Steve Mason

It is never easy to foresee the unforeseen. Injuries happen every day in the NHL, and here at Fantrax, our goal is to help you try to stay on top of those maladies with our weekly Injury Report. Counting all the latest bumps, bites, and bruises, there were 96 players held out of lineups. Several of those are long-term injuries from a previous year. Those players are likely not going to return or have retired. Here are some of the more notable maladies out there and their possible prognosis. The bye week may explain the drop…

The Western Conference this season will be very interesting this year. For one, there is a new team joining the fold in the Vegas Golden Knights. There is also new blood with the Edmonton Oilers and the Nashville Predators as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Then there are some teams, like the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, that may not be as good as they once were, but I wouldn't count them out just yet. There are also a few teams that are on the rise like the Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild.…