Lupul and Hartnell: Big Losses?

Well, fans, it's already been one big start to the season. The Stars are a surprising 2-1. The Sharks look like the old Sharks. And the Red Wings...well...they could be better honestly. But just like any great team and its players, you're gonna have a couple that are going to get injured and be out long-term. Well, that's unfortunately what happened to two players, one on the Maple Leafs and one on the Flyers.

Let's start with the Maple Leafs. Their winger Joffrey Lupul, who was signed to a five-year extension earlier this week, will be out at least six weeks due to a broken arm sustained on a Dion Phaneuf shot. To replace him for those weeks, Matt Frattin was called up from the Marlies and Clarke MacArthur, a former Sabres, is inserted onto the top line that includes Phil Kessel.

Now for the Flyers. Scott Hartnell is less certain, however. He was hit by Kimmo Timonen's shot Wednesday night and unfortunately there is no clear date as to when he will be able to get back onto the ice. Here's the statement Flyers GM Paul Holmgren told Philadelphia reporters. "We're talking with the doctors on what's the best way to proceed in terms of how to approach this." This was bad enough for the Flyers, who had to juggle up their line combinations because of Brayden Schenn's one-game suspension. Claude Giroux was playing on a top line that featured Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read. It also states that because of this injury, they'll probably bring back Mike Knuble, who played the past three seasons for the Washington Capitals.

This is gonna hurt, I will say. Joffrey Lupul is one of the top wingers that the Leafs and without him, they're not gonna be able to get much production out of their top line. They're gonna need Clarke MacArthur and many other players, like James Van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, and Colton Orr to step up and produce. Right now, they are 2-1-0. They're not out of it, so they need production right now to bolster this crippled offense. And it's not looking good tonight, because they're trailing the Islanders 5-3 and there's a chance they could drop to 2-2-0. Stay tuned tomorrow for more info.

Let's move on to my analysis on the Flyers, because this is already a mess just waiting to become something worse. They are 0-3-0 and still in the ditch of the Atlantic Division. If Hartnell is out long-term, I don't see this team going anywhere soon and their schedule gets tougher with a visit by the Rangers and a trip to Florida to play the Panthers and Lightning. If they want to win, Claude Giroux will have to produce, as well as Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen. Chris Pronger's already out and so is Danny Briere. This team has already been hit by injury bugs and it'll get worse if Hartnell is out for a long-term period of time. I could say they could be 2-7-0 by the end of their road trip on February 1st. After that, we'll see what happens.

It may be a short season but injuries are piling up. The Flyers and the Maple Leafs have a lot of ground to cover to make up for the loss of injuries. If I had to pick who's in a better position, it would be the Leafs because they have some of their stars on the ice and they play an easier schedule. The Flyers have a long trek to cover and plenty of tough teams to face. It'll make for an interesting week, puckheads. What do you think? Will the Flyers be able to survive long term without Hartnell? Will the Maple Leafs be able to keep it up without Lupul?