Jones will not have to wait long to face his former team as he will head back to Los Angeles to make his Sharks debut on Wednesday. He was terrific in the preseason with his new club, going 3-1-0 with a 0.76 GAA, .970 SV% and two shutouts. In two years in Jonathan Quick’s shadow, Jones posted 16 wins, a 1.99 GAA, a .9233 SV% and seven shutouts in just 34 games.
Lundqvist comes into the season after going 2-0-0 with a 2.25 GAA and .933 SV% in three preseason outings. He didn’t face the Blackhawks last season, but he was a strong 14-5-1 with a 2.14 GAA and .925 SV% in 20 road starts. He is one of the league’s top goaltenders and in a short fantasy week, he should be started in all formats, despite a tough matchup.
Crawford has a career high of 59 starts and despite the emergence of Scott Darling a season ago, head coach Joel Quenneville plans on starting Crawford close to 60 games again this season. Crawford is a strong No. 1 fantasy netminder when he is starting consistently behind one of the best teams in the NHL. He has a career 2.34 GAA and .917 SV% coming into his ninth NHL season.
This move is believed to be a procedural move to help set them up to get down to their 23-man roster and sneak under the league’s salary cap. Maatta is expected to be recalled prior to their season opener and he should be in the lineup on Thursday.
King was injured in the Kings’ preseason finale and is expected to miss an extended period of time. King’s movement to IR allows the Kings to keep another player on the roster until King is healthy enough to return.
O’Neill, 27, nearly made the Kings roster out of training camp, but has been dealt to the Devils, where he is expected to be a part of their 23-man roster. The 5-foot-8, 165 lbs. winger had 22 goals and 58 assists (80 points) in 71 games with Manchester (AHL) last season.
Zacha, 18, was the sixth overall pick in this summer’s draft, but was unable to crack the Devils opening night roster. Zacha heads back to the OHL, where he had 16 goals and 18 assists (34 points) in 37 games a season ago.
Skille had one goal and one assist in five preseason games on a tryout with the Avalanche. It was enough to earn him a roster spot and he could be in the lineup for their season opener.
Robidas has been battling a knee and groin injury throughout the preseason so he was placed on IR to open up a roster spot for someone else. There is no timetable for his return.
Silfverberg did not practice on Tuesday, but did skate on his own. He has been cleared for practice and should be able to get into the season opener since the Ducks don’t play until Saturday. He is currently skating on a line with Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano.
Witkowski had no points and a minus-1 rating in three preseason games. The Lightning have a deep blueline which pushed Witkowski back to the AHL.
Marchessault has just one assist and a minus-3 rating, but did register 10 shots on goal in four preseason games. However, it was not enough to earn him a spot on the Lightning’s opening night roster.
Gudlevskis appeared to have the inside track to be Ben Bishop’s backup to start the season after Andrei Vasilevskiy got injured. However, after the Lightning claimed Kevin Poulin off of waivers, it became clear Gudlevskis was heading back to the AHL. He had a 3.33 GAA and .884 SV% in two preseason games.
Smith, 26, lost the Bruins’ backup job to Jonas Gustavsson and has been sent back to Providence where he will split the crease with Malcolm Subban. Smith was 22-11-5 with a 2.05 GAA and .933 SV% in 39 games with Providence last season.
Harrison had five points (2G / 3A) in 35 games with the Jets after being acquired from the Hurricanes last season. The 32-year-old will head back to the AHL for the first time since 2009-10 when he played 32 games with Albany.
Panik, 24, had 11 goals and six assists (17 points) in 76 games with the Maple Leafs last season. Toronto brought in a tonne of depth pieces this offseason which continuously push Panik down the depth chart, to the point where he has been placed on waivers with the intention of sending him to the minors.
Biega, 27, had one goal in seven games with the Canucks last year. The 2006 fifth round pick heads back to Utica where had 19 points (3G / 16A) in 62 games.
Vey, 24, spent last year with the Canucks, but lost out to the Canucks’ younger prospects like Jared McCan and Jake Virtanen. Vey will head to the AHL for the first time since 2013-14, when he had 48 points (14G / 34A) in 43 games with Manchester.
Corrado, 22, had one goal in 10 games with the Canucks last season and 16 points (7G / 9A) in 35 games with their AHL affiliate in Utica. Corrado is a strong puck-moving defenseman who should spend the year in the NHL after being claimed by the rebuilding Maple Leafs.
Byron, 26, has been a nice depth piece for the Flames over the last few seasons, but after Zack Kassian was suspended indefinitely on Monday, the Habs claimed Byron from Calgary. Byron had six goals and 13 assists (19 points) in 57 games with the Flames last season.
