P.K. Subban's absence leaves fantasy owners in limbo

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Here are the fantasy implications following the news the star Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban will miss at least two-to-three weeks with a lower body injury:

It's a tough blow to Subban's owners in season-long formats, who had been enjoying the best scoring pace of his career. Through 29 games, the blueliner has already found twine seven times. Though he's only tallied 10 assists with the Predators thus far, there's still a possibility he finishes with a line of 15 goals and 40 assists on the season, even accounting for the time he'll miss.

His presence in banger leagues has waned -- he's averaging fewer than one hit per game for the first time in his career -- and he's drawing less penalties than in previous campaigns, but he's still a D1 in 10-team leagues.

He could very well return toward the end of January and still have enough time to match his previous season high of 15 goals, but Subban's owners will still have to find a way to replace him on an interim basis. It should go without saying that you want to hold on to Subban, whether that means putting him in an injury designation slot or simply stashing him on the bench.

Ryan Ellis' owners could see an uptick in offensive production in Subban's absence. Ellis took 1.9 shots per game in the 2015-16 season, resulting in career highs of 10 goals and 22 assists, hinting at the potential for further development.

Despite seeing nearly three more minutes of ice time, Ellis' shots per game have dropped to 1.6 this season, a result of sharing duties with Subban. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Ellis log 25 minutes and greater than 2.0 shots per game in January. The potential for a short-term boost in production makes Ellis a solid mid-tier option in daily fantasy play.

As far as Pekka Rinne is concerned, Nashville's netminder could see a slight downturn in his fantasy-relevant production. Losing 25 minutes per game from the top blueline pairing and a strong contributor on the penalty kill is impossible to replace entirely, even with veteran options like Ellis and Roman Josi capable of shouldering increased workloads for the time being.

Ultimately, until we know more about Subban's recovery timeline, his owners are left in limbo, unable to move on to long-term contingency plans. Just like the Predators organization, fantasy owners have little choice but to maintain their holding pattern until new information becomes available in the coming weeks.

Waiver Wire Targets

• D Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia Flyers: The 20-year-old has held his own in his rookie season, tallying three goals and 13 assists with solid contributions in hits and blocks. Provorov has found a home on the Flyers' second pairing, and has played on 21.1% of Philly's power play opportunities over their last 10 games.

• D Jake Gardiner, Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs' offense has emerged as one of the top units in the game, notching 2.91 goals per game. Gardiner doesn't have the same shine of the blue chip youngsters on the team, but he's had a big share in the team's ascent. He's played on 41.4% of Toronto's power play chances this season.

• D Nick Holden, New York Rangers: Holden has appeared in all 39 of his team's games, so you can bank on some consistency. His 13 points have nearly matched last year's total of 16 -- in almost half the games. He won't overwhelm with his offensive contributions but he offers a well-rounded style of play which includes blocked shots and hits. Of these three targets, he's best suited to banger leagues.