The Blackhawks will turn to Knight between the pipes for their season-opening matchup on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old Knight was serviceable after being acquired by the Blackhawks last season, posting a 3.18 GAA and .893 SV% in 15 outings (5-8-2). Chicago enters Tuesday's contest as sizable +230 road underdogs against Florida.
Blueger missed practice on Sunday and will miss at least Vancouver's season opener. The Canucks will see how he responds in the next couple of days, but rookie Braeden Cootes looks poised to be in the opening night roster in Blueger's absence.
O'Brien has been sidelined for most of training camp due to a lower-body injury but appears to be nearing a return to the lineup. The 31-year-old grinder nicknamed "Spicy Tuna" appeared in 28 games for Utah in 2024-25, picking up two assists and 50 PIMs alongside 34 SOG.
Stenlund is battling an undisclosed injury and his status for Utah's season opener on Thursday is up in the air. The 28-year-old achieved career-highs in goals (11) and points (15) in 2023-24 across 81 games played.
Vlasic had his preseason cut short due to a lower-body injury, and has been ruled out of Chicago's season opener on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old Vlasic played all 82 games last season, averaging 23:16 time-on-ice and scoring 30 points (4G / 26A).
Dorofeyev missed the Golden Knights' preseason finale and is questionable for the season opener. Dorofeyev missed a big portion of the preseason due to a lower-body injury, but the Golden Knights haven't confirmed his status for Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Kings. That said, Dorofoyev was a full participant at practice on Tuesday and suited up on the team's top powerplay unit.
Lafferiere was banged up in the Kings' preseason game last Thursday and missed the preseason finale on Saturday, but was a full participant in the team's last two practices. The 23-year-old Laferriere had an impressive 2024-25 campaign, scoring 42 points (19G / 23A) in 77 games.
With Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body) sidelined to start the 2025-26 season, Colorado will turn to Wedgewood between the pipes for their season opener on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The 33-year-old Wedgewood played well in a supporting role after being acquired by Colorado early last season, posting a solid 1.99 GAA and .917 SV% in 19 appearances (13-4-1). Colorado enters Tuesday's contest as -109 road favorites against Los Angeles. Expect Colorado's crease to be exclusively occupied by Wedgewood until Blackwood returns from injury.
York was slated to skate on Philadelphia's top defensive pairing alongside Travis Sanheim, but it appears he will not be ready for Thursday's season opener against the Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old York averaged 20:47 time-on-ice and tallied 17 points (4G / 13A) in 66 games last season.
Kuemper's first season in Los Angeles was a major success, following his decline to mediocrity in his final season as a Washington Capital. The 35-year-old veteran netminder finished the 2024-25 campaign as the second runner-up for the Vezina trophy after posting an excellent 2.02 GAA, .921 SV%, and five shutouts in 50 games (31-11-7). Kuemper will be between the pipes for the Kings' season opener on Tuesday, entering the action as slight -101 home underdogs against the Colorado Avalanche.
Toews "tweaked something" in a preseason contest against the Minnesota Wild last Tuesday and finally returned to practiced on Sunday, upgrading his status to day-to-day. After missing the entirety of the previous two seasons, recovering from injuries, Toews signed in the offseason with his hometown team. The veteran forward scored 31 points (15G / 16A) in 53 games in his most recent season in 2022-23.
Hyman missed the second half of last year's playoffs after enduring an upper-body injury and will not be ready for the start of the 2025-26 regular season. At the beginning of training camp, Head Coach Kris Knoblach stated he is hopeful the 32-year-old can return in early November. Hyman is just one season removed from a 54-goal campaign in 2023-24 and will hope to get off to a hot start when he is able to return early in the season.
Tomasek is an undrafted 29-year-old forward who signed with the Oilers towards the end of last season. He is slated to make his NHL debut and could get a look on the Oilers' electric top powerplay unit, where he spent some time during the preseason. Tomasek scored 57 points (24G / 33A) in 47 games with Farjestads BK Karlstad (SweHL) last season.
Olivier-Joseph split time last season between the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins, averaging 15:16 time-on-ice and scoring three points (0G / 3A) in 47 games. The 26-year-old defenseman adds some depth to the Canucks' blueline but may have to wait to make his team debut as he recovers from injury.
Haight was the 47th overall pick of Minnesota in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old forward has yet to play an NHL game. He scored 34 points (20G / 14A) in 67 AHL games with the Iowa Wild last season.
Power has been absent from most of Buffalo's training camp due to an undisclosed injury, but could be ready for their season opener on Thursday against the New York Rangers. The 22-year-old Power is coming off a career-best season in 2024-25, scoring 40 points (7G / 33A) in 79 games. With Rasmus Dahlin locked into Buffalo's top powerplay unit, Power will likely spend most of the season quarterbacking the second unit upon his return.
The Canucks recalled Mancini, who is expected to be on their opening night roster on the third defensive pair alongside Elias Nils Pettersson. The 23-year-old Mancini played a career-high 16 games with the Canucks last season, scoring three points (1G / 2A).
Zuccarello will likely not be an option for Minnesota until late November, as he is recovering from a lower-body injury. The 38-year-old Zuccarello has remained productive for Minnesota, playing primarily alongside Kirill Kaprizov, including scoring 54 points (19G / 35A) in 69 games last season. Zuccarello's absence creates an opening in Minnesota's top six, which the team hopes can be filled by Vladimir Tarasenko, who is currently occupying a spot in the top six and on the top powerplay unit.
The start to Sturm's tenure in Minnesota has been delayed due to injury, as he will be sidelined for at least one week after being placed on Injured Reserve and is now expected to miss "a significant amount of time," according to Minnesota's Head Coach. After winning a cup with Florida in 2024-25, Sturm signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason. He is coming off a seven-goal, 14-point campaign across 62 games with both San Jose and Florida in 2024-25.
Starting their 2025-26 season with a back-to-back, the Canadiens will turn to Dobes between the pipes on the tail-end against the Detroit Red Wings. Dobes established himself as a serviceable netminder last season, outdueling Cayden Primeau to secure sole possession of backup duties behind Samuel Montembeault. The 24-year-old Dobes posted a 2.74 GAA, .909 SV%, and one shutout in 16 appearances (7-4-3) last season, his first taste of NHL action.
