Bucket of Pucks

Vancouver trades for a Goalie - Sanford injures Groin - Labarbera a Canuck.

Late on Tuesday night, The Los Angeles Kings alleviated their goaltending logjam and dealt last year's starter (and this year's "Wally Pipp"), Jason Labarbera to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 7th round pick in the upcoming June entry draft.

The Vancouver Canucks are currently without #1 Goaltender Roberto Luongo who is likely out until the All Star Break with a groin injury that he re-injured just days before returning to action.

While Luongo skated today for the first time since Dec. 10th, he is expected to take this round of recovery twice as slow and the target seems to be the first matchup after the All Star Game (Jan. 28th vs. Nashville) for his return to game action. In the meantime, Curtis Sanford has held his own for the Canucks and sports a 2.43 GAA and a .913 SV %, with 7 wins in 13 Games as a starter.

However, Tuesday night Sanford aggravated a groin injury himself, necessitating the deal for the King's Surplus goalie. Sanford has been placed on the IR, meaning he is on the shelf for at least a week.

Simon Gagne, Upper-body Injury in Philly/Van game - UPDATED, 1/1

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Simon Gagne will miss 7-10 days with a strained shoulder.  Meaning he'll miss the next 4-5 games, with 1/10 Toronto game as the target return date.  With the high hit on the upper body and Gagne's concussion history, this is far from a worst case scenario. 

Fantasy Wise:  Daniel Briere has been penciled in for a January 6th return, but  said before Gagne went down that he could return earlier if needed.   So, expect to see Briere on the top line RW spot at least until Gagne's return.  If the Flyers don't feel Briere is ready or just want to be cautious, rookie Claude Giroux played a good game (1 assist) replacing Gagne on the top line and would be the likely replacement for the back-to-back games Friday and Saturday.

Streamers Report for the Week of 12/28-1/4

Happy New Year to all.  This week on the Streamer Report, playing in deeper leagues as injuries pile up, there's not a whole lot available on the waiver wire, especially in H2H leagues.  If ya hit a stretch where your team is slumping, your rookies have hit the wall and injuries are piling up, each point/category you can squeeze out now could be the difference between making the playoffs and not. 

So, particularly in time of struggle, keep an extra roster spot or two open and pick up a weekly player or two for match-ups.  If your opponent has a stud; then pick up an available linemate to mitigate the damage.  Pick up a player strong in a category your match-up is strong in.  Sometimes, your FA move will force a counter-move by your opponent because it's always better to be on the offensive and make other owners react to you!

Luongo to skate this week - Sundin, too! Luongo Injury Update - 12.28.08

The answer to the two biggest questions in Fantasy Hockey were just revealed: Luongo and Sundin will skate this week. New Canuck Mats Sundin is expected to practice with the team on Tuesday the 30th of December, while injured Goalie Roberto Luongo is expected to return to the ice on Wednesday, 12.31.08, as part of his injury rehab.

Roberto Luongo injured his groin vs. the Penguins back on November 22nd and then re-injured it on December 10th, keeping him off the ice ever since. The Canucks have professed how they will take it slower this time, so the news that he'll be back on the ice wednesday should be taken with a grain of salt. Last time around, Luongo was facing shots within a week of hitting the ice, but don't count on anything CLOSE that happening again. While there is no timetable, as the above link notes, if the Canucks target their first game after the All-Star break (Jan 28th vs. Nashville at home) it would give Luongo 4 solid weeks of slow, strength building rehab. A definite possibility, as Luongo probably won't be back any sooner than 3 weeks from now and an extra week of training could be the difference between suffering a relapse, or carrying the team to the playoffs.

Hip Surgery for Kariya - Out for season? *BREAKING NEWS*

After an earlier update about injured St. Louis Blues forward Paul Kariya returning to practice for the first time since going down vs. Anaheim on November 5th, the bad news has arrived. As first reported by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch, Kariya will have surgery on his ailing hip and may miss the rest of the season.

Leaving his 1st practice in over a month on friday after only 20 minutes due to discomfort in his injured hip, Kariya underwent an MRI later that day which disclosed the hip was in worse shape than first thought. TSN adds that the injury is apparently related to the boo-boo Kariya suffered in the Anaheim tilt. "He was jolted from behind and it twisted his whole body and it tore a muscle," St. Louis G.M. John Davidson said. "It's healed and there's still discomfort. So now we've looked and there's more damage than first thought and it's going to have to be repaired. This is all on that same hit from behind."

The St. Louis Dispatch is reporting this time Kariya is suffering from a torn labrum, just an inch away from where he tore the hip muscle. For those who aren't anatomy majors like myself, the labrum is the cartilage that lines the hip socket, and depending on the severity, recovery can be anywhere from 2-6 months.

Quick Hits - Injury Updates

Rather than rehash our last big injury report, here's a quick injury update that covers some recent developments in the past few days.

Paul Stastny – C - Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche got coal in their stocking as 1st line center Paul Stastny fractured his forearm against Phoenix Tuesday night and will be out indefinitely. Fantasy wise, this kills whatever value players like Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk had - unless the Avs make a move. With Tyler Arnason and Ian Lapperierre as their top 2 Centers, (and with Joe Sakic on the shelf long term with a snowblower-caused hand injury), expect the Avs to make a deal to shore up their weakened pivot position. (Doug Weight, anyone?) For now, it seems Wojtek Wolski will be shifted back to Center, the position he played back in Juniors. Rick Sadowski muses about how Peter Forsberg could help the Avalanche, if he were healthy. In a related note, I could be a superstar in the NHL, if I ever develop any talent.

UPDATE 12.28.08: The Denver Post is reporting Stastny will have surgery tuesday (12.30.08) and is probably facing 6-8 weeks of recovery time. In the meantime, Tyler Arnason replaced Stastny on the Avs top line saturday night, centering Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk, as the Avs decided to leave Wolski at wing. Arnason played 19:15 , with over 2 minutes of PP time, garnering 5 shots and no points in the 4-3 shootout victory over Detroit. Both Smyth (1G,1A) and Hejduk (1A) got on the scoresheet, so add Arnason to your watch list but don't pick him up yet. After all, it's only the second time he's tallied 5 SOGs in a game this year and his numbers, (2G, 8A, 12PIMs, minus-3 and 57 SOGs) aren't exactly inspiring.

Paul Kariya –RW- St. Louis Blues
We covered the long and winding road that Paul Kariya has been on with his hip injury a couple of times. Well, it’s nice to finally have some good news to report for once. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kariya will return to practice with the team on Friday the 26th, after skating on his own for over a week. Whether he’ll be taking contact yet is another story, but this is encouraging news. Kariya is close. Give him a few games to get his timing back once he returns to the lineup.

UPDATE 12.27.08:
The Blues have announced Kariya will undergo surgery on his hip and may miss the rest of the season. Well, that was quick.
CLICK HERE to check out the latest news.

Streamers Report for the Week 12/22-12/28

Happy Holidays to all that is Hockey to everyone!  If you've been keeping tabs in recent weeks with BucketofPucks.com Streamers Report, you've been some of the first to hear the latest in injuries and hot FA available in 50% of public leagues or less.  BoP.com has recommended a number of FA/Waiver Wire gems like Hartnell (Phi), Krejci (Bos), Lang (Mtl), Pavelski (SJ), O'Sullivan (LA).  All of whom have since had a 10-20% spike in ownership, to go along with their continued productivity.  So, let's see what stocking stuffers and fantasy advice BoP.com has for you in the Streamers Report this week:

Brassard Out for Year with Season Ending Shoulder Surgery. 12.22.09

As we reported a few days ago, the injury to Columbus Blue Jackets' Blue Jackets Center Derick Brassard's right shoulder is far worse than originally thought and now the Columbus Dispatch confirms Brassard will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.

Injured during a fight with Dallas' James Neal (which he never should have been in) back on December 18th, the injury was initially suspected to be a separated shoulder. Further tests have revealed Brassard has a dislocated shoulder with a torn labrum, requiring surgery to repair it and a 4-6 month recovery time.

The surgery will be performed in early January by Dr. Anthony Miniaci, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Center. Miniaci previously performed a similar surgery on Brassard's left shoulder when he played in juniors.

A former first round pick, 21-year old Brassard has impressed this season, with 10 goals, 15 Helpers 17 PIMs and a +12 in just 31 games. The Rookie worked his way up through Columbus' lineup as Coach Ken Hitchcock brought the young talent along slowly.

Eventually, Brassard ended up centering Rick Nash on the top line, finally giving Nash the Center he has desperately craved for so long. Unless G.M. Scott howson makes a move, there goes the Blue Jackets' playoff hopes. Let the Blue Jackets trade rumors begin!

UPDATE: The Dispatch's Tom Reed speculates about Doug Weight going to Columbus, noting Weight's salary is just $1.75 Million, and he's an Unrestricted Free Agent.

Fantasy Spin:

Brassard was a real Gem this season, competing for the Calder and helping out Rick Nash owners in the meantime. Oh well - Drop him in standard leagues and obviously place him on IR in keepers. Brassard is the real deal, so don't forget about him come next year's drafts, because there are always some owners who will.

The Blue Jacket's loss of Brassard is R.J. Umberger's gain however, as he rolls up and takes back the first line pivot job that Brassard had taken from him. Umberger has performed well on the 2nd line lately, with 2G, 2A and a game winner in his last three contests. However, the Blue Jackets are abysmal to own - outside of Rick Nash, Goalie Steve Mason or maybe Fedor Tyutin or Jared Boll in deeper leagues, I'd avoid Columbus players altogether.

Boston's Bergeron Released from Hospital, Placed on IR with Concussion. *now With Video*

UPDATE 12.23.08
The Boston Globe is reporting Bergeron is still experiencing headaches, 2 days after sustaining a concussion. Bergeron will be gone at least two weeks as players must be symptom free for 5 days before they undergo any baseline tests that would allow them to return to the ice. Bergeron is out until sometime in the new year.
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From the department of redundancy department, Boston Bruins Center Patrice Bergeron had his bell rung Saturday by Dennis Seidenberg against Carolina and left the ice under the assistance of teammates. (Video Below)

TSN is now joins The Boston Globe in confirming it's a concussion and that Bergeron has been released from Massachussetts General Hospital sunday and placed on IR.

According to Bruins G.M. Peter Chiarelli, Bergeron felt significantly worse the day after his Grade 3 concussion last season. Boston Coach Claude Julien concurred, He's feeling much, much better today. That's a big difference from what happened last year."

Selanne out 4-6 weeks with quadriceps injury! *BREAKING NEWS*

Update 10:30 PM PST:
TSN has finally confirmed the diagnosis saying the MRI revealed a cut in his left quadriceps muscle. Details are thin at this point but there is apparently no tendon damage and Teemu Selänne will not need surgery.

More to come as it is available...
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Moments ago during the San Jose Sharks broadcast of their tilt with the NY Rangers, it was announced that Teemu Selanne will miss 4-6 weeks with with a partially severed quadriceps muscle.

As I mentioned in my last post, Corey Perry missed 6 weeks last year with a partially severed quadriceps tendon that required surgery.

Fantasy Wise:
We were right and coach Randy Carlyle has confirmed to the OC Register that Bobby Ryan will pick up the slack left by Selanne's injury. After moving into Selanne's spot after he left last night, Ryan assisted on Corey Perry's 2nd period goal and will play on the first line PP with Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. If you have the room, pick him up ASAP.

Teemu Selanne in action vs. the NY Rangers in Anaheim, 12.16.08
Photo by Rob E.