NHL Hockey Player News

Romanov was originally expected to miss a portion of training camp as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery but is now "100 percent" to start training camp. The 23-year-old defencemen is coming off his first season in Long Island after recording two goals, 20 assists, 43 PIMs, and a +13 plus/minus through 76 games played. The bruising defensemen is expected to be a key piece of the Islanders' third defensive pair this season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs opened camp Thursday with the news that Simon Benoit is day-to-day with back spasms. The 25-year-old had three goals, seven assists, 60 PIMs, 82 SOG and a -29 plus/minus in 78 games played with Anaheim in 2022-23. Benoit signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Maple Leafs in the offseason and will hope to be back soon as he makes a push to make their opening night roster.

Wagner signed a one-year, two-way contract with Colorado in the offseason and is expected to miss at least the first three months of the 2023-24 season due to a ruptured Achilles. The 32-year-old forward had 19 goals, 12 assists, 69 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus with the Providence Bruins (AHL) in 2022-23 and was hoping to make a push for a final roster position on the Avalanche prior to his injury.

Cogliano has not played since Game 6 of Colorado's opening series vs. Seattle in the 2022-23 playoffs due to a neck injury and is day-to-day to start training camp but is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. The 36-year-old veteran forward finished 2022-23 with 10 goals, nine assists, 85 SOG, 44 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus in his second season in Colorado. 2023-24 will mark his 17th NHL season.

Makar will miss the start of training camp with an undisclosed injury but is expected to be back on the ice next week and should be good to go for the start of the regular season. The 24-year-old one-time Norris Trophy Winner had 17 goals, 49 assists, 176 SOG, 30 PIMs and a +16 plus/minus through 60 games played in 2022-23 and will be hoping to complete a full 82-game season for the first time in his career this year.

The Anaheim Ducks announced Thursday that Mason McTavish will miss the start of training camp as he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 20-year-old Sophomore Centre is coming off a 17-goal, 26-assist, 161 SOG, 44 PIMs, and -19 plus/minus rookie season in 2022-23. He is expected to be back with the team soon and a major part of the Ducks' lineup in 2023-24.

Backstrom missed 43 games in 2022-23 after having hip resurfacing surgery but says he feels 100% and ready for the start of the Capitals' training camp and is ready to go. The 35-year-old centre had seven goals, 14 assists, 14 PIMs, 59 SOG, and a -25 plus/minus in 39 games in 2022-23 before being placed on the shelf in mid-April. He will hope to continue to make an impact with the Capitals as he enters his 17th NHL season and has 271 goals and 1032 points across 1097 career games played.

Pacioretty was forced to miss 77 games in 2022-23 due to injuries and has yet to start skating as the Capitals opened training camp Thursday. The 34-year-old left-winger signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Capitals in the offseason and has no timetable for his return. He had three goals, 16 SOG, and two PIMs across five games played during his only season in Carolina in 2022-23.

Miromanov last appeared for the Golden Knights on December 31st, 2022 after he was forced to miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season with a lower-body injury and will be out long-term to start the 2023-24 campaign. The 26-year-old defenseman appeared in 14 games last season and picked up two goals, four assists, 22 SOG, two PIMs and a -6 plus/minus prior to his injury.

Lehner did not appear in 2022-23 for Vegas due to hip and back injuries and is expected to start the 2023-24 season on the Long-Term Injured Reserve due to hip surgery. The 32-year-old goaltender last appeared for Vegas in 2021-22 and posted a 23-17-2 record with a .907 SV% and 2.83 GAA. He will hope to be back at some point with Vegas to continue his 12-year NHL career where he has appeared for five different teams (OTT, BUF, NYI, CHI, VGK).

Wideman had six assists, 81 PIMs, 31 SOG and a -6 plus/minus in 2022-23 with Montreal and will begin the 2023-24 campaign out indefinitely due to a back injury. The 33-year-old defenseman has played for four NHL teams across six seasons (OTT, EDM, FLA, MTL) and has 20 goals, 58 assists, 252 PIMs and 368 SOG through 291 career games played.

Barlow was drafted by the Jets in the 2023 first-round (18th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Winnipeg worth $3.6 million ($1,200,000 AAV). The 18-year-old left-winger had an exceptional season captaining the Owen Sound Attack (OHL) as he picked up 46 goals, 33 assists, 29 PIMs and a +14 plus/minus through 59 games played. He is expected to return to Owen Sound for the 2023-24 season but will have a chance to make an impact in Jets camp.

Savoie suffered the injury just one shift into the Sabres' Prospect Showcase on Monday. Savoie will miss the start of training camp and will likely start the 2023-24 season in the AHL. The 19-year-old is one of the Sabres' top prospects and is coming off of a season where he had 95 points (38G / 57A) in 62 games with the Winnipeg Ice (WHL).

Quinn's original timetable was 4-to-6 months, but the latest update suggests that he'll be be back at the tail-end of that timeline. Quinn had a solid rookie season, scoring 14 goals with 23 assists (37 points) in 75 games. He figures to be a key figure in the Sabres' middle-6 once he returns to the lineup.

Murray was 14-8-2 with a .903 SV% and 3.01 GAA in his first season in Toronto in 2022-23 but will now miss a large portion of the 2023-24 season as he is set to undergo a significant surgery (undisclosed) and will remain on LTIR. The 29-year-old goaltender has had his career hampered by injuries the last few seasons but will hope to be back to improve on his career 146-86-24 record, alongside his 2.79 GAA and .910 SV% in 272 games played.

Muzzin was only able to play in four games in 2022-23 with the Maple Leafs and picked up an assist and eight SOG across that span before missing the majority of the season due to a Cervical Spine injury. He is expected to spend the entire 2023-24 season on the long-term injured reserve for the final year of his contract. The 34-year-old defensemen is currently sitting on 69 goals, 294 points, and 399 PIMs across 683 career games played.

Jenik had seven goals, 16 assists, 50 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Arizona worth $775,000. The 23-year-old forward had appeared in 17 games for the Coyotes across the previous three seasons, picking up four goals and an assist. He was the Coyotes 2018 third-round Draft Pick (65th overall) and will be hoping to stick with the big club for a full season.

Sokolov appeared in five games for the Ottawa Senators in 2022-23 and picked up a goal and an assist with a +2 plus/minus and signed a one-year, two-way contract extension Tuesday. The 23-year-old winger also had 21 goals, 38 assists, 72 PIMs and a -15 plus/minus through 70 games with Belleville (AHL) last season. He will provide Ottawa with more lineup depth after earning 13 games of NHL experience in the last two seasons.

DeSmith was 15-16-4 with a .905 SV% and a 3.17 GAA in 38 games played with Pittsburgh in 2022-23 and has been traded to Vancouver for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick. The 32-year-old has spent his entire five-year career in Pittsburgh after breaking into the NHL in 2017-18 and has a 58-44-15 record, with a .912 SV% and 2.81 GAA through 134 career games played. He carries a $1,800,000 cap hit into the 2023-24 season.