It is officially time to begin preparing for your next fantasy hockey draft. Think it's too early? Think again. An influx of young players will have NHL ties by the end of this week following the completion of the annual Entry Draft, and on or around July 1 several veteran players will have new addresses thanks to free agency.

But before turning your attention to player movement, first make note of several injuries and banged-up bodies revealed since the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that may affect your fantasy draft decisions. The following are the injuries that have been made public, most likely only a fraction of the players who are hurting after an 82-game season and two months of playoffs.

Niklas Backstrom, G, Minnesota -- Had surgery on his left hip on April 24 by Dr. Marc Philippon, the same surgeon who operated on the hip of New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. The cartilage damage was less severe than initially feared. Before the operation, the Wild expected Backstrom's recovery to take three to six months.

Marc-Andre Bergeron, D, Minnesota -- Had back surgery on April 28 to address what the team called a "disc issue." The day after the procedure, Bergeron began a rehabilitation program that will take approximately six to eight weeks. The Wild expect him to be ready in time for training camp.

Derek Boogaard, LW, Minnesota -- Had surgery on his right shoulder on April 21 to repair a frayed labrum. The team says he will be ready for the start of 2009-10.

Daniel Briere, C, Philadelphia -- Had corrective laser eye surgery on May 19, a procedure called photorefractive keratectomy. Briere says his contact lenses bothered him at times during the season so he elected to have surgery.

Andrew Brunette, LW, Minnesota -- Had surgery on his right knee on April 16, and the team said in a statement that the procedure "went well." Brunette played on a torn ligament for much of the second half of last season but missed only two games. He should be healthy for the start of training camp in September.

Brent Burns, D, Minnesota -- Had shoulder surgery on April 23. Burns, who missed the last 19 games because of a concussion, had the labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder surgically repaired and the team said it went well. The shoulder was immobilized up to a month, but Burns should be at full strength in time for 2009-10. The Wild also said Burns' post-concussion symptoms have "improved greatly."

Alexandre Burrows, LW, Vancouver -- After the Canucks were eliminated from the playoffs it was revealed that Burrows will require surgery to remove bone chips from his left wrist.

Jeff Carter, C, Philadelphia -- Carter played most of the final four games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Pittsburgh with a separated right shoulder. The injury did not require surgery.

Erik Christensen, C, Anaheim -- Had surgery in late May to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder originally suffered while he was with Pittsburgh in 2007-08. Recovery time is expected to be 3-4 months.

Braydon Coburn, D, Philadelphia -- Underwent successful arthoscopic surgery on June 22 to remove a small bony impingement in his left hip. GM Paul Holmgren said Coburn's rehabilitation will take 6-to-8 weeks and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh -- Played only 9:59 of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final because of a leg injury following a check from Johan Franzen in the second period. "I saw the doctor, and he said I shouldn't need an MRI, that it should be a few weeks and I'll be all right," Crosby said a few days later.

Pavol Demitra, RW, Vancouver -- Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said on May 14 that Demitra will have shoulder surgery and be out four months. He was injured in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Chicago.

Tobias Enstrom, D, Atlanta -- Suffered facial fractures on April 27 that required surgery. Enstrom is expected to make a full recovery and won't miss the start of training camp. He was hit from behind while playing for Sweden in the World Championships in Switzerland.

Andrew Ference, D, Boston -- Underwent surgery on June 17 to repair an abdominal hernia and to perform an adductor release. Recovery time is approximately four to six weeks.

Simon Gagne, LW, Philadelphia -- Underwent corrective laser eye surgery on May 5 and had surgery to repair damage in his right hip on May 28. The Flyers report both procedures went well. The surgery on Gagne's hip removed a bone spur and adhesions which had built up in the area. He is expected to be fully recovered in four- to-six weeks.

Sergei Gonchar, D, Pittsburgh -- Played the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a partially torn right medial collateral ligament. Gonchar was injured during a knee-to-knee hit by Washington's Alexander Ovechkin in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 8. He missed two games, returned for Game 7 of that series and played in the Eastern Conference Final and the Stanley Cup Final without missing another game. Gonchar was initially told after getting hurt that he might be out a month to six weeks, only to return in a week.

Derian Hatcher, D, Philadelphia -- Underwent full right-knee replacement surgery on June 1, ending his career. Upon retiring, Hatcher was named the Flyers' player development coach.

Jan Hejda, D, Columbus -- Had surgery on April 29 to reattach a torn ligament in his left wrist and wore a protective splint for eight weeks before beginning rehabilitation. He's expected to be ready for training camp in mid-September.

Ryan Johnson, C, Vancouver -- Will require surgery on a finger he broke early in the regular season. He is expected to be ready for training camp.

Randy Jones, D, Philadelphia -- Had surgery on May 13 to remove inflamed tissue and excess scar tissue from his right hip. Jones was expected to need four to six weeks of recovery time. He missed the first 32 games of 2008-09 after surgery on the same hip.

Phil Kessel, C, Boston -- Underwent successful surgery on May 21 for a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his left shoulder. General manager Peter Chiarelli said that his status for the start of the 2009-10 season is questionable and Kessel could be sidelined for up to six months.

Sergei Kostitsyn, LW, Montreal -- Was scheduled to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery on May 1. He missed the last six regular-season games after he was slammed heavily into the boards by Chicago's Aaron Johnson and returned to play one playoff game. Kostitsyn is expected to be fully healed for the start of training camp in September.

David Krejci, C, Boston -- Had surgery for a torn labrum in his right hip on June 4, and will need 4-6 months to recover. General manager Peter Chiarelli said his status for the start of the 2009-10 season is questionable.

Maxim Lapierre, C, Montreal -- Underwent ankle surgery on May 21 and is expected to recover in time for the start of training camp in September.

Vincent Lecavalier, C, Tampa Bay -- Underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure to repair damaged cartilage in his right wrist on April 3. Lecavalier was expected to be cleared to resume training by late May.

Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh -- Played with an undisclosed but significant injury during the playoffs.

Nicklas Lidstrom, D, Detroit -- Had surgery on May 24 and missed the last two games of the Western Conference Final. Lidstrom told the Detroit Free Press he had testicular surgery after he was speared by Chicago's Patrick Sharp on May 22. He returned to action and played all seven games of the Stanley Cup Final.

Todd Marchant, C, Anaheim -- Underwent successful foot surgery on June 12, according to the Orange County Register. Marchant should be ready for training camp.

Petteri Nokelainen, C, Anaheim -- Likely will need surgery to repair a broken hand suffered against Detroit in Game 7 on May 14, and also underwent abdominal surgery. He is expected to be available for training camp.

Max Pacioretty, LW, Montreal -- Had an abdominal wall muscle repaired on April 29. Pacioretty finished the season in Hamilton, but missed the Bulldogs' AHL playoff series against Grand Rapids. He is expected to be fully healed for the start of training camp in September.

George Parros, RW, Anaheim -- Underwent right hand surgery and is expected to be available for training camp.

Alexandre Picard, LW, Columbus -- Underwent surgery on April 29 to correct a previous fracture in his left wrist that didn't heal properly. Picard wore a cast for six weeks.

Mike Richards, C, Philadelphia -- Underwent surgery on May 1 to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and had the same procedure performed on his left shoulder on May 17. He will need 12 weeks of recovery and rehab.

Mathieu Schneider, D, Montreal -- Underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in mid-May and is expected to recover in time for the start of training camp in September.

Mike Smith, G, Tampa Bay -- Battling post-concussion syndrome, Smith told the St. Petersburg Times on June 12 that he will "absolutely" be ready for next season's training camp. GM Mike Lawton said "we feel 100 percent comfortable with [Smith]. He's going to be ready. He's on track."

Alex Tanguay, LW, Montreal -- Had successful arthroscopic surgery on April 28 for a right shoulder problem. It was not the left shoulder that caused Tanguay to miss the final two games of Montreal's first-round playoff series against Boston. He is expected to be fully healed for the start of training camp in September.

Anton Volchenkov, D, Ottawa -- Suffered a fractured foot on April 24 that did not require surgery and he should be fine for the start of training camp in September. Volchenkov suffered the fracture blocking a shot while playing for Russia in the World Championships in Switzerland.

Ian White, D, Toronto -- Sustained a neck injury while playing for Canada at the World Championships in Switzerland. The injury led to concussion-like symptoms and White returned to Toronto where he was examined by the Maple Leafs' medical staff.

Trade: There has been one deal completed since the conclusion of the playoffs. On June 19, the Florida Panthers acquired the rights to veteran center Steven Reinprecht from the Phoenix Coyotes for young left winger Stefan Meyer. Reinprecht, who was due to become a free agent on July 1, then signed for three seasons with the Panthers.

"He's a speed guy and we wanted to increase our overall team speed," acting GM Randy Sexton told the Miami Herald. "Nathan Horton did a good job for us at center last year, but that was an experiment. We had mixed results. He's a shooter, not really a set-up guy. We needed another center to go along with Stephen [Weiss]. He's a bonafide NHL center and will help guys like Horton, [Michael] Frolik and Cory Stillman. He'll get them the puck."

Reinprecht, who will be playing for his fifth NHL team since entering the League in 1999-2000, scored 14 goals and 41 points in 73 games last season. In his career, he is 130-214-334 in 552 games with the Kings, Avalanche, Flames and Coyotes.

While Reinprecht is a marginal fantasy player, his acquisition is a boost to the fantasy value of Horton, a one-time 30-goal scorer who will now return to his natural position. After back-to-back seasons of 62 points and 200-plus shots, Horton slipped to 45 points last season with only 22 goals and 131 shots.

Meyer, from Medicine Hat, Alberta, is scoreless with a minus-1 rating in four career games with the Panthers. He turns 24 on July 20.

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