Sequels are usually never as good as the first one but we will try our best to come close to those higher standards. As we stated in our Fantasy Hockey Impacts Before The Olympics Part One, the expected emphasis on schedules was touched on in a myriad of ways. When a plan was surmised, it made perfect sense to talk about injuries and holdouts next because injuries make an impact whether anyone wants a particular player or not.
If you search on social media long enough, the stories are easy enough to find. There is Steven Stamkos this and Zdeno Chara that. Those are just for starters. It feels like there is a laundry list of injuries and such from this year’s Winter Olympics. Scouring through the injury boards revealed the following startling truths.
Injured Olympians Plus Their Fate …
- Lubomir Visnovsky (NYI — head) — Precautionary and out.
- Steven Stamkos (TB — leg) — OUT…CT scan indicates leg not healed.
- Marian Gaborik (CBJ — Collarbone) — Doubtful
- Pavel Datsyuk (DET — lower body) — Probable
- Johan Franzen (DET — head) — OUT
- Mikko Koivu (MIN — ankle) — Likely
- Pekka Rinne (NSH — hip infection) — OUT due to rehab.
- Vladimir Sobotka (STL — leg) — OUT
These are just the more notable ones. It is believed that Henrik Sedin should not suffer any more lingering effects from his injury so he was therefore not listed. That is a bit of good news. Considering the “Sedin Twins” have not exactly lit the scoreboard up has to be a bit concerning for Sweden at least on the surface.
Obviously, there have been some considerable scares as well. It looked like Zach Parise may never recover fully from that foot injury. Honestly, a night in the NHL almost does not feel complete without some sort of scare for an Olympian. When playing in the Olympics, it really seems like an adventure to get there for far too many.
A sinking feeling happens to hit the bottom of my stomach when watching games lately just knowing that only a few days separate a lot of these top players from trying to achieve Olympic glory in Sochi. One just has the inkling a malady or two may actually occur in the days leading up to the tournament. After all, injuries are part of the game but in an “Olympic year”, they get magnified and so do the numbers.
Players Taking “Time Off” By NHL Team
Then there are the holdouts or players  simply taking a few days off to get prepared for Sochi. In the case of a couple high profile guys, the following players will be flag bearers) for the Opening Ceremony.
- Zdeno Chara (BOS) — 2 games out (Slovakia)
- Alex Ovechkin (WSH) — 1 game out (Russia)
Ask yourself this question. How many more players will suddenly not play between now and Saturday? It does appear that general managers and coaches are going to be more vigilant because of how few games there are between now and next week.  It is also who misses what games before and after that is key. Stay tuned for our prologue after the Olympics along with all the coverage in between.
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