Fantasy Spin: Trying to replace Mark Giordano

Mark Giordano's injury was somewhat of a mystery for the past week. On Monday, Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving cleared it up, and it wasn't good news, announcing the defenseman has a torn biceps tendon.

"He'll be done for the season," Treliving said. "The surgery we are talking, it's 4-5 months in terms of the rehab process. … He was devastated by the news. … This is not what he wanted, but this is what it is, so we will deal with it."

Fantasy owners of Giordano will have to deal with it too. You can't replace a defenseman who has 11 goals, 48 points, a plus-13 rating, 14 power-play points and 157 shots on goal. But with the fantasy playoffs a few weeks away, unless you're in a keeper league, you likely have to drop him and acquire another player to help your blue line.

In the Flames' first game without Giordano this season, a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday, Dennis Wideman (71 percent owned in Yahoo leagues) played 30:24, TJ Brodie (82 percent) played 29:06, and Kris Russell (12 percent) 28:21.

More than likely, only Russell will be available in your league. Russell has 21 points and is a plus-10, but hasn't scored on the power play (five points) and has 72 shots. His main contribution is blocks; he leads the League by a wide margin with 195. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, that's most likely a stat that doesn't count in your league.

Here are other defensemen who could help replace Giordano:

Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets (50 percent owned): Johnson could benefit from James Wisniewski getting traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, mainly by seeing more time on the Columbus power play. Wisniewski was on the top unit, which likely will be Johnson's responsibility. The offense is there (five goals, 28 points), and Johnson has 17 power-play points and 97 shots. The downside is his penalty minutes (34) aren't as high as other defensemen, and Johnson is a minus-18.

Tyler Myers, Winnipeg Jets (34 percent owned): Perhaps the best option, Myers has played in eight games since being traded to the Jets. He has six points (two goals, four assists) and an even rating. Myers also has eight penalty minutes in Winnipeg. He will have more chances to score with the Jets, who average 2.7 goals per game, as opposed to the Sabres, who average a League-low 1.8 per game.

Michael Del Zotto, Philadelphia Flyers (28 percent owned): Del Zotto has flown under the radar but is having his best offensive season since 2011-12, when he had 10 goals and 41 points with the New York Rangers. He has eight goals and 25 points, including three goals and seven points in the past eight games. Del Zotto has more penalty minutes this season (26) and seems more comfortable than he has been elsewhere.

Simon Despres, Anaheim Ducks (11 percent owned): Despres was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Ducks on Monday and should see an increase in ice time. He averaged 15:13 in Pittsburgh playing mostly on the third pairing; he could get top-four time at the start in Anaheim. He has two goals, 17 points and 64 penalty minutes. Despres is a plus-9 and played 31 seconds per game on the power play; expect that to increase.

-- Defenseman Keith Yandle played 19:41, including all two minutes of power-play time, in his New York Rangers debut, a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Monday. He had three shots and was a minus-1.

Follow David Satriano on Twitter: @davidsatriano