TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 15: Johnny Gaudreau of Team North America listens to a question during Media day at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 at Air Canada Centre on September 15, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
For all of his faults, former Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley had a very astute assessment about worrying about players that are absent due to injury or other factors: you can only coach using the players you have available to you.
As of this writing, it is three days until the National Hockey League's opening roster deadline and four days until the opening night of the NHL calendar.