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The early portion of the NHL season has come with a stark reminder: If you want to survive the grind of a long season, you’d better have depth. Especially on defense. One by one, defensemen who are critical to the success of their teams are going down. Zdeno Chara is hurt. Erik Johnson is banged up. Ben Lovejoy broke a finger fighting Joe Pavelski and could be out two months. And on Monday, scary news emerged from Pittsburgh, where defenseman Olli Maatta will have surgery next week to remove a tumor from his neck that is potentially cancerous. Last season, when injuries hit the Penguins' defense, it was Maatta who rescued Pittsburgh in a rookie season that earned him a spot in the top three of my Calder Trophy ballot. His sophomore campaign was looking just as good with his comfort level higher than it was at this point last season. “You know what to expect. Your confidence is higher for sure,” Maatta said when we chatted last week. Kris Letang, Maatta’s partner on defense, says Maatta has a maturity that goes well beyond his 20 years of age. It’s one of the reasons why even scary news like Monday’s could end up just being a footnote on a long career for the Finland native. “He’s a very mature kid for his age. He prepares himself, the way he comes to the rink. He does what he has to do,” Letang said. “It’s all maturity.” The Penguins have enough depth on defense to survive the short-term removal of Maatta from the lineup, especially if another young defenseman emerges to pitch in, just as he did last season. He’s expected to make a full recovery, which is obviously the important part. These early-season injuries -- including the one suffered by Sergei Bobrovsky, who will be out at least a week -- got us thinking. Aside from the obvious -- stars like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews and nearly every starting goalie -- which players are currently the least dispensible to their teams? Here’s a look at some candidates
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