NHL Hockey Player News

Binnington is the likely starting goalie in the Blues' season opener against the Dallas Stars. His stats have declined each year since leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup and reached career-worsts in 2022-23, where he posted a 3.31 GAA and .894 SV% in 61 games (27-27-6). Binnington, who has an annual cap hit of $6 million, will presumably receive the lionshare of time in the crease but any mistep could prompt rookie Joel Hofer to get a more thorough look between the pipes. Binnington lost both contests against the Stars last season (0-2-0) despite a strong 2.04 GAA and .930 SV%. That said, the Blues are +186 road underdogs against the Stars.

Rondbjerg was recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) Thursday ahead of Vegas' game vs. San Jose due to the two game suspension to Brett Howden and the injury to William Carrier (upper body). The 24-year-old forward appeared in 13 games in 2022-23 for Vegas and failed to pick up a goal while collecting an assist, four PIMs and a -5 plus/minus. He is expected to line up on the Golden Knights' fourth line alongside Keegan Kolesar and Nicholas Roy.

Benoit was recalled from Toronto (AHL) ahead of the Maple Leafs' season opener Wednesday vs. Montreal but was a healthy scratch and has been loaned back to Marlies on Thursday. The 25-year-old defensemen signed a one-year contract worth $775,000 during the offseason with the Maple Leafs after three goals, 10 points and 60 PIMs in 78 games played with Anaheim in 2022-23.

Hintz was originally a game-time decision but with five days between games, the Stars coaching staff has opted to give him the extra rest instead of rushing him into the season opener. Hintz tallied 75 points last season (37G / 38A) while primarily centring Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski on one of the top lines in the NHL. Tyler Seguin is expected to slot into the first-line center role in Hintz's absence.

Maatta appeared in 78 games for the Red Wings in 2022-23 picking up six goals, 17 assists and a -9 plus/minus but will be a healthy scratch for their season opener Thursday vs. New Jersey. The 29-year-old signed a two-year, $6 million contract extension in February but was the odd man out for newly signed Justin Holl Thursday. He should find himself in Detroits' lineup more often than not.

After originally being listed as a game-time decision, Ristolainen has officially been ruled out for the Flyers' season opener. In 74 games last season, Ristolainen tallied 20 points (3G / 17A) and 162 hits. Egor Zamula is expected to slot onto the third defensive pairing in his absence.

With Rasmus Ristolainen out with an undisclosed injury, Zamula will draw into the lineup for the Flyers. Zamula played 14 games with the Flyers last season, recording four assists and averaging 13:23 time-on-ice.

Oettinger is one of the premiere young goalies in the NHL and enters the 2023-24 campaign as a contender for the Vezina Trophy. In 62 games with the Stars last season (37-11-11), Oettinger had a 2.35 GAA and .919 SV% along with five shutouts. The Stars enter the season as -210 home favourites against a St. Louis Blues team that parted ways with talented scorer Vladimir Tarasenko in the offseason. In his lone appearance against the Blues last season, Oettinger recorded a 25-save shutout victory.

Hart will begin his sixth NHL season as the starter for the Philadelphia Flyers in their season-opening matchup against the Blue Jackets. In 55 games last season (22-23-10), Hart posted a respectable 2.94 GAA and .907 SV% for a struggling Flyers team that ranked 26th last season (31-38-13). The Flyers will hope to get off to a good start against a Blue Jackets team that ranked third-worst offensively last season, averaging only 2.60 goals per game. Hart is the bonafide starting goalie in Philadelphia and should see plenty of action this season.

Expectations are high this season for the 25-year-old Gustavsson, who made his presence known in his first season with the Wild, posting a 2.10 GAA and .931 SV% in 39 games (22-9-7) en route to eventually capturing the starting role from veteran Marc-Andre Fleury. As the confirmed starting goalie in Minnesota's season-opener, Gustavsson appears poised to pick up where he left off and should see an even larger role between the pipes this season. The Wild enter action tonight as -130 home favourites against the Florida Panthers, who will be without their top two defensemen, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour.

Johnson will start the season as a healthy scratch but the talented centreman should find himself on the Blue Jackets roster before long. Patrik Laine being moved to the middle has created an influx of center-depth to start the season for the Blue Jackets, likely factoring into Johnson's early-season healthy scratch. The fifth overall pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft is coming off his rookie season with the Blue Jackets which saw him tally 40 points (16G / 24A) in 79 games.

After a fantastic rookie season in 2019-20, where he posted a 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% in 33 games (13-9-8), Merzlinkins has performed progressively worse each year. In 30 games last season (7-18-2), Merzlinkins had a horrendous 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV%. His league-worst GAA (minimum 10 starts) will need to be improved significantly or he will likely find himself battling for starts with backup goalie Spencer Martin. The Blue Jackets go into their season-opener listed as -113 home favourites against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Entering his fourth NHL season, Vanecek is coming off of his busiest campaign which saw him play 52 games (33-11-4) and record a 2.45 GAA and .911 SV%. Vanecek had an extremely strong start to last season before cooling down to a .896 SV% in his final 16 regular season games (9-6-1). His struggles continued in the postseason where he posted a 4.64 GAA and .825 SV% in seven games (4-1-3) and battled for time with Akira Schmid. The two goalies will likely share time in the crease this season unless one can pull away as the clear favourite. The New Jersey Devils are considered a serious Stanley Cup contender this season and open their campaign as -230 home favourites against the Detroit Red Wings.

Levi appears likely to enter the season as the starting goalie for the Buffalo Sabres after a seven-game stint (5-2-0) with the team at the end of the 2022-23 campaign that saw him post a 2.94 GAA and .905 SV%. Expectations are high in Buffalo for the rookie goaltender as the team around him has solidified an equally impressive core of young forwards and defensemen. The Sabres are +117 home underdogs tonight against a New York Rangers team that ranked 12th offensively last season, scoring an average of 3.33 goals per game. Working in his favour, Levi has already suited up twice against the Rangers in his young career, posting a dazzling 1.89 GAA and .934 SV% in those contests (2-0-0).

The Islanders' waived Ross Johnston Tuesday which allowed them the salary expansion to recalled Simon Holmstrom from his loan from Bridgeport (AHL) ahead of their season opener. The 22-year-old right-winger was originally drafted by the Islanders in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft (23rd overall) and appeared in 50 games in his rookie season in 2022-23, picking up six goals, three assists and 39 SOG.

After a fantastic rookie season in 2019-20, where he posted a 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% in 33 games (13-9-8), Merzlinkins has performed progressively worse each year. In 30 games last season (7-18-2), Merzlinkins had a horrendous 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV%. His league-worst GAA (minimum 10 starts) will need to be improved significantly or he will likely find himself battling for starts with backup goalie Spencer Martin. The Blue Jackets go into their season-opener listed as -113 home favourites against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tanev left Tuesday's loss in Vegas after a hit to the head from Brett Howden. The Golden Knights' forward was suspended two games for the hit. Tanev did not return to the game, and the Kraken did not provide an update on his status, so consider him questionable for Thursday's game in Nashville. Tye Kartye would likely replace Tanev if he can't play.

In 50 games last season (24-20-3), Bobrovsky posted a very pedestrian 3.07 GAA and .901 SV% before ultimately losing priority in the crease to, then-Panthers' backup, Alex Lyon down the stretch. Bobrovsky regained his composure in the postseason, leading the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 2.78 GAA and .915 SV% in 19 games (12-6-0). Bobrovsky is coming off a lacklustre preseason, posting a 2.75 GAA and .883 SV% in three games (1-2-0), and has been frustratingly inconsistent since joining the Panthers in 2019-20. It's difficult to predict what to expect from Bobrovsky as the Panthers are listed as +114 road underdogs in their season-opener against the Minnesota Wild.

Arvidsson entered Wednesday questionable to play in the Kings' season opener, and now he's expected to miss an extended period of time. The veteran winger has struggled with injuries in recent years, missing 13.5 percent of the games since 2020. With Arvidsson unavailable, look for Alex Laferriere to remain with the club moving forward.