The unfortunate news came down Tuesday that Devils goalie Martin Brodeur will have surgery Thursday to repair a torn distal biceps tendon in his left elbow suffered during a Saturday win against Atlanta. The future Hall of Famer is not expected back until February at the earliest and his streak of playing in 70-plus games will come to an end at 10 straight seasons.

At least the Devils got better news than the New England Patriots (NFL) did when they lost star quarterback Tom Brady for the entire season due to a torn ACL suffered in the first quarter of a Week 1 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Losing Brodeur in Fantasy Hockey rivals that of losing Brady in Fantasy Football. Both of them were high-end first-round picks and usually non-replaceable.

We sympathize with Brodeur owners since trying to find a player with equal value is going to be tough. But we remind you that Marc-Andre Fleury owners went through a similar situation last season when he spent many months on IR recovering from ankle injury. Fleury returned in late February and won 10 of his last 14 starts.

If you can afford to stash Brodeur, it is highly recommended. For those who need a stopgap option in the interim, we'll dedicate the rest of this space to help sift through what's left on waivers to get you over the hump.

Even Rick DiPietro owners might want to take a quick look at the remaining Fantasy scraps since the Islanders' top netminder and usual No. 2 Fantasy goalie is expected to miss 4-6 weeks following knee surgery.

Kevin Weekes, New Jersey
Owned: 43 percent of leagues
Analysis: The heir apparent to Brodeur, the seldom-used backup has been the top pickup in CBSSports.com leagues this week. Weekes is a former second-round pick of the Panthers back in 1993. He has been a full-time starter on four occasions in his first 11 seasons, so it's not like the Devils are throwing a young pup into the fire. They added him last year as added insurance and are plenty happy to have Weekes in net.
Fantasy Take: Weekes is a must-add in all Fantasy formats since the Devils' defense is one of the best. He should produce very well in Brodeur's absence.

Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta
Owned: 57 percent of leagues
Analysis: Lehtonen has not played since Oct. 30 because of an illness and now back issues. Lehtonen has had his own injury problems since arriving full-time in 2005-06, but don't forget this is a kid that won 34 games in 2006-07. He landed a four-year extension in the offseason and is coach John Anderson's goalie of choice when healthy. The only negative going against Lehtonen is that the Thrashers are still a bottom feeder in the Eastern Conference.
Fantasy Take: Lehtonen has potential to be a very solid No. 2 Fantasy goalie and can be considered a viable option since he is a starting NHL goalie.

Peter Budaj, Colorado
Owned: 61 percent of leagues
Analysis: Budaj seems to be as hot-and-cold as they come in the NHL. He opened the season with three straight losses before Andrew Raycroft started pushing him for playing time. Budaj then won three straight games and looked well on his way to solidifying the No. 1 job in Colorado. He has since gone winless in his last three starts and has a 5.55 GAA in two November outings.
Fantasy Take: Budaj still remains a decent No. 2 Fantasy goalie since coach Tony Granato has given him the benefit of the doubt. He will lose some starts to Raycroft, but Budaj will have some nice runs and could post some Brodeur-like Fantasy totals during those streaks.

Nikolai Khabibulin, Chicago
Owned: 62 percent of leagues
Analysis: Chicago spent a ton of money in the offseason to sign Cristobal Huet, but when they couldn't unload Khabibulin, they were stuck with two starting goalies. Even with coach Joel Quenneville taking over as head coach, he still splits starts between Huet and Khabibulin. The latter has been very strong in his first seven outings, going 4-1-1 with a 2.38 GAA and .919 save percentage.
Fantasy Take: Chicago is still willing to list offers for Khabibulin and don't be surprised if New Jersey comes a calling if Weekes doesn't work out. Khabibulin still remains a viable No. 3 Fantasy goalie, but it could be awhile until he becomes a reliable option.

Dwayne Roloson, Edmonton
Owned: 24 percent of leagues
Analysis: Speaking of trade bait, the Oilers are carrying three goalies -- Mathieu Garon, Jeff Drouin-Deslaurie and Roloson. They can't send Drouin-Deslaurie back to the minors without sending him through waivers and Edmonton can't really afford to keep three goalies all season. Garon is usually the starter in Edmonton, but Roloson has the hot hand and is seeing a few extra appearances. It could also be to help expose Roloson as a potential trade candidate for those teams looking for goalie help, like the Devils.
Fantasy Take: Roloson still remains at best a No. 3 Fantasy goalie because of the goalie mess in Edmonton, but could be worth stashing in larger leagues in the event he is dealt away.

Alex Auld, Ottawa
Owned: 56 percent of leagues
Analysis: Auld came into the season as the clear backup to Martin Gerber, but after Gerber struggled in the early season and then dealt with a leg injury, Auld has started the last six games for Ottawa. He has won three of those games and hasn't allowed more than three goals in his last five contests.
Fantasy Take: The Senators have shown in the past they have no problems with riding the hot hand. Gerber is not totally out of the picture, but for right now Auld is their starter. Be careful with Auld -- he could be a viable Fantasy option for the time being but the rug could be pulled out from under him at any moment.

Joey MacDonald, N.Y. Islanders
Owned: 21 percent of leagues
Analysis: The Islanders weren't exactly sure what to expect from MacDonald after losing reliable backup Wade Dubielewicz (signed overseas). Well, he has proven to be very valuable since DiPietro has hardly played due to injury. MacDonald has won four of his nine appearances and has a .903 save percentage. He has won his last two starts and has made 66 saves in that span.
Fantasy Take: MacDonald is a viable stopgap option while DiPietro is out, but he will return to being a backup once DiPietro is healthy. First-year coach Scott Gordon eyes DiPietro as a franchise goalie and the Islanders are going to make sure they get some kind of return after giving him a 15-year contract.

Jason LaBarbera, Los Angeles
Owned: 38 percent of leagues
Analysis: LaBarbera opened the season as the Kings' starting goalie, but has gone just 3-5-1 in 10 appearances with a 3.01 GAA and .884 save percentage. His poor performance has opened the door for Erik Ersberg to possibly get a few more starts. The Kings, however, aren't likely yet toying with the idea of bringing up prospect Jonathan Bernier since he is struggling down in the AHL (1-1-1, 3.58 GAA, .874 save percentage).
Fantasy Take: LaBarbera is still not out of the picture in L.A., but the Kings aren't going to contend in the Western Conference and the wins could be hard to come by. LaBarbera is a desperation Fantasy replacement for Brodeur and DiPietro owners.

Best of the Rest

Pekka Rinne (owned 13 percent), Chris Mason (15 percent), Michael Leighton (12 percent), Tobias Stephan (7 percent)
Fantasy Take: All four of these guys are pushing their respective competition, but it is still going to take an injury or a strong leap of faith from the coaching staff to become full-time starters. They remain primarily handcuff Fantasy options.

You can e-mail us your Fantasy Hockey questions to DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Brodeur in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.