Mark Stuart (undisclosed) will not play Tuesday night against the Hurricanes. Stuart has missed the last two games after being called "banged up" by coach Claude Noel. His absence shouldn't affect your league since he's mostly a depth defenseman.

Mark Stuart is "banged up" and will be a game-time decision against the Capitals on Friday night. This is an injury we're seeing with a lot of players around this time of the season as the shortened schedule begins to wear on their bodies. Thankfully for fantasy owners, Stuart is not much more than a depth defenseman and his absence wouldn't affect most leagues.

Mark Stuart had four penalty minutes in a 3-0 loss Saturday. Stuart was given a two minutes for cross checking and another two for unsportsmanlike conduct. He has one goal and 25 penalty minutes in 21 games this season.

Mark Stuart got his first goal of the season on Tuesday in Winnipeg's 3-2 overtime win over Florida. The Jets defense corps entered Tuesday night's action leading the NHL in points from the back end, thanks in large part to Tobias Enstrom and the injured Dustin Byfuglien. Stuart chipped in 14 points and 98 penalty minutes in 80 games last season.

Mark Stuart is scheduled to fly back to Winnipeg on Monday morning. He dressed in nine games with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, where he registered three points and a minus-3 rating. The Everblades have NHL affiliates with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. Stuart thanked the minor-league team for the opportunity to play and expressed his excitement to resume his NHL career. "I'm ready to start, ready to get going," he said. "It's more just excitement to start skating again with the guys and to get going, hopefully within a week."

Mark Stuart made his season debut with Florida in the ECHL on Wednesday night. He scored the opening goal in a 4-3 victory against the Cincinnati Cyclones on his only shot of the match.

Mark Stuart has agreed to a lockout deal with the ECHL's Florida Everblades. The team announced the move on Tuesday and said Stuart is expected to make his debut on Wednesday versus Cincinnati. In 80 games with the Jets last season, he posted 14 points and 98 penalty minutes.

Winnipeg Jets Mark Stuart and Andrew Ladd have remained cautiously optimistic during the roller coaster CBA negotiations with the league and that stance hasn't changed yet. "I think right now it's feeling better about things than we were a few days or a week ago," Stuart said. "I think that as long as they're communicating - they met for a good amount of time yesterday - then that's something to be optimistic about. Beyond that, I don't think you should look too far into it." There has been a glimmer of hope that the NHL could return shortly due to the latest talks, but of course nothing is certain. Jets captain Andrew Ladd added, "I think in this process we've learned to be cautious about what transpires. We're kind of still in the wait-and-see mode."

On Oct. 9, 2011 hockey returned to Winnipeg, but a year later the NHL lockout will delay the team's second season back. The players remember the feeling of skating in the team's home opener last year and they empathize with the fans that waited to get their team returned only to have it temporarily taken back because of the work stoppage. "We were part of the excitement last year and we could feel it," said Jets defender Mark Stuart. "But now, to not be playing... I know how it feels for us and so I can only imagine how it feels for the fans. We felt their excitement all of last year, but we can't really feel their disappointment now. Sometimes I wonder if the disappointment now is the same, if not more so, than the excitement we all felt last year. It's tough."

Friday's scheduled talk between the NHL and the NHLPA has renewed the hope of some players like Winnipeg defenseman Mark Stuart. "Optimistic," he said. "At least there's communication. And we should all be optimistic as long as those discussions are taking place." He will continue to take the situation day-by-day, but it is encouraging that some progress could be reached prior to the weekend, even if it is just on non-core economic issues.