Injured players coming back to a lineup can cause complications and cascading impacts on a depth chart. There are four players we could see back in the next week or so who aren't necessarily coming back to things as they left them.
Joonas Korpisalo, G, Columbus Blue Jackets: Originally given a timetable of four to six weeks, it's been five weeks since Korpisalo's knee surgery. In the meantime, Elvis Merzlikins has become arguably the best goaltender in the NHL during the time Korpisalo has been out. But Korpisalo was red hot himself prior to suffering the injury. What are the Blue Jackets to do?
The easy answer is to share the crease and ride the hot hand. That means both goaltenders will shoulder some risk for fantasy, as one poor outing could mean some time spent on the bench. The Blue Jackets play a defensive game that is a boon to any goalie, so the starting gig could trade back and forth between the two. Korpisalo is certainly worth rostering in the meantime and now is the best chance to snag him, as he is still at least a week away from returning to play.
Darcy Kuemper, G, Arizona Coyotes: Kuemper was expected back Monday night before suffering a setback, and remains day-to-day. He's been out since Dec. 19, when he was lit up for seven goals against his former team, the Minnesota Wild. I mention that game because, despite being torched, Kuemper still has the second-best save percentage and second-best goals-against average in the NHL.
No one has managed to stake any kind of claim for the Coyotes crease while he was out. Antti Raanta was hurt for a while, performed only average when he was healthy, and is now hurt again. That gives Kuemper a completely clear runway to return to the starter's role. He wasn't dropped in nearly as many leagues as Korpisalo has been, but is still available in about one-third of leagues.
Victor Olofsson, W, Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres only recently have seem to settle on a replacement for Oloffson on the top line with Jack Eichel, and Olofsson is on the verge of a return. Out since Jan. 2 with a lower-body injury, Oloffson will almost certainly be returned to his lofty spot on the depth chart immediately upon his return.
But Jimmy Vesey is doing his best to earn some status in the meantime. Vesey has played on the line with Eichel and Sam Reinhart for all five of the Sabres games in February. After going scoreless in the first two, he has four points in the past three games. It's probably not enough to push Oloffson out of an immediate return to Eichel's side. But it could be enough to land Vesey on the second line going forward. That's not of huge interest for this Sabres team, but could be enough to give Vesey some deep-league appeal.
For his part, Oloffson was dropped in about a third of leagues and should be scooped back up if you see him available.
William Karlsson, C, Vegas Golden Knights: His absence has dragged on a day-by-day basis since Jan. 14, so we are almost coming up to a month of missed time for Karlsson. Because of how his injury developed, Karlsson was dropped in very many formats. Still, he's out there in about 20 percent of leagues.
He's eyeing up Tuesday as a potential return to the lineup and it will be his first time playing under new coach Peter DeBoer, who was hired the day after Karlsson was hurt. DeBoer has been pretty consistent in keeping Karlsson's usual wingers, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, together. So it would make sense that he plugs Karlsson back into the pivot role between them, which has been shared by Chandler Stephenson and Paul Stastny in his absence.
The biggest question here is whether Karlsson is returned to a role on the top power-play unit, which is by no means guaranteed. Without it, you can make an argument for him not being worth a spot in many fantasy leagues. With it, he probably gets enough stats to be universally rostered. Karlsson's deployment on the man advantage will be make or break for his fantasy season from here out.
Forwards on the move
Brock Boeser, W, Vancouver Canucks (down 14 spots to No. 35): The injury is one matter, the lack of goals in over a month is another. Boeser has been ice cold in 2020 after finishing off 2019 on fire. For the 2019 part of this season, Boeser has 13 goals and 38 points in 40 games. In 2020, he's posted three goals and seven points in 16 games. Boeser has been separated from Elias Pettersson at times lately, and now he's on the sidelines for a couple games. Here's hoping he can get healthy and be back on the top line again in a week or so, but he slides down the ranks in the meantime.
Kyle Connor, W, Winnipeg Jets (up eight spots to No. 48): Somewhat quietly, Connor has snuck into the top 10 for goals in the NHL this season. He managed 34 last season and is on pace for 40 this season. Playing with Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine has Connor piling up the points whenever the Jets offense has a good game. It's enough to put Connor in the top 50 for the stretch run.
Joe Pavelski, C, Dallas Stars (up nine spots to No. 201): Obviously, Pavelski's first four months as a member of the Stars was not fantastic. Understatement much? He has been completely irrelevant to fantasy through the end of January with a line of 50 games, eight goals and 19 points. However, here we are in February and Pavelski has four goals and six points in five games. A good chunk of the points have come from playing on the power play, so he is a bit of a specialist in that sense.
Defensemen on the move
Mark Giordano, D, Calgary Flames (down 84 spots to No. 157): Surgery has been ruled out for the immediate future, but a hamstring injury will have Giordano out for weeks rather than days. Noah Hanifin will get a chance to shine in his stead as the quarterback on the power play. That said, I'm not dropping Giordano yet, as we don't have a timetable that rules him out for the season. Until we know more, I'm keeping him ranked for now.
Goaltenders on the move
Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens (up 14 spots to No. 57): Price has been looking very much like Carey Price of old lately. He has allowed more than three goals in a game only once in 2020. But more importantly, he's helping the Habs win games. Only Andrei Vasilevskiy and Elvis Merzlikins have more wins in 2020.
New to rankings
Just missed
Kailer Yamamoto, Alex Iafallo, Alex Tuch, Patric Hornqvist, Mats Zuccarello, Mike Smith, Andrew Mangiapane, Robert Thomas, Jordan Eberle, Blake Coleman, Jimmy Vesey.