Injured Reserve Already Crowded for NHL 2013-14 Opening Week

A plethora of teams will begin their 2013-14 NHL seasons handicapped after some tough, injury-laden training camps.

Hockey's opening week, which begins with three games Tuesday night and by Friday will have dropped the puck on every club's season, will be without a number of impact players and high-profile stars across the continent.

Nineteen teams are set to begin their campaigns with a key contributor missing, as 38 noteworthy, full-time NHLers already lie disabled on injured reserve.

The following list (per TSN, ESPN and CBS) outlines both players currently on the IR list as well as other injured players expected to be placed on injured reserve in the coming days.

Team	Player	Injury
Anaheim	F Jakob Silfverberg	Lower Body
	D Luca Sbisa	Ankle
Buffalo	F Corey Tropp	Jaw
	F Marcus Foligno	Shoulder
	D Nikita Zadorov	Finger
Carolina	D Joni Pitkanen	Heel
	F Tuomo Ruutu	Lower Body
	D Tim Gleason	Concussion
Colorado	F Ryan Wilson	Knee
Columbus	F Nathan Horton	Shoulder
	F Cody Bass	Thumb
Detroit	F Patrick Eaves	MCL
	F Darren Helm	Back
	Jordin Tootoo	Shoulder
	G Jonas Gustavsson	Groin
Edmonton	F Sam Gagner	Jaw
	F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	Shoulder
	D Denis Grebeshkov	Groin
	F Steve MacIntyre	Knee
	F Corey Potter	Back
Florida	D Ed Jovanovski	Hip
	F Nick Bjugstad	Concussion
Montreal	D Alexei Emelin	Knee
	D Davis Drewiske	Shoulder
	D Douglas Murray	Upper Body
Nashville	F Viktor Stalberg	Shoulder
New Jersey	F Patrik Elias	Groin
NY Islanders	F Cal Clutterbuck	Leg
NY Rangers	F Carl Hagelin	Shoulder
	F Ryan Callahan	Shoulder
Phoenix	D Kostislav Klesla	Concussion
Pittsburgh	G Tomas Vokoun	Blood Clot
	D Kris Letang	Lower Body
San Jose	F Martin Havlat	Groin
	F Raffi Torres	Knee
Tampa Bay	D Mattias Ohlund	Knee
Toronto	F Frazer McLaren	Finger
Winnipeg	D Grant Clitsome

A cornucopia of other stars are also in danger of missing their team's season opener, despite their presence on the active roster.

Players such as Calgary's Mike Cammalleri, Carolina's Alexander Semin and Elias Lindholm, Columbus' Nikita Nikitin, Detroit's Daniel Alfredsson and Danny DeKeyser, Edmonton's David Perron, Los Angeles's Dustin Brown and Robyn Regehr, Nashville's Pekka Rinne and Patric Hornqvist, New Jersey's Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik and Vancouver's David Booth are all in significant danger of missing a game or two this week.

The list of day-to-day stars is almost as long as the list of IR-sidelined stars.

Carolina, Detroit, Edmonton and Montreal will feel the biggest injury-related impact in their season debuts; Friday's meeting between the former two and next Thursday's match between the latter two should be interesting duels of highly undermanned teams.

As the festivities and excitement of the NHL's opening week get under way, a large portion of the league will have to consider their wins and losses with a grain or two of salt.