Fantasy Hockey Injury Report: Updates on Miro Heiskanen, Tage Thompson and Owen Tippett, while Dylan Guenther Returns

Today, I’ve got several injury updates from every corner of the league. One up and three down.

If you want to keep yourself updated with minute-by-minute updates, take a look at FantasySP’s Fantasy Hockey Injury News tool, and bookmark it for future reference.

Let’s take a look.

Knee Surgery in Dallas

Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars had successful knee surgery on Tuesday. This is good and bad news. 

The good thing is that the Stars believe he will be back before the playoffs. This is also good for your fantasy news as his return date has been set to March 31. This is typically around the start or second round of playoffs. If you have an IR spot to hold, he can still be a help to your team when it matters.

The bad thing is, this is a huge blow to the Stars, and will negatively impact their blueline and overall defensive prowess. Heiskanen is one of those players who is super elite in real life, but not all of what he does on the ice translates well into fantasy league stats.

Heiskanen has five goals, 20 assists, and seven powerplay points in 50 games played. He also has 108 shots on goal, 17 hits, and 85 blocked shots.

We’ll keep an eye on this loss to the Stars and update you closer to his return. Post surgery, he is considered month-to-month.

Sabres are Soft

Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres was injured on Sunday in the third period after a (potentially dirty) hit from the New Jersey Devils’ Stefan Noesen. He was considered day-to-day after head coach Lindy Ruff said he had passed all of the medical tests given. That’s a good sign, but...

The hit was a controversial one, with direct contact to the head. Brutal impact. Fans and the media alike criticized the rest of the team for not sticking up for one of their All-Star players. 

Now I’ve watched this clip a few times, and I am with Don Cherry; the league is getting soft. Bring back enforcers, and this wouldn’t happen.

Not a single Sabre on the ice did anything about this hit. Your (arguably) best forward got his head taken off, and the rest of his team skated leisurely around and waited for a whistle. Nobody addressed it, nobody dropped the gloves, and nobody answered the bell for the remainder of the game.

Sabres: you need to change your culture. You need to stick up for your stars. Do you want another Jack Eichel situation? I sure hope not. He was hurt, unsupported, and left to win a Stanley Cup the following year. Ouch!

Thompson did not suit up for the game on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, leaving the Sabres short down the middle. 

In 47 games played, Thompson has 26 goals, 22 assists, and 11 powerplay points. He’s also put up 145 shots on goal, 42 hits, and 22 blocked shots.

Hopefully he is OK, and returns soon. And one more time, shame on you Sabres!

Depleting Philly

Owen Tippett of the Philadelphia Flyers missed a third consecutive game against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday. How much more depleted can the Flyers get before they fold and start taking a dive for a higher draft pick position?

It’s tough to hold anyone but veteran Travis Konecny or rookie sensation Matvei Michkov on this team. And to boot they are not even insulating poor Michkov. 

If you read my article on Saturday, then you know Philly did trade away Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, so maybe I am correct in assuming they are trying to tank.

Either way, Tippett has been struggling with consistency this year, and has an abysmal +/- at -14. 

Tippett does have 14 goals, 16 assists, and six powerplay points. He also has 128 shots, 75 hits, and 46 blocked shots.

Missing a third straight game is not a good sign for him. He was injured last Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils (are we seeing a common theme here?), suffering a lower body injury and left the game. He has not played or skated since, but is traveling with the team.

Hopefully he is back soon, and despite the woes of the Flyers, he is still considered a hold in deeper leagues as his point production will outweigh his goal differential and his powerplay time further adds to his value.

Hockey Club Return 

Dylan Guenther of the Utah something or other (Is it Hockey Club? Is it Mammoth? Is it Outlaw? I guess we’ll soon find out!) has finally returned to injury. After missing 12 games due to a lower body injury, Guenther is hoping to continue his surging offence and help his 'Hockey Club' continue where he left off.

Guenther was a diamond in the rough this year, often falling outside of fantasy drafts to be picked up on the waiver wire, and boy has that paid off. Out of nowhere, he started putting up stellar numbers that did not seem to fall off.

On the season, he has 16 goals, 18 assists, 16 powerplay points in only 41 games played. He’s also put up 98 shots on goal, 22 hits, and 24 blocked shots.

Not too shabby for a mostly undrafted fantasy league gem, eh? Playing top six minutes, and getting number one powerplay unit time, owners should rejoice in his return and hopefully his production does not falter after missing nearly a month of play.