Fantasy buzz: Carter cleared to practice; Weber out for season

All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.

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Projected lineups

Carter practices with Kings

Center Jeff Carter
has been cleared to practice
with the Los Angeles Kings after a lengthy absence with a lacerated ankle tendon.
Carter (63 percent owned) has not played since Oct. 18 and has been ruled out against the Dallas Stars on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-SW, NHL.TV), but could return to their lineup as early as this weekend. The 33-year-old has three assists and 13 shots on goal in six games prior to the injury.
He led the Kings in points (66), power-play points (22) and SOG (250) last season to finish 25th overall in Yahoo. He provided category coverage of hits (86) and face-off win percentage (51.9; 12th in NHL, minimum 1,400 faceoffs) and is worth adding in season-long formats, even over any forwards ranked outside NHL.com's top 60 this week.

Canadiens lose Weber for remainder of season; Price out with concussion

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber will have surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left foot and will miss the remainder of the season, and goaltender Carey Price is out indefinitely with a concussion.
Weber (Yahoo average draft position: 45.3), who hasn't played since Dec. 16, leaves a void on Montreal's first power-play unit that has been occupied by Jeff Petry (31 percent owned, 296th in Yahoo) since the injury. The Canadiens are out of Stanley Cup Playoff contention and could make moves before the NHL Trade Deadline.
Petry ($5,400 in DraftKings) is a viable middle-range DFS option against the New York Rangers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSG 2, NHL.TV) because of his top power-play exposure to forwards Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher and coverage of blocked shots (108 in 59 games). But season-long owners whose leagues do not count hits (130) may want to avoid Petry because he's tied for the fifth-worst plus/minus (minus-27) in the NHL.
Outside replacement options for Weber: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, SJS (49 percent); Dion Phaneuf (34 percent) or Alec Martinez, LAK (28 percent); Nate Schmidt, VGK (25 percent); Sami Vatanen, NJD (18 percent); Jaccob Slavin, CAR (11 percent); Mike Matheson, FLA (5 percent); Samuel Girard, COL (2 percent); Vince Dunn, STL (1 percent)
Price (ADP: 5.9; 491st in Yahoo) was one of the most disappointing fantasy players prior to his injury and is worth dropping in some season-long leagues if you don't have an available IR+ spot. He's 7-15-5 with a .904 save percentage in his past 27 games. Backup Antti Niemi ($7,700 in DraftKings) will start Thursday against the Rangers, who will be holding out forwards Rick Nash and Michael Grabner. Charlie Lindgren (2 percent in Yahoo), who had some fantasy success earlier this season, has been recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League.
Outside replacement options for Price: Petr Mrazek, PHI (51 percent); Antti Raanta, ARI (40 percent); Ryan Miller, ANA (32 percent); Anton Khudobin, BOS (26 percent); Jon Gillies, CGY (1 percent)

Mrazek set for debut with Flyers on Thursday

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Petr Mrazek (51 percent owned in Yahoo) will make his debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSP, FS-O, NHL.TV). Mrazek's season-long fantasy ownership has increased by 24 percent since being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Mrazek ($7,700 in DraftKings) has a favorable matchup against the Blue Jackets, who rank 28th in goals per game (2.55). Mrazek is 6-3-2 with a .924 save percentage and two shutouts in 12 games since Dec. 19. With Michal Neuvirth (lower body) and Brian Elliott (core muscle surgery) each expected to miss at least four weeks, Mrazek becomes the short-term starter for a Stanley Cup Playoff contender. He's in the final year of his contract and could become a restricted free agent July 1.
READ:
Fantasy impact of Mrazek trade on Flyers

Impact of Kings-Coyotes trade on Kuemper, Rieder

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper
was acquired by the Arizona Coyotes
on Wednesday from the Los Angeles Kings for wing Tobias Rieder and goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Kuemper (25 percent owned, 39th in Yahoo) is highly ranked because he went on a four-game winning streak (4-0-0) from Jan. 24 to Feb. 7 with a .973 save percentage and two shutouts. He has been more pedestrian lately, going 1-0-0 with a .868 SV% in three appearances (two in relief).
Coyotes starting goaltender Antti Raanta (39 percent; 113th in Yahoo) has been a trendy add in the past two weeks, going 4-1-1 with a .941 SV % and a shutout over the span. He's in the final year of his contract and is a candidate to be moved before the
2018 NHL Trade Deadline
on Monday, so it's unknown whether he will remain with the Coyotes or be moved to a Stanley Cup Playoff contender. If Raanta is traded, Kuemper could rack up starts in a No. 1 goaltender role, so fantasy owners should monitor him until more is known about his new role.
Rieder (LW/RW; fewer than 1 percent) has five points (two power-play goals, three assists, one on power play) in his past five games with the Coyotes. He is worth monitoring in season-long formats and will gain value if he plays in the Kings' top six and/or on the power play with either center Anze Kopitar (ranked 24th in Yahoo) or Jeff Carter (lacerated ankle tendon; nearing return). If Rieder ($3,300 in DraftKings) debuts for the Kings on Thursday, he would be a value pick and potentially a cheap stacking option depending on his linemates against the Dallas Stars.

Green nearing return for Red Wings, could be traded

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green is expected to return to their lineup this weekend against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday or New York Rangers on Sunday. He will miss his fourth-straight game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday because of an upper-body injury.
Green (54 percent owned in Yahoo) is in a contract year and could be moved before the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Monday.
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