Sharp could miss several weeks due to the knee injury he suffered in Tuesday's game, according to Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times. An exact timetable for Sharp's recovery is uncertain, but head coach Joel Quenneville said Sharp will be "out for a bit," and indicated that would be measured in weeks instead of days. The Blackhawks have shuffled their lines often of late, and will be forced to do so once again.

Sharp left Thursday's game against the Canadiens in the third period with an apparent right knee injury, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports. Sharp appeared to suffer the injury when he was hit into the boards by the Habs' Alexei Emelin. He remained down on the ice for several minutes, and didn't appear to put much weight on his leg while heading to the locker room. The Blackhawks have more than likely ruled out his return to action Tuesday and are likely just hoping he was able to avoid a long-term injury. The team should have an update on his status after the game.

Sharp scored a power-play goal and added an assist in Saturday's loss to the Blues. Sharp has now scored three power-play goals this season, which is second-best in the NHL. The 32-year-old is well on his way to another strong season, recording eight points through his first seven games. Sharp has also recorded 31 shots on goal thus far, a sign he is continually involved in the offensive attack. This sniper is fantasy gold and needs to be in your lineup every night the Hawks are playing.

Sharp assisted on both of Patrick Kane's power-play goals Tuesday in a 4-0 win over the Flyers. As usual, Sharp has been one of the league's most reliable point-getters. Rumors of his demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

Sharp had a goal and assist in the Blackhawks' 3-2 shootout victory at Dallas on Thursday in the team's season opener, CSN Chicago reports. Sharp's first goal of the season in the third period sent the game into overtime against the Stars. The Blackhawks host Buffalo on Saturday. Sharp has had some success in a limited number of games against the Sabres in his 12-year career with four goals and three assists in 11 games against Buffalo.

Sharp is penciled in to serve as the Blackhawks' top line left wing, CSNChicago.com's Tracey Myers reports. Though he's coming off a career-best season in which he netted 34 goals and 78 points, Sharp's stock heading into the upcoming campaign seems to be trending downward nonetheless, after he lost out on ice time to Brandon Saad in the playoffs and was dogged by trade rumors over the summer. While the Blackhawks' window to deal him has probably closed at this point, Sharp probably doesn't have much more room for improvement as he enters his age-33 season. He'll still be a potent scorer and deliver an excellent plus/minus rating for one of hockey's most talent teams; just don't overpay for last season's numbers.

Patrick Sharp's agent, Rick Curran, has received multiple assurances from Chicago GM Stan Bowman that his client won't be traded. "There's no truth to any rumor that Patrick Sharp is available to trade," Curran said. "He absolutely is not available. I had a meeting with Stan Bowman a week ago to ask him what was going to happen. He said, 'I don't know what's going to happen, but I can tell you that Patrick Sharp is not available right now.' When the Sportsnet guy, Nick Kypreos, erroneously made a statement and everyone went crazy, I called Stan again. I asked, 'Has anything changed?' He said, 'absolutely not.' He's full of [expletive]." The Blackhawks have been linked to Ryan Kesler and Jason Spezza in trade rumors and Sharp's name surfaced as a trade candidate, but those reports appear to be false.

If the Blackhawks re-sign stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to large extended contracts this month, there is a chance Patrick Sharp may have to be moved to deal with cap issues. The Hawks have made no secret about their desire to ink Toews and Kane to lucrative long-term deals before July 1st. If they do, the team may not be able to afford to keep Sharp, who would fetch a good haul of young players in the trade market. Stay tuned, this could get interesting.

Patrick Sharp did not say when asked if he was hurt during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Sharp was at Wrigley Field taking batting practice on Friday and hit one to the warning track. He had taken batting practice once before at U.S. Cellular Field, the home of the White Sox, where he homered, so playing at Wrigley was another honor. Getting back to hockey, Sharp would not say if he was hurt as he struggled in the Conference final. "Everyone has something going on at this time of year," Sharp said. "To bring that kind of stuff up sounds like I'm making excuses. I'm not going to talk about that kind of stuff."

Patrick Sharp skated on the third line with Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith in Game 7 versus Los Angeles. "Over the years, I've played a little bit with (Kruger)," Sharp said. "I've played with him the last couple of games. We know how to support each other and what makes us successful." Kruger picked up an assist on one of Sharp's two goals in Chicago's 5-4 overtime loss to the Kings. Sharp spent most the regular season on the top unit with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, but coach Joel Quenneville is never timid about mixing his combinations.