Rantanen suffered a pretty ugly looking lower-body injury in the first period of Monday’s game in St. Louis. Rantanen suffered a non-contact injury, twisting his knee while skating out of the offensive zone. Non-contact injuries are usually bad news but the Avalanche likely won’t release any further information until Rantanen is evaluated.
Erne suffered an upper-body injury in the Red Wings loss in Vancouver on Tuesday but could play Thursday in Calgary. Erne has no points and 11 shots in six games this season, so even if he does end up playing he carries very little to no fantasy value.
Capobianco will be replacing Niklas Hjalmarsson, who is expected to miss at least three months with a fractured leg. Capobianco has no points in his first three career NHL games but had seven goals and 25 assists (32 points) in 40 AHL games last season.
Steel has been out since the season-opener but will be back on the Ducks’ top-line on Monday afternoon. Steel will have Maxime Comtois and Ondrej Kase on his wings, but have a tough matchup against the Bruins.
There were reports on Monday morning that Nicklas Hjalmarsson will miss approximately three months, so Capobianco has earned a call-up and could be in-line for an extended stay with the Coyotes. The former third-round pick had 32 points (7G / 25A) in 40 AHL games last year and has failed to record a point in his first three career NHL contests.
Steel missed Saturday’s game vs. the Sharks with what the Ducks described as a “mid-body” injury. Isac Lundestrom replaced him on Saturday but Steel could play in Detroit after accompanying the team on the road trip. Monitor his status after the team’s morning skate.
Steel missed the second half of training camp with a lower-body injury but was on the ice for Wednesday’s practice and head coach Dallas Eakins said Steel is “ready to rip.” Steel is expected to centre the second line with Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg on his wings, which is a great opportunity for him to build off of the 11 points (6G / 5A) he had in 22 games last season.
Rantanen missed training camp because of a contract holdout but was back on the ice with the Avalanche on Monday. After his first practice session, head coach Jared Bednar said that his star right-winger will play Thursday. Rantanen is scheduled to skate on the top-line with Nathan Mackinnon and Gabriel Landeskog and should have no issues topping 80 points for the third consecutive season.
Rantanen and the Avalanche came down to the wire but finally came to terms on a six-year deal. The soon-to-be 23-year old has posted back-to-back 80-plus point seasons, including 31 goals and 56 assists last year. He is expected to re-join the Avalanche and should be available for their season opener on Thursday.
Petrovic appeared in 35 NHL games last season, 26 with Florida and nine with Edmonton, posting just two assists total. Petrovic is big blueliner (6-foot-4, 216 lbs.) that plays a physical brand of hockey in his own end, ranking 11th in the NHL in hits per game (3.3) last year.
Harley was the No.18 pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. Harley is still in Stars’ training camp but it seems likely that he will be heading back to the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL. The 6-foot-3, 188 lbs. defenseman had 11 goals and 47 assists (58 points) in 68 games with Mississauga last season.
Kolyachonok, 18, was a second-round pick of the Panthers this summer. The 6-foot-1, 184 lbs. defenseman had four goals and 25 assists (29 points) in 53 games in his first season with the Flint Firebirds (OHL).
Erne was a second-round pick of the Lightning in 2013 and finished his first full NHL season with 20 points (7G / 13A) in 65 games. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is familiar with Erne from his time with Tampa Bay and added the 24-year-old to a team that has a ton of bottom-6 players. Erne will likely open 2020 on their third line.
Lyubushkin had four assists in 41 games with the Coyotes this season. The 25-year-old defenseman came to the NHL after spending six years in the KHL. Lyubushkin will likely serve as the Coyotes No.6/No.7 defenseman in 2019-20.
Lindell, 24, has become a fantastic shutdown defenseman for Dallas after being selected in the third-round in 2012. Lindell has some offensive flair to his game as well, scoring 11 goals and 21 assists (32 points) in 82 games during the regular season. The Finnish defenseman had a great postseason, leading all Stars’ players in ice-time (26:58 TOI/gm) with four points (1G / 3A) and 34 blocked shots in 13 games. Lindell, John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen will be among the NHL’s best top-3 defensemen for the Stars for many years to come.
