The walking wounded theme continued through the weekend of NHL action. After recapping the injuries and returns of six players in this week's Forecaster, it was too easy to find another six to discuss here just three days later.
Fantasy managers should be reminded of how important tracking injuries can be to their lineup. Whether in head-to-head or rotisserie leagues, giving yourself the best chance to win means accumulating counting stats. To do that, you need to stay on top of your games played before worrying about anything else. In rotisserie, that means making up for losses in your games played limit when injuries strike. In head-to-head, it means finding help from the waiver wire to keep up on a week-to-week basis.
Make sure you take full advantage of any injured reserve slots in your league and be willing to part with the fringe players on your roster in order to make adjustments. That can mean making moves to tackle injured reserved players even when your lineup is healthy. If another manager drops a valuable commodity because that player hit the IR, it may be worth dropping a healthy-but-fringe asset to scoop the player onto your own injured reserve, then adding another body back in the next transaction period.
Brock Boeser, RW, Vancouver Canucks: Injured
We don't know the extent of Boeser's injury yet, other than the fact he was unable to put weight on his foot after taking a Mark Giordano slap shot off of it on Sunday and was spotted on crutches after the game. This would be devastating to the Canucks and fantasy managers alike. As of this writing, Boeser leads all rookies in goals and points with 30 points in just 31 games. But why qualify his impressive totals by pointing out he's a rookie? Boeser is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals and is ninth in power-play points. Boeser also has room to grow with the lowest average ice time among all players with at least 30 points by a full minute. Depending on the extent of the injury, which should be revealed today or tomorrow, the entire Canucks lineup takes a hit in his absence. Boeser has helped push the Sedin twins into relevant territory in recent games by playing with them on the top power play.
Cam Talbot, G, Edmonton Oilers: Healthy
Talbot had appeared to overcome a weak start to the season with three solid outings in a row prior to his trip to the injured reserve at the end of November. After a seven-game absence, he returned to the crease on Saturday and helped the Oilers to a 3-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild, picking up where he left off prior to the injury. Talbot was among the top goaltenders off the fantasy draft board this season following his 42-win season last year, but his early-season struggles have reduced his value. The Oilers still have the talent and personnel that resulted in Talbot's strong showing a year ago, so it's fair to expect the team to right the ship. There's a good chance Talbot's manager in your league may be looking to move him with his healthy return to the ice. It's worth exploring his cost, as the ceiling remains high enough for No. 1 goaltender statistics over the duration of the campaign.
Logan Couture, C, San Jose Sharks: Injured
The Sharks seem to be preparing for Couture's venture into the concussion protocol to be a prolonged one. As always with concussions, the outcome here is unpredictable. Should Couture be out for a while, however, the impact is very predictable, as Couture has been the one constant in the Sharks' lineup. This will increase the pressure on Joe Pavelski to step up his game. After being a top-10 asset for fantasy in recent campaigns, Pavelski is currently the 88th ranked forward on the ESPN Player Rater. The Pavelski-Joe Thornton line will need to start putting the puck in the net with more frequency if Couture's concussion is a long-term problem. This would also mean Tomas Hertl fills in as the second-line center for the Sharks, making him fantasy relevant during any absence for Couture.
Kyle Palmieri, RW, New Jersey Devils: Healthy
Palmieri has only played 13 game so far this season, but he is slated to return to the Devils lineup on Monday on the top line with Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier. His four goals and nine points in those games are very much in line with his potential as a 30-goal scorer (over a full campaign), and he should be added back to rosters in all league sizes. He's only rostered in 48.3 percent of leagues at the moment.
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs: Injured
OK, so this is dragging on longer than anyone wanted or expected. Matthews was hurt colliding with teammate Morgan Rielly on Dec. 9 and hasn't practiced with the Leafs since then. The nature of his injury is a complete mystery at this point, although both a concussion and a back injury have been suggested by the Toronto media. The Leafs' offense has all but dried up without his presence, which doesn't leave fantasy managers with a lot of confidence if this injury continues to linger. There's certainly an argument not to roll with any Toronto fantasy assets until Matthews returns to health and resumes his role as the team's catalyst.
Zach Parise, LW, Minnesota Wild: Healthy...well, almost
Parise was back at practice on Friday for the first time since undergoing back surgery more than seven weeks ago. He needs to build up stamina and get cleared for contact at practice before an impending return, which should come sooner than later. He's travelling with the team this week and continuing to work out. Parise is planning to return at full strength and will immediately slot in next to either Eric Staal or Mikko Koivu. He's rostered in 30.6 percent of ESPN leagues, and when to pick him up is only a matter of playing chicken with your leaguemates.
Forwards on the move
Josh Bailey, RW, New York Islanders (up 33 spots to No. 67)
This was a bit of a sneak attack by Bailey this season, only because he's had several chances to ride shotgun with John Tavares in the past with only tepid results. But there's nothing tepid about his 40 points in 33 games. Just pick a predecessor for comparison to Bailey, whether it be Kyle Okposo, Matt Moulson or P.A. Parenteau. The story is the same. Tavares is the king of making stars by association and, almost without miss, those players ride that value for the duration of the season. Bailey is very much for real.
Bobby Ryan, RW, Ottawa Senators (enters ranks at No. 230)
Ryan is on pace for his best month on offense since January 2015. The bar is admittedly not that high for a winger that has fallen out of favor in fantasy circles while wearing a Senators jersey, but his three goals and six points in eight games this month have come while playing a more prominent role that he had been. Ryan is rolling on a top line with Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, in addition to playing with them on the top power-play unit. His recent goals also pass the eyeball test for skill, coming on nice chances in front of the net. Such goals were his area of expertise once upon a time when he would net 30 per season with the Anaheim Ducks. He may not have earned his way onto your roster yet, but consider him when trolling the waiver wire.
Defensemen on the move
Drew Doughty, D, Los Angeles Kings (up eight spots to No. 20)
Enough is enough. Between Dustin Byfuglien's injury, Erik Karlsson's continued drought and Doughty's consistency, it is time we put Doughty in the first spot for defensemen in these rankings. Despite his illustrious career, he's on pace for career highs in points, shots on goals and plus/minus. New coach John Stevens appears to be allowing a little more leeway in Doughty joining the offensive plays, and the results should continue to bear fruit over the remainder of the campaign.
John Carlson, D, Washington Capitals (up 13 spots to No. 60)
After a breakout 2014-15 season, Carlson has been on the fringes of fantasy relevance for the past two campaigns. Now, 34 games into this season, Carlson is on pace for new career highs almost across the board. Certainly an increase to his average ice time by more than three minutes per game is partly responsible, but even on a per-minute basis, Carlson is obliterating his past couple seasons. Given the floor for fantasy production from the elite forwards for the Capitals, it's safe to consider Carlson a No. 1 fantasy defenseman for the remainder of the season, making him an absolute bargain at the draft table this season.
Goalies on the move
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Vegas Golden Knights (up 53 spots to No. 101)
He's back. Although Malcolm Subban has proven more than capable of shouldering a load larger than most backups, Fleury is still going to be a workhorse for the Golden Knights when he's healthy. By all accounts, he's plenty healthy after stopping 56 of 59 shots in his first two games back. He's still available in 29.9 percent of ESPN leagues, which is far too many considering his potential.
Quick hits
Mika Zibanejad, the surprise catalyst for the New York Rangers offense during their first 24 games of the season, is expected to return Tuesday after missing the past nine with a concussion. With 22 points in those 24 games, he should be locked back into lineups immediately. ... There should be a similar movement underway to get T.J. Oshie back into fantasy lineups, with his return also slated for Tuesday following a six-game absence. Oshie has 23 points in 28 games this season and will be back on the wing with Evgeny Kuznetsov. ... The Nashville Predators have been experimenting with splitting up Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg to create three dangerous scoring lines instead of two. The results have been very positive for their differential, outscoring the Calgary Flames, Oilers and Canucks by a combined 13-1 during the past three games. Calle Jarnkrok, who is playing with Forsberg, has been the beneficiary from a fantasy perspective and now boasts seven points in his past eight games.