Welcome to the Fantrax NHL Injury Report for December 16, 2025. In today’s report, we discuss injuries to Connor Bedard and Logan Cooley, as well as the pending return of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Read all about this and more in today’s NHL Injury Report from Fantrax.
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Fantasy Hockey Injury Report
Conor Bedard, C – Chicago Black Hawks
News: #Blackhawks Connor Bedard will be out at least until early January, the next time he'll be re-evaluated for his upper-body injury.
They are not considering surgical options at this point.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 15, 2025
With an already overflowing injured reserve, losing Bedard is just the icing on the cake. Early January means three weeks. That is not great news; however, it could have been worse.
Bedard has been in the top five in the NHL points race all season. It’s been the breakout fantasy owners and hockey enthusiasts have been waiting for. Jason Dickinson has stepped into a top-six role in his absence. This is Chicago’s replacement for Bedard, but it should not be yours. Any time you lose a premium fantasy player, it’s about treading water until they return, not replacing them.
Logan Cooley, C – Utah Mammoth
West Mifflin native, Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley is out at least 8 weeks with a lower-body injury https://t.co/AKgTy4cqJu
— Post-Gazette Sports (@PGSportsNow) December 12, 2025
The news is worse for Cooley. Eight weeks – woof, well, seven more. It was a nasty spill into the net, and it could have been worse. He’s been having a good season, but not spectacular. I still expect him to increase his production from last year. Sitting on 186 NHL games, Cooley should now hit his 200-game breakout threshold in March.
It stings to lose him, but he should be primed for an uptick in production right when you need him most – playoffs.
The silver lining is that J.J. Peterka will get an extended sniff of the Mammoth’s first power play unit. With only one power-play point, this is a much-needed promotion. I think most expected more than his current 60-point pace with the trade to Utah. We can look intently at his power-play exposure and production as the culprit for the drop off.
Patrick Kane, RW – Detroit Red Wings
🔁 ROSTER UPDATE: Patrick Kane will miss the next 2 games due to an upper body injury & is considered day-to-day.
John Leonard has been called up from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins & will take his spot in the lineup.
Thoughts on Leonard's big opportunity? ⤵️ #LGRW pic.twitter.com/2pvwTHf8Rb
— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) December 15, 2025
Kane is once again injured and missing time. I’m a bit pessimistic about short injury timelines. His last injury lingered, and he missed more games than expected. Let’s hope this one is only 2-3 games because he’s been rolling all year. I think we all hoped Kane could break 60 or even 65 points this year, but he’s currently running at a 77-point pace (over 82 games). The power-play production is also there.
With an average draft position of 232 in Fantrax pools, Kane’s been a huge win for owners.
John Leonard (19 goals, 10 assists, 29 points in 20 AHL games), will get a well-deserved look during his absence.
Jordan Kyrou, RW – St. Louis Blues
Jordan Kyrou has been placed on injured reserve and is week-to-week. https://t.co/pHck1NPfuE
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 10, 2025
Nothing is going right for Kyrou this season. It’s been a week, and Kyrou still isn’t skating. He remains week-to-week. He’s rolling at a 47-point pace, a far cry from the 70 he put up last year.
It appears he’ll be out until after Christmas and may not play again in 2025.
Darcy Kuemper, G – Los Angeles Kings
Kings’ Kuemper leaves game after collision with Stars’ Rantanen https://t.co/2GwOst1hAs
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) December 16, 2025
Kuemper did not return to last night’s game. Let’s hope it’s not serious.
If he does miss any time, his backup, Anton Forsberg, will take over the net during his absence. It didn’t look like a severe collision, so let’s hope his not returning was more precautionary than anything serious.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G – Tampa Bay Lightning
Other #GoBolts injury news:
Cooper said Vasilevskiy had a good practice day, a good step forward. Definitely won't play tomorrow at #Isles, but could return Monday at home vs. #TimeToHunt.
Another good work day for Ryan McDonagh, who did skating & stick work drills on his own
— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) December 12, 2025
Well, Vasilevskiy participated in the Lightning’s game day skate, but did not play. Instead, Jonas Johansson got the nod and was lit up for five goals on 24 shots. Overall, Johansson has been serviceable filling in, but he’s nowhere near Vasilevskiy.
The sooner Vasil returns, the better. There’s hope he’ll see a game later this week.
Thanks for reading the Fantrax NHL Injury Report for December 16, 2025.
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