This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Legendary St. Louis Blue Martin "Marty" Brodeur retired on Tuesday. It brought an end to a very good NHL career. Brodeur has all sorts of statistical accolades bestowed upon him. He's first amongst goaltenders in games played and wins and shutouts, and second in playoff wins. Of course, wins is a meaningless statistic for goalies, and that fact also puts a damper on his four Vezina Trophies.
That being said, he was the netminder who helped lead the New Jersey Devils to multiple Stanley Cups, and he has two Olympic gold medals as well. He's going into the Hall of Fame, and he's one of the most prominent, successful goalies in NHL history. This season did not go great for him, but nobody should blame him for clinging on to the only world he has known his entire adult life for a little longer. Now, he makes the short trip to the front office, where he will work with the Blues. Congratulations are in order. Death to the trap, but long live Marty Brodeur.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Devils (Cory Schneider*) 7:30
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury*) at Capitals (Braden Holtby) 8:00
Blackhawks (Corey Crawford*) at Kings (Jonathan Quick) 10:30
*Confirmed Starters
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Maple Leafs
Peter Holland, C (upper-body) – May play Wednesday.
Leo Komarov, LW (shoulder) – Expected to play Wednesday.
Joffrey Lupul, LW (lower-body) – May play Wednesday.
Dion Phaneuf, D (upper-body) – Week-to-week.
Stephane Robidas, D (upper-body) – Not expected play Wednesday.
Devils
Ryane Clowe, LW (concussion) – May not play this season.
Stephen Gionta, C (hand) – Expected to miss 2-3 more weeks.
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (illness) – Expected back Wednesday.
Bryce Salvador, D (back) – Return unknown.
Damon Severson, D (ankle) – Expected to begin skating in 2-3 weeks.
Travis Zajac, C (illness) – Did not practice Tuesday.
Penguins
Blake Comeau, LW (wrist) – Expected to miss another week.
Sidney Crosby, C (lower-body) – Skated Tuesday, may play Wednesday.
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – Out long term.
Olli Maatta, D (shoulder) – Out for season.
Evgeni Malkin, C (lower-body) – Not expected back this week.
Capitals
John Erskine, D (neck) – On injured reserve.
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – Out long term.
Aaron Volpatti, LW (neck) – Healthy, but hasn't been activated.
Blackhawks
Daniel Carcillo, LW (suspension) – Suspended for this game.
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D (knee) – Expected back in February or March.
Kris Versteeg, RW (hand) – On long-term injured reserve.
Kings
Tanner Pearson, LW (leg) – Out for season.
Tyler Toffoli, RW (illness) – Practiced Tuesday.
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) – Suspended indefinitely.
Hot
Kris Letang, D, PIT – Since the NHL just returned to action on Tuesday night, it's tricky to really refer to anybody as being "hot," unless you want to count the NHL All-Star Game, a contest that only vaguely resembles an actual hockey game. Additionally, Letang has been kicked up recently. However, he was able to play on Tuesday, and he tallied a whopping five assists. Before the break, he had a couple games with multiple helpers as well. He also has nine goals too, so he's helping all over the place.
Stephen Weiss, C, DET – Hey, remember Stephen Weiss? The guy who had four seasons with at least 20 goals and two seasons with at least 60 points? He's hit a bit of a rough patch, thanks to injury, but he's played a bit better recently now that he's healthy. He has two assists in three games before the All-Star break, and he notched a goal and two assists against his old team, the Florida Panthers, on Tuesday. Maybe the sun is shining on Stephen Weiss again?
Cold
Tyler Myers, D, BUF – Myers picked up an assist on Tuesday. It was his first point in eight games since returning from injury. He was also a minus-1, which makes him minus-7 in those eight games. He still plays a lot of minutes for the Sabres, and maybe someday he will be traded and see his numbers get a boost. That has not happened yet, though.
Kari Lehtonen, G, DAL – Lehtonen has 19 wins on the season, and two in his last four starts. However, even in those wins he let in three and four goals, and he has let in at least three goals in his last four games. In his last eight starts, he has only one game with a save percentage above .889. That's a problem. The Stars don't have any other real options, but fantasy owners need to be concerned.
Recommended Pickup
Evander Kane, LW, WPG – Kane was fairly well thought of heading into the season, a young player with plenty of nice stats to his name. Then, he struggled, and he got hurt, and now his ownership is down a fair amount. Since returning from injury, though, he has four goals and three assists in eight games. He also takes a lot of shots, and gets quite a few penalty minutes, so now that he's back, he's worth putting back onto a roster.
