Yet another sought after player in fantasy hockey circles has suffered a significant off-season injury and thus will be sidelined to start the 2011-12 season.
The Devils announced today that center Travis Zajac will miss three months---into the middle of November---after successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon while training back home in Winnipeg.
That is a huge blow for the Devils, who most definitely would have had Zajac centering a line featuring either Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk to start the season.
It's a blow to fantasy hockey owners, as well. Despite a down 2010-11 season (13-31-44), Zajac is a two-time 60+ point player who scored 25 goals just two seasons ago. And at 26 years of age Zajac is just set to enter his prime years, with the chance to center either Parise, a four-time 30+ goal scorer who was injured most of last season but who recorded 45 goals and 94 points in 2008-09, or Kovalchuk, one of the game's great snipers who has notched eight consecutive 30+ goal seasons entering 2011-12 despite an inconsistent season a year ago.
In fact, Zajac was on my list of top comeback players in fantasy hockey this season. A career year was certainly not out of the question for Zajac, especially given the fact he was 1) super motivated to bounce back from a bad all-around year in 2010-11, and 2) was going to line up with either Parise or Kovalchuk, both of whom are uber-motivated to return to top form themselves this season. After a complete mess much of the year in New Jersey last season, the stars seemed to be aligning much better heading into this season, until this.
A torn Achilles tendon is better than a ruptured Achilles tendon, and the surgery has already been deemed a success. But Zajac is going to miss valuable time in training camp and will need to play catch up when he does eventually return in November.
Hold off on drafting him in September, unless you have a league where you have an Injured Reserve list.
As for Parise and Kovalchuk, they will miss out on such a skilled playmaker as Zajac skating on one of their lines, or together with both on the power play. I wouldn't let that deter you from selecting either one in your fantasy hockey draft.
And in Zajac's absence, monitor the play of 2009 first round pick Jacob Josefson. He might end up getting the chance to skate with one of the two stud left wings in New Jersey, and as a result, could be a real sleeper pick in your fantasy hockey draft.
Send your fantasy hockey questions and comments to jimcerny@gmail.com