NHL Hockey Player News

The Coyotes picked Johansson up on waivers and he was only able to appear in one preseason game before getting hurt. The lack of evaluation could hurt Johansson's chance of landing the No.2 role behind Karel Vejmelka.

Sergachev was banged up in Thursday's preseason game and has yet to practice since, but head coach Jon Cooper expects him to play good-to-go on Tuesday. Sergachev had seven goals and 31 assists (38 points) in 78 games a season ago.

Kovacevic was a third-round pick in 2017 and appeared in four NHL games with the Jets last season. He spent most of the season in Manitoba (AHL), where he had 11 goals and 19 assists (30 points) in 62 games.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar has confirmed star centre Nathan MacKinnon is day-to-day after leaving practice early Saturday. MacKinnon hopes to be ready and healthy for the Avalanche's opening game Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 27-year-old signed an eight-year, $100,800,000 contract extension this past September after finishing 2021-22 with 32 goals and 88 points in 65 games. It was his fifth straight season finishing above a point-per-game and his seventh straight with 200 or more shots on goal.

The Canucks' injury woes continued as General Manager Patrik Allvin spoke with the media Friday night and confirmed forward Phil Di Giuseppe will miss 2-4 weeks with a lower-body injury. It is a tough blow for the 28-year-old winger who was trying to crack the Canucks roster after having not played in the NHL since the 2020-21 season where he put up eight points in 31 games as a member of the New York Rangers. He enjoyed a strong 2021-22 campaign with the Canucks AHL affiliate in Abbotsford, collecting 12 goals and 36 points in 42 games.

Canucks' General Manager Patrik Allvin spoke with the media Friday night and confirmed Travis Dermott is out indefinitely due to a concussion. Dermott left Tuesday's practice after taking a small hit and feeling a bit off. The 25-yyear-old joined the Canucks after being traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2022 third round pick at the 2021-22 trade deadline. The young defenseman struggled to find his footing in his first 17 games with the Canucks collecting only 2 points (1G/1A) and only nine shots in his first go with the club. They will hope he is back sooner rather than later as he deals with the concusion.

Kevin Lankinen will get the start between the pipes Saturday in Prague. He will get his first start as a Predator after posting a .901 SV% in 69 Career games played with the Chicago Blackhawks across two seasons. He will look to continue the Predators' winning ways after they won the inaugural game of the season 4-1 on Friday.

Kahkonen will get the second of the back-to-back starts for the Global Series in Prague. The 26-year-old will get his first nod between the crease this season after posting a .916 SV% and 2.86 GAA across 16 games after getting dealt to the Sharks' at the trade deadline in 2021-22.

Dickinson, who had 11 points (5G / 6A) in 62 games with the Canucks last season, was going to be at the bottom of the Canucks lineup heading into 2022-23. With Tyler Myers banged up, the Canucks seemed to think they needed defensive depth more than the bottom-6 forward.

Stillman appeared in 52 games with the Blackhawks in 2022, scoring two goals with 10 assists (12 points), while delivering 122 hits and blocking 67 shots. Stillman is likely insurance for Tyler Myers, who suffered a lower-body injury this week.

Myers was not on the ice for Thursday's practice, and the Canucks announced on Thursday that he would miss at least two weeks. Based on the timeline, expect Myers to miss anywhere from five-to-11 games. Kyle Burroughs or Christian Wolanin are expected to take Myers' spot in the lineup for the season opener.

Weegar signs an 8 X $6.25 million contract with the Flames after being acquired in the offseason as part of the Jonathan Huberdeau and Matthew Tkachuk mega deal. The 28-year-old comes off an 8-goal, 44-point breakout season in 2021-22 fueled by a career-high 23:22 average time-on-ice. He was one of 13 defensemen last season to pass 200 shots (203) finishing ninth in plus/minus (+40) across the entire NHL.

Hoffman was not on the ice for Friday's practice and is considered day-to-day. Until the Canadiens provide more details, consider Hoffman questionable for their season opener vs. the Maple Leafs next Wednesday.

Dvorak was not on the ice for Friday's practice and is considered day-to-day. Until the Canadiens provide more details, consider Dvorak questionable for their season opener vs. the Maple Leafs next Wednesday.

Tavares skated with the team for the first time since suffering an oblique strain on September 24th. Tavares' original timeline was three weeks, suggesting he could miss the first four games of the season. Returning to the ice on Monday, albeit in a non-contact jersey, suggests that he may be a little bit ahead of schedule.

Kylington missed training camp and still has yet to join the Flames due to a personal matter. There's no word on when he's expected to rejoin the team, so consider him out indefinitely and look for Nicolas Meloche to serve as the Flames' No.6 defenseman in his absence.

Grzelcyk's original timetable was set for mid-November, but the Bruins defenseman is ahead of schedule and expects to be back a couple of weeks earlier. Grzelcyk will likely take over as the quarterback on PP1 while Charlie McAvoy is sidelined.

Hall is apparently ahead of schedule in his recovery from an upper-body injury. According to Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, Hall may be back "sooner than week-to-week." The Bruins' season starts next Wednesday (Oct.12) so keep an eye on Hall's progress over the weekend.

Sturm missed the Sharks' final preseason game with an undisclosed injury but is a "full go" for the first game of the season, according to head coach David Quinn. Sturm, who had nine goals and 11 assists (20 points) in 74 games last season, will make his Sharks debut on the fourth line with Jonah Gadjovich and Steven Lorentz on his wings.

Unsurprisingly, Saros will start the Predators' season opener vs. the Sharks in Prague, Czech Republic. Saros is coming off of a career-high 67 starts, going 38-25-3 with a 2.64 GAA and .918 SV%. Saros dominated the Sharks last season, going 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA, .986 SV% and two shutouts.