Copley is no stranger to the NHL, with 77 games of experience, and could work himself into a backup role for Tampa Bay behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. The 33-year-old Copley spent the majority of the 2024-25 season in the AHL, tallying a 2.49 GAA and .904 SV% in 42 games with the Ontario Reign (24-17-1).
LaCombe had an outstanding sophomore campaign with the Ducks in 2024-25, scoring a career-high 43 point (14G / 29A) in 75 games, earning himself a massive eight-year, $72 million contract ($9M AAV). The talented 24-year-old defenseman is poised to start the 2025-26 season on the top powerplay unit for an improving young Ducks team and could be destined for another career-best season.
No updated was provided following the game but Huberdeau was absent from practice on Thursday and later listed as day-to-day. The 32-year-old Huberdeau averaged 19:33 time-on-ice and had 62 points (28G / 34A) in 81 games last season; his most productive campaign with the Flames.
Toews "tweaked something" in a preseason contest against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday and was absent from practiced on Thursday. After missing the entirety of the previous two seasons, recovering from injuries, Toews signed in the offseason with his hometown team. The veteran forward scored 31 points (15G / 16A) in 53 games in his most recent season in 2022-23.
St. Ivany was likely a longshot to crack Pittsburgh's opening night roster but will now conclusively start the 2025-26 season on the sidelines, recovering from a lower-body injury for at least six weeks. The 26-year-old defenseman played a career-high 19 games last season, averaging 16:22 time-on-ice and scoring one assist.
The start to Sturm's tenure in Minnesota has been sidetracked due to injury, but he could make his preseason debut on Friday. After winning a cup with Florida in 2024-25, Sturm signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason. He is coming off a seven-goal, 14-point campaign across 62 games with both San Jose and Florida in 2024-25.
Demidov did not finish Tuesday's preseason game but appears to be on the mend after practicing on Thursday. It's unclear if the 19-year-old will play in Montreal's preseason finale on Saturday but his availability for their season opener seems promising.
The Penguins announced on Thursday that Rust will be out of the lineup for at least two weeks after suffering an undisclosed injury at practice on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Rust scored a career-high 65 points (31G / 34A) in 71 games last season.
Carrick was back at practice on on Thursday after missing the past couple outings due to a lower-body injury. The 33-year-old Carrick played 80 games and scored 20 points (6G / 14A) last year in his first season with the Rangers.
The Panthers have orchestrated another long-term extension to a member of their core, inking Mikkola to an additional eight-years worth $40 million total ($5M AAV). The 29-year-old Mikkola played a career-high 20:12 time-on-ice last season and scored 22 points (6G / 16A) in 76 games.
Luukkonen had already missed the majority of pre-season due to a lower-body injury and appears to have re-aggravated the injury in the first period of Monday's preseason game before leaving. If the 26-year-old is forced to miss any time, a combination of Alexandar Georgiev and Devon Levi will be expected to handle the crease.
After one season in Carolina, 27-year-old Tyson Jost will head to Nashville after being claimed off waivers from Carolina on Wednesday. Jost was once a 10th overall pick (2016) and has appeared with four different organizations across his nine-year NHL career. In 39 appearances with Carolina in 2024-25, he had four goals, nine points and 33 PIMs.
Johnson appeared in 14 games for Colorado in 2024-25 and has announced his retirement from professional hockey after 17 NHL seasons with four separate organizations (COL, STL, PHI, BUF). The 37-year-old entered the league as a 1st overall pick with St. Louis in 2006 and won one Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022. "The Condor" closes out his career with 95 goals, 348 points and 555 PIMs in 1023 games played.
Wood was hoping to make Nashville's opening night roster out of training camp, but is now out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The 20-year-old forward was Nashville's 2023 1st round pick (15th overall) and is regarded as one of their top prospects after putting up 17 goals and 39 points in 39 games with the University of Minnesota (NCAA) last season.
Seattle will be without one of their main defensemen for 6-8 weeks after it was announced Ryker Evans was out with an upper-body injury on Wednesday. The 23-year-old is entering his third season with the Kraken after posting career highs across the board in 2024-25 with five goals, 25 points and 59 SOG in 73 games played. Josh Mahura is expected to take his spot in Seattle's lineup while Evans is on the mend.
With Montreal off on Wednesday, Ivan Demidov's injury update will have to wait until Thursday after the 19-year-old prospect left Tuesday's preseason game vs. Ottawa following a slash from Nick Cousins. Demidov is the current favourite to win the Calder Trophy after putting up 19 goals and 49 points in SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) last season.
After clearing waivers a week ago, Connor Ingram has been acquired by the Edmonton Oilers for future considerations, with Utah retaining $800K of Ingram's $1.95M AAV. The 28-year-old is just one season removed from appearing in 50 games with Arizona in 2023-24 after struggling with his 9-8-4 record, 3.27 GAA and .882 SV% last season. Ingram was assigned to Bakersfield (AHL) after the trade but is expected to return to Edmonton at some point this season.
Bonk's hopes of cracking Philadelphia's lineup out of training camp took another hit on Wednesday after the team announced he would be out for two more weeks due to a lower-body injury. The 20-year-old defenseman was Philadelphia's 2023 1st round pick (22nd overall) and is coming off a strong, 11-goal, 40-point campaign with London (OHL) in 2024-25. He is expected to start the season in Lehigh Valley (AHL) when he is healthy enough to return.
