Erne had a successful PTO with Edmonton and has earned himself a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 28-year-old left-winger had eight goals, 10 assists, 21 PIMs, 55 SOG, and a -12 plus/minus in 61 games played in 2022-23. He will be joining his third NHL team for his eighth career season and has 40 goals and 89 points in 355 career games played.
Blackwood will see his first action between the pipes as a member of the San Jose Sharks after signing with them in the offseason. Blackwood struggled in his last three seasons with the New Jersey Devils, recording a cumulative 3.19 GAA and .897 SV% across 82 games. He will be hard-pressed to improve those numbers on a Sharks team that seems destined to be at the bottom end of the NHL standings this season. To make matters worse, Blackwood will be facing the high-powered offence of the Colorado Avalanche, who are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Blueger was absent from the Canucks' season opening victory over Edmonton and will now be out for an undisclosed amount of time as he is week-to-week with a leg injury. The 28-year-old Latvian was signed to a one-year, $1.9 million contract in the offseason and will have to wait to make his much awaited Canucks debut. He had four goals, 12 assists, 30 PIMs, 85 SOG and a -9 plus/minus with Pittsburgh and Vegas in 2022-23.
Georgiev will search for his 100th career victory as he is slated to tend the pipes for the second consecutive game for the Avalanche. Georgiev was terrific in his first game of the season, saving 34 of 36 shots in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. After a fantastic first season with the Avalanche that saw him record a 2.53 GAA and .918 SV% in 62 games (40-16-6), Georgiev looks poised to pick up where he left off as one of the top goalies in the league this season. The Avalanche will be facing a Sharks team that struggles to generate offence and will be without Mikael Granlund and Logan Couture.
Granlund played 15:36 in the Sharks' season-opener but has since been placed on IR, meaning he will miss at least the next three games. Granlund is coming off a 79-game campaign that saw him net 41 points (10G / 31A) in time split between the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins. No corresponding moves have been made just yet but it is possible that rookie Thomas Bordeleau could shift up to Granlund's position as the second-line center. Bordeleau has seven points (0G / 7A) in 17 career NHL games.
It looks like Lindgren will get the nod in the crease for the Capitals' season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins as Darcy Kuemper is away from the team for the birth of his son. Lindgren struggled in his first season with the Capitals, posting a 3.05 GAA and .899 SV% in 31 appearances (13-11-3). The Capitals will be facing a hungry Penguins squad that was held to just two goals in their season-opening loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Clay Stevenson was recalled from the Hershey Bears of the AHL and will likely serve as backup to Lindgren.
Samsonov allowed five goals on only 24 shots but was able to shut the door in overtime and the shootout en route to securing a 6-5 win for the Maple Leafs over the Montreal Canadiens in their first game of the season. Despite the shaky performance, Samsonov will tend the crease again for the Maple Leafs on Saturday in their matchup against the Wild. In his sole meeting against the Wild last season, Samsonov had one of his top performances, saving 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory. The Wild, who ranked 22nd in the league offensively last season (2.91 goals/GM), are coming off a 2-0 victory in their season-opener against the Florida Panthers.
Johnson was a healthy scratch in the Blue Jackets' season-opening 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers but will slot into the lineup on Saturday against the New York Rangers as they search for their first victory of the season. Johnson will likely slot in on the third line with Cole Sillinger and Justin Danforth. He had 40 points (16G / 24A) in 79 games with the Blue Jackets last season.
Husso is the confirmed starter on Saturday and will look to improve on his season-opening performance, in which he allowed three goals on 26 shots in a 4-3 loss to the high-flying New Jersey Devils. The competition won't get much easier for Husso as he and the Red Wings will face off against last year's eighth-best offence (3.41 goals/GM). In his four games against the Lightning last season (2-2-0), Husso played adequately, recording a 3.02 GAA and .909 SV%.
Protas was the odd man out of the Capitals' roster and has been loaned to Hershey (AHL) Friday as they had to call up a third goaltender due to Darcy Kuemper leaving for the birth of his child. The 22-year-old forward is expected to return to Washington as Kuemper also returns and will be looking to build off his four goal, 11 assist, and 83 SOG campaign in 2022-23 across 58 games played.
Amidst the news that Darcy Kuemper may be absent from the Capitals matchup Friday vs. Pittsburgh due to the birth of his child, Clay Stevenson has been recalled from the Hershey Bears (AHL). The 24-year-old netminder was signed as an undrafted free-agent out of Dartmouth Collect (NCAA) ahead of the 2022-23 and has yet to make an NHL appearance. In his first season in the minor leagues he posted a 19-12-3 record with a .916 SV% and a 2.54 GAA for the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) in 2022-23. He is expected to backup Charlie Lindgren if Kuemper is unable to go.
Things look promising for Ekholm, who is listed as a game-time decision, to make his season debut on Saturday as he was participating regularly in drills alongside Evan Bouchard. Ekholm had 14 points (4G / 10A) in 21 games for the Oilers last season after being traded from the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline.
Spence was originally assigned to the minors to start the season but has been recalled from the Ontario Reign (AHL) ahead of the Kings' matchup Saturday vs. Carolina. The 22-year-old made headlines in the offseason after being the first Australian born NHL player to participate in a game located in Australia due to the preseason Global Series. In 2022-23 he appeared briefly for the Kings, picking up an assist and six SOG in six games played. He has officially changed his number from 53 to 21 for the 2023-24 campaign.
Anderson-Dolan was waived by Los Angeles last Sunday but has been recalled from Ontario (AHL) ahead of the Kings' game Saturday vs. Carolina and is expected to appear on the fourth line. The 24-year-old centre had seven goals, five assists, 54 SOG, two PIMs and a -11 plus/minus in 46 games with Los Angeles in 2022-23.
Fabbri is not expected to be out long-term but will be unavailable on Saturday after suffering an undisclosed injury in the Red Wings' first game of the season. In 14:44 time-on-ice, Fabbri scored a powerplay goal and recorded two shots on goal. Fabbri suited up on the second line alongside JT Compher and Lucas Raymond and could be replaced by Michael Rasmussen in his absence.
Boyd had 15 goals, 19 assists, 94 SOG, 26 PIMs and a -32 plus/minus through 82 games played with Arizona in 2022-23 but will be a healthy scratch for their season opener vs. New Jersey. It comes as a bit of a surprise after Boyd finished sixth in team scoring last season but he will be replaced by Jack McBain. Boyd is entering his sixth NHL season and has 45 goals and 110 points in 280 career games played.
Dermott signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with Arizona Coyotes in the offseason after having his 2022-23 reduced to only 11 games played due to concussion symptoms. The 26-year-old has played in a combined 28 games over the last two seasons due to injuries and had two goals, and an assist across that span with Vancouver. He is looking for a fresh start as he joins his third NHL team in his seventh season. He will replace Troy Stecher in the Coyotes' lineup Friday vs. New Jersey.
Stecher was signed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract by Arizona during the offseason but will be the odd-man out for the Coyotes' first game vs. New Jersey. The 29-year-old defensemen had three goals, 11 assists, 88 SOG, 44 PIMs and a -6 plus/minus in 81 games played with both Arizona and Calgary in 2022-23. He is entering his eighth NHL season and should find himself in the Coyotes' lineup more often than not.
Now in his fourth season as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, in which he has recorded 139 points (29 G / 110A) in 200 games, Toews has been rewarded a seven-year, $50.75 million contract extension. Toews has solidified himself as one of the league's premiere all-around defensemen and has secured himself a lucrative contract that will go through to his age-37 season.
Nedeljkovic fell into a backup role with the Red Wings last season and went 5-7-2 with a 3.53 GAA and .895 SV% in 15 games (13 starts). This summer he signed with Penguins, where he'll serve as Tristan Jarry's backup. He had a strong pre-season but is far from the goalie we saw in 2021 when he posted a 1.90 GAA and .932 SV%. Nedeljkovic has a sub-par matchup vs. the Flames and should probably be left on the waiver wire until he has a better matchup.
