decent team just with players on this list alone, and it doesn't include players who have been out since October or earlier. 

Again, this is all part of the deal when signing up for a fantasy league. You can mitigate your injury risk by picking players who don't tend to miss a lot of time, but past results are not a guarantee for the future. 

I say it every year, and now's a good time to bring up one of my pillars of fantasy: injuries create opportunities. A key player leaving the lineup creates a void that someone else has to fill. With that in mind, this week's waiver-wire recommendations are filled (though not exclusively) with players that are covering for injured teammates. Not all of the players above were playing key fantasy roles, nor do they need a clear fantasy replacement, but there are some big names there. Some suggestions will be repeats from recent weeks, with the caveat that their situations have improved due to their team's injury situation. 

For example, Jordan Martinook is no Jarvis, but he's been doing a pretty good imitation lately. Martinook has six goals and two assists over his last seven contests. The two were linemates for a while prior to Jarvis' injury, but Martinook has soldiered on over the last three games. The Hurricanes are one of a few teams where a hot third-liner is worth a look. Martinook won't move up the lineup unless the injury bug bites hard, but he can be a 30-point winger who chips in some hits, shots and a solid plus-minus rating. 

You've got a couple of options in Buffalo if you're looking to replace Thompson. You could do just like the Sabres -- Ryan McLeod has ascended to a top-line role in recent games, though he hasn't absorbed Thompson's power-play time. Over his last six games, McLeod has two goals and four points. He took a little time to adjust to his new team following an offseason trade from Edmonton, but McLeod is thriving in a larger role this season than he could have ever seen with the Oilers. 

If you're looking for more of a production-based fill-in from the Sabres, John-Jason Peterka is still out there in 56 percent of Yahoo formats (as of Sunday afternoon). I had Peterka as a sleeper pick and a player I'm keeping an eye on this year, and at nearly the quarter-mark, he's been a hit. The 22-year-old is on a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists), and he's played a point-per-game pace so far with seven tallies and nine assists over 16 contests. He's purely an option for points, power-play production and shots, so there's a bit less appeal in formats that have more non-scoring categories. 

In Minnesota, Thursday's win over the Canadiens came at a cost. Zuccarello is expected to be out roughly a month, but Eriksson Ek should be back in short order. That still leaves a top-six job up for grabs. That's assuming Marco Rossi has fallen out of favor for such a role, which I would consider premature. I like Rossi's offense this year -- he's got 14 points, including two on the power play, and 32 shots on goal through 17 contests. He's earned six points over eight outings in November. You may want to consider Ryan Hartman for grit, but Rossi has the better long-term upside if the Matt Boldy-at-center experiment doesn't last. 

There's no readily available fantasy replacement for a defenseman like Nurse, who offers some of the best well-rounded production even with just moderate offense. Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm are unavailable in most formats and will monopolize the power-play time on the Oilers' blue line. The one player who has the best chance of stepping up with more minutes is Brett Kulak. He's already at seven points with 26 shots on net and 23 blocked shots over 18 contests this season, and four of those points have come over the last five games. Kulak doesn't hit or take penalties like Nurse, and until logging 1:54 on the power play Saturday, Kulak had a total of 10 seconds of power-play time. He's not a perfect fit for fantasy, but he's done enough recently to be in the conversation until the offense wavers. 

If you're looking for a defenseman trending in the right direction, consider Travis Sanheim. The Flyers' top blueliner has five points, seven shots on net, six blocked shots and a plus-6 rating over his last two contests. Head coach John Tortorella suggested Team Canada should be taking a serious look at Sanheim for the 4 Nations Faceoff after Saturday's contest. Even with just a trace of power-play time, Sanheim has racked up 11 points, 43 shots on net, 39 blocked shots, 15 hits and a plus-3 rating over 18 appearances. He's out there in 55 percent of Yahoo formats, but he'll be going fast given his scoring outburst. 

Replacing a superstar-level talent doesn't come easy. Oftentimes, it will take having multiple players step up one rung on the ladder rather than promoting one player straight to the top. Vegas is a good example of that, as they've taken Pavel Dorofeyev from the second line to Stone's spot on the first, then moved Tomas Hertl to the wing to let Nicolas Roy play his natural center position. There's still some moving parts at play here, but Roy is a player that should be under consideration, at least in deeper formats. He's as versatile as it gets for Vegas -- he's filled a fireman role for the last few years. He has five points over seven games in November and 12 points through 18 contests overall. He can hit a little and add some PIM, but he's a selective shooter. Roy is always in the power-play mix and also kills penalties while playing center or wing all over the lineup. A little versatility never hurts a fantasy roster. 

Toronto's had less success replacing Matthews, but at least the power play is humming again. Max Domi has fallen flat, and most of the other key forwards for the Maple Leafs are rostered in fantasy already. Keep an eye on Bobby McMann, who has three goals and 17 shots on net over his last three contests. His ice time is trending up, and he could have a top-six role at least as long as Matthews remains sidelined. McMann will add a little sandpaper in fantasy, but I see him as a streaming option. 

Outside of pure injury-replacement moves, it's worth looking at Mason Marchment. He's erupted with four goals and five assists over his last three contests. It's a loud proclamation of something that's been quietly true for a while now -- the Stars' offense is being carried by the second line of Marchment, Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin. Marchment can run streaky, but with 17 points over 15 contests this season, he's setting himself up to easily surpass the 53-point campaign he had in 2023-24. 

Kyle Palmieri is a bright spot in a weak Islanders offense, with three goals and six assists over eight games in November. The 33-year-old winger had a 54-point season in 2023-24, the fourth time he reached the 50-point mark in his career and the first since 2018-19. He's picked up just two power-play points among 16 points over 18 contests overall. He's never been a 60-point man, but this could be the year, even if he is due for a slight downward correction on a 15.6 shooting percentage. Palmieri is a lock for the second line, and that role stability is what makes him a safe fantasy choice. 

In goal, it's back to goalies that have a chance to fill in for injured starters. David Rittich is the top choice -- Kuemper's on the injured list for a second time in 2024-25, so the concern is significant. Rittich is 3-1-0 with five goals allowed on 73 shots over four contests in November. The Kings' defensive system is goalie-friendly, so he won't rack up massive save totals, but he also won't give up a lot of goals most of the time. Big Save Dave is a goalie you can ride in easy matchups, and that's good news, as the Kings host the Sabres on Wednesday and the Kraken on Saturday before visiting San Jose on Oct. 25. None of those are top-10 offenses, with the Sabres closest at No. 12 with 3.33 goals per game entering this week. 

A month ago, considering Ivan Fedotov in fantasy would have been a joke. No more -- he's won three straight outings, allowing a modest seven goals on 85 shots for a .918 save percentage. Fedotov is still volatile. The Flyers' defense doesn't impress me, but the goal support should help him rack up wins more easily. Ersson is on injured reserve and will likely miss 1-2 weeks, so Fedotov has a shelf life, especially with games against the Avalanche on Monday and the Hurricanes on Wednesday before a cupcake matchup against the Blackhawks on Saturday. He's a high-risk, modest-reward goalie, though the playing time can be valuable. 

Fantasy often encourages being proactive, but when injuries pile up like this, sometimes you just have to weather the storm. There's a silver lining here as well -- when you've got players coming back at the same time one gets injured, you don't have to make as many adjustments. It can be a blessing in disguise for formats that still use next-day roster moves. Do your best to get through the week ahead and I'll check in next week with more.