This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
The big news across the league on Wednesday was the injury to rookie superstar Connor McDavid.
McDavid broke his clavicle in race for the puck on Tuesday night. It was immediately apparent that something wasn't right when McDavid crashed into the end boards. That was confirmed when he didn't return to the game.
With Wednesday's announcement that McDavid is out "indefinitely" according to the team, some owners may be looking to loose McDavid onto waivers and find a solution elsewhere. There are a few things worth noting here.
1. McDavid will likely be out "months, plural," as Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli said. It's a serious break that will require plates and screws, but there's a lot that's unknown. What is known is that he's on a point per game pace and that he's likely to return before the end of the year. If someone in your keeper league needs to drop him to stay competitive and you can afford to roster an injured player, do it. It's risky, but the upside could be huge. Like investing in Coca-Cola in the 20s huge.
2. McDavid's absence will have two ripple effects on the Oilers. The first is that even though Jordan Eberle is about to return from his shoulder injury, someone is going to get a chance to step up and play in the top six. There's a good chance it's the guy I'll highlight with my recommended pickup for the week.
3. It's not just a better opportunity for someone, it's a center who isn't named Connor McDavid for Nail Yakupov and Benoit Pouliot, which means its a downgrade. Yakupov was a trendy pick-up the last couple weeks. That's largely because Yakupov has been leaving 20% on the table every day because McDavid has been serving him so well. No matter who moves into the middle of the Yakupov and Pouliot line, their value is about to drop.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Sabres (Chad Johnson), 7:00 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Canadiens (Mike Condon), 7:30 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Panthers (Al Montoya) at Sharks (Martin Jones), 10:30 PM
Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Drouin, C (lower body) - missed Tuesday's match, but may be back soon
Cedric Paquette, C (ankle) - missed Tuesday's game and is approaching a return
Mitchell Stephens, C (foot) - is out indefinitely
Buffalo Sabres
Cody McCormick, C (illness) - is out indefinitely
Zach Bogosian, D - remains without a timeline
Evander Kane, LW (MCL) - was given a four to six week timetable for a return at the time of injury
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) - isn't quite ready to come back
Boston Bruins
Dennis Seidenberg, D (back) - will join his team on a three-game road trip that begins Thursday
Chris Kelly, RW (fractured femur) - is out for the rest of the season
David Pastrnak, LW (foot) - will not travel with the Bruins on their three-game road trip
Washington Capitals
Jakub Vrana, RW (wrist) - will miss a few months after successful surgery this week
Chris Brown, C (hand) - remains out
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, LW (lower body) - remains on IR
John Tavares, C (illness) - returned to practice on Wednesday and wants to play Thursday
Thomas Hickey, D (lower body) - will miss another three weeks or so
Montreal Canadiens
Zack Kassian, RW (suspended) - isn't coming back soon
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) - has skated
Carey Price, G (lower body) - remains out
Winnipeg Jets
Andrew Copp, C (upper body) - is on IR
Ottawa Senators
Mark Stone, RW (suspension) - will finish out his suspension by sitting out Thursday
Chris Phillips, D (back) - is out
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - doesn't have a timetable to return
Nashville Predators
Eric Nystrom, LW (upper body) - did not practice Monday
Minnesota Wild
Justin Fontaine, RW (knee) - is on IR
Christian Folin, D (lower body) - it isn't clear if Folin is still injured or if he's being scratched, but he hasn't been in the lineup in a while
Tyler Graovac, C (hernia) - had successful surgery this week and could miss a couple months
Philadelphia Flyers
Sean Couturier, C (upper body) - could return Thursday
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, C (lower body) - is out
Yevgeni Medvedev, D (upper body) - flew back to Philadelphia to see doctors during the current road trip
Calgary Flames
Micheal Ferland, LW (knee) - remains out
Jonas Hiller, G (lower body) - could be coming up on a return, but it's unlikely to be Thursday
Lance Bouma, C (lower body) - will be out another couple months
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - is on IR
John Mitchell, C (oblique) - missed Tuesday's game
Arizona Coyotes
Joe Vitale, C (fractured orbital) - remains out
Stefan Elliott, D(upper body) - is day-to-day
Antoine Vermette, C (lower body) - is questionable for Thursday
Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov, C (broken hand) - is on IR
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) - continues to serve his half-season suspension
Logan Couture, C (ankle) - continues to make progress toward a return
Columbus Blue Jackets
David Clarkson, RW (lower body) - was placed on IR Wednesday
Alexander Wennberg, C (lower body) - is questionable for Thursday
Los Angeles Kings
Dwight King, LW (foot) - remains out
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - is on IR
Hot
Bryan Little, C, WPG — Little has three multi-point games in his last four matches, posting two goals and four assists in that span. With a hot streak going, Blake Wheeler on his line, and a point per game pace through 13 games, it's hard not to feel good about what you're getting out of Little if you've rostered him.
Brent Seabrook, D, CHI — No Duncan Keith? No problem. Seabrook hasn't fallen below 22 minutes in seven games and is currently riding a seven-game point streak over which he's scored three goals and seven assists with 22 shots.
Cold
Michael Grabner, RW, TOR — Someone call Thames and Cosmos, because Grabner just can't get any chemistry going. The former 30-goal scorer doesn't have a goal in the first 10 games of the season and has just a single assist. He's posted only 12 shots in that time and has found his ice time reduced to between 11 and 9 minutes a game. Grabner is droppable.
Marcus Kruger, C, CHI — Kruger isn't a big producer, but he's an improving young player who's an incredible depth piece, eating defensive zone starts and shorthanded time like Pac Man eats white pixels. But Kruger has no points through 13 games and has taken only 10 shots. He's getting decent minutes, but he's not put in a position to succeed in the ways needed for fantasy. Don't let his real world value fool you, he's not any use in fantasy.
Recommended Pickup
Leon Draisaitl, C, EDM — Draisaitl is in line to get increased minutes with Connor McDavid out. He was called up three games ago but has been a part of an incredibly hot line, which has helped him put up three goals and four assists in those three games. His shooting percentage is very high, but he's averaging over three shots per game so far, giving him a good chance to keep some solid production coming in, even when his ridiculous scoring rate subsides. There's a high ceiling on what he's capable of.
