UPDATE: Paul Stastny To Have Surgery – Out 6-8 Weeks

Avalanche center Paul Stastny is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday according to the Rocky Mountain News and will likely have to miss 6-8 weeks.

Fantasy Impact: This at least solidifies the situation for Stastny, Colorado, and fantasy managers out there, rather than wondering what “out indefinitely” means. Stastny is Colorado’s best player right now and with Sakic still out, the Avalanche will really be hurting for a little while. Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk, Stastny’s linemates have been clicking recently but now without their best playmaker, the Avalanche as a whole will need to get scoring from more areas.

Look for Wojtek Wolski to be used more from now on. Wolski, another young and talented player, like Stastny, has had a rather disappointing showing so far this season. With two of Colorado’s best players out, guys like Wolski will really need to step it up. As mentioned above, Ryan Smyth has been performing a bit better lately and he’ll need to keep it up. Same goes for Hejduk. However, as a fantasy manager, you should not be surprised if their overall production game in and game out goes down, as Stastny really is the main catalyst for the Avalanche offense. Also, young guys like TJ Hensick may get some more minutes and could possibly see some increased production. Overall, though, expect the Avalanche to struggle offensively for the next few weeks.