Atlanta Thrashers

Mr. Recchi is doing as he's told. Fantasy pundits everywhere predicted Mark would start off strong with the Thrashers. So far, so good tonight. Two goals in his ATL debut. Although he is playing with Perrin and Kozlov on the second line, he is playin with the big boys on the power play. Get ready to trade him. After a few more games of this, it's time to send him packing.

So the ol' vet was picked up by the Thrashers. This is about as good a situation as you could expect for a guy leaving a team with two superstars. Now he goes to ANOTHER team with two superstars! Lucky for those of you that still hung on to Mark. For the many leagues with Recchi on the FA, go ahead and snag him if you have an easy drop. He could put up a few points for the rest of the year and will be energized to prove he still belongs in the NHL. Hopefully, this wakeup call will make him good trade bait in the short-term.

Lehtonen returned to Thrashers practice on Sunday - one month after he injured the groin against the Rangers, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Coach Don Waddell said the team will not rush Lehtonen back as they may have done in the past and with two capable goalies in Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec on the team, Wadell expects it will be at least two weeks until Lehtonen is actviated. When he does return, Lehtonen will quickly assume the starting job and now that Bob Hartley has been ousted in Atlanta, his margin for error is probably much greater. He could be a top-10 goalie over the rest of the year.

Lehtonen continues his recovery from a groin injury and the Thrashers hope that he can get back on the ice and begin practicing sometime next week, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If that holds true, we'd assume it would be another couple of weeks before he's back so a best case scenario right now is probably the beginning of December. Ondrej Pavelec and Johan Hedberg will continue to see playing time in Lehtonen's absence though it's unknown how the games will be split up.

Kovalchuk woke up Thursday with his back feeling well enough to skate a little at the end of practice, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The stiffness from his spasms had subsided, and he is expected to play Friday against the Panthers. The Russian has 13 goals in 15 games this year and obviously should be active in all fantasy leagues.

Lehtonen will be sidelined at least four weeks and probably closer to six weeks with a groin injury, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And MRI determined that there was no tear present in the groin, but suffice to say the Thrashers are going to be extremely careful with a guy who has a significant history with similar injuries. Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec will fill in for Lehtonen, with Hedberg getting the bulk of starts and thus having value in fantasy leagues.

Lehtonen injured his groin during Thursday's victory over the Rangers and will be sidelined indefinitely. He underwent an MRI Friday morning and while results are not yet available, coach and GM Don Waddell already stated that this isn't the type of injury that will take only one or two weeks to recover. Reading between the lines and taking into account that Lehtonen has a significant history of groin injuries, leads us to believe that he will be lost for several weeks if not months. Johan Hedberg assumes starting duties while Lehtonen is out but rookie Ondrej Pavelec will see action as well and is a threat to steal starts from Hedberg almost immediately. Keep your eye on him.

Hossa is expected to return to the Thrashers lineup for Tuesday's game against the Flyers, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He's recovering from a groin injury but practiced yesterday and is estimated to be at about 95%. The only thing that will prevent Hossa from playing is his health this morning - if he wakes up sore from the practice, then he might wait one more game; if he feels fine, then expect him to give it a go.

Hossa did not play Wednesday against the Senators because of a groin injury suffered Monday, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Coach Bob Hartley said he would be "very surprised" if Hossa could go tonight against the Sabres. He also said that if Hossa is not in the lineup for the game, he likely won't even make the trip.

Hossa suffered a groin injury during Monday's practice and likely won't play in Wednesday's game against his former team the Senators, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He tried to work out on Tuesday but wasn't able to and coach Bob Hartley quoted Hossa as "very doubtful" and said that the team will keep him out until he's absolutely 100% as they won't want the injury to linger throughout the season. Groin injury can be extremely tricky so it's anyone's guess how long Hossa will be sidelined. For the time being, fantasy leaguers should take him out of their lineups immediately.