Saturday was the first time that Robertson's practiced since undergoing foot surgery in the offseason. Stars assistant coach Alain Nasreddine said the team remains optimistic that Robertson will be in the lineup on opening night.
Bjugstad suffered an upper-body in the preseason and is expected to miss the start of the regular season. Utah head coach said that the veteran centre is still "quite far away," so expect that to open the door for Jack McBain to play a bigger role to open the season.
Doughty was hurt in an awkward play in Wednesday's preseason game and is now considered month-to-month after it was announced the 34-year-old would undergo surgery to repair a fractured ankle. It will be a significant loss for the Kings as Doughty has played in all but one game in the last two seasons, averaging nearly 26:00 TOI/GP. In 82 games in 2023-24, he had 15 goals, 50 points, 44 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus. Brandt Clarke is expected to take his spot on the Kings' top powerplay to start the season. Head Coach Jim Hiller did mention Doughty is expected back this season.
Mateiko was Washington's 2024 3rd-round pick (90th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday worth $889,167 AAV. The 18-year-old Latvian winger is expected to return to Saint Johns (QMJHL) for his third season of junior hockey after joining the Sea Dogs from Latvia in 2022-23. Mateiko was drafted after putting up 23 goals, 43 points and 20 PIMs in 49 games in 2023-24.
With New Jersey taking part in the Prague Global Series that starts on October 4th, it appears they will be without one of their big off-season acquisitions after it was announced Brett Pesce is still recovering from surgery for a fractured fibula and is considered week-to-week. Pesce signed a six-year contract to join New Jersey in the offseason after nine successful seasons on Carolina's blueline. In 70 games in 2023-24, he had three goals, 13 points, 20 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus while averaging 20:17 TOI/GP.
Gill was Philadelphia's 2024 2nd-round pick (59th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $975,000 AAV with the Flyers on Friday. The 18-year-old towering defenseman is expected to return to Rimouski (QMJHL) for the 2024-25 season where he put up 12 goals, 46 points and 62 PIMs during his Sophomore campaign in 65 games in 2023-24.
Stanley's run of injuries and bad luck continued on Friday after it was announced the 26-year-old would be undergoing knee surgery and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks. The towering defenseman has struggled to stay healthy throughout his entire four-year career, missing 120 of the last 164 games in the previous two seasons alone. In 2023-24, he struggled to get anything going offensively with a goal, two points, 36 PIMs and 29 SOG in 25 games played.
New Jersey's defensive core continued to take injury hits on Thursday after it was announced Santeri Hatakka would be out "more than day-to-day" after leaving Thursday's preseason game. The 23-year-old had a legitimate shot of making the Devils out of training camp after Luke Hughes was announced out due to injury, but will now, unfortunately, be joining his fellow young defender. In 12 games in 2023-24, he had two assists, 12 SOG and a +5 plus/minus while averaging just 14:39 TOI/GP.
Gibson's 2024-25 is already starting out on a negative note after Anaheim announced Thursday that the 31-year-old had undergone emergency appendectomy surgery on Wednesday and is expected to be out for approximately 3-6 weeks. The American netminder has failed to produce a save percentage above .900 in each of the last two seasons and beginning 2024-25 on the Injured Reserve is a tough way to ensure a bounce-back campaign after only 13 wins in 2023-24.
It was reported earlier Thursday that Doughty's initial x-ray showed an ankle fracture but the 34-year-old is scheduled for more additional imaging later in the day after leaving Wednesday's preseason game with an ankle injury. If the defensemen is forced to miss a chunk of time, it will be a significant loss for the Kings as Doughty has played in all but one game in the last two seasons, averaging nearly 26:00 TOI/GP. In 82 games in 2023-24, he had 15 goals, 50 points, 44 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus.
Panarin left Tuesday's preseason game vs. the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury but will only be out day-to-day as he attempts to return in time for the Rangers' season opener on October 9th. The Rangers are hoping their star left-winger will be able to give them 82 games played for a third straight season after finishing third in the NHL in points in 2023-24 with 49 goals and 120 points in 82 games played.
Philadelphia added to Lehigh Valley's (AHL) goaltending depth on Wednesday after they signed Eetu Makiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 25-year-old goaltender has spent the previous two seasons with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) and had an 8-8-0 record, .900 SV% and 3.14 GAA in 18 games in 2023-24. He made his NHL debut and only career appearance in 2022-23 with San Jose and appeared in two games.
New York will be without one of their top defensemen for the start of the regular season after it was announced on Wednesday that Ryan Lindgren is expected to be out for a few weeks with an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old was a cog on New York's back end last season after putting up three goals, 17 points and a +22 plus/minus in 76 games played.
San Jose's offensive depth took a hit on Tuesday as they announced forward Thomas Bordeleau would be out "for weeks" and is at risk of missing the Sharks' season opener. The 22-year-old is entering his fourth season with San Jose but has still yet to amass more than 27 games played in a single season. In 2023-24, he had six goals, 11 points, 18 PIMs and 48 SOG in 27 games played.
Florida has officially had its first preseason injury causality after it was announced Tuesday that Tomas Nosek will be out week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury in Nashville on Sunday. It is an unfortunate start to the 32-year-old's time in Florida after signing a one-year, $775,000 contract in the offseason. In 36 games with New Jersey in 2023-24, he had two goals, six points, 38 SOG and a -11 plus/minus.
After a long drawn-out summer of negotiations, Cole Perfetti and Winnipeg have agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million contract extension ($3.250,000 AAV) on Monday. The 22-year-old was Winnipeg's 2020 1st-round pick (10th overall) and is entering his fourth season with the team. In 2023-24, he had career highs in goals (19), points (38), games played (71), powerplay points (11) and SOG (142).
Boldy suffered a lower-body injury on Monday but head coach John Hynes said that it's not a major injury and Boldy should be back by the end of camp. As of right now, the Wild are expecting Boldy to be in the opening night lineup.
