NHL Hockey Player News

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.

The Canadiens will start their 2025-26 campaign by turning to Montembeault between the pipes on the front end of a back-to-back set. The Canadiens are coming off a successful season in which they snuck into the playoffs, aided by a strong campaign from Montembeault, who posted a 2.82 GAA, a .901 SV%, and four shutouts in 62 appearances (31-24-7). The Canadiens will start the season on the road, entering their contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs as +135 underdogs.

Despite being absent from practice on Tuesday due to personal matters, Marchenko will suit up for the season-opening contest on Thursday against the Nashville Predators. The 25-year-old Marchenko had a breakout 2024-25 campaign, posting 74 points (31G / 43A) in 79 contests. He is expected to start the 2025-26 season on a line with Sean Monahan and Dmitri Voronkov.

Silovs was acquired in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason to battle with Tristan Jarry for the Penguins' crease and appears to have a head start on opening night as he will tend the twine against the New York Rangers. The 24-year-old Silovs has limited NHL experience, having played a career-high 10 games with Vancouver last season (2-6-1), posting a 3.65 GAA and a .861 SV%. Expect the Penguins to alternate starts between their goaltenders unless one can establish themselves as the undisputed starter. The Penguins enter Tuesday's contest against the Rangers as +194 road underdogs.

Afanasyev was battling for an opening night roster spot on the Sharks but will likely start the 2025-26 campaign sidelined due to a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season in the KHL, where he scored 21 points (7G / 14A) in 53 games with CSKA Moscow. He is considered day-to-day.

Thompson is battling a lower-body injury and will likely be unavailable for San Jose's season opener after being announced day-to-day on Tuesday. The 23-year-old defenseman played a career-high 31 games with the Sharks last season, tallying 10 points (4G / 6A).

Benn suffered a collapsed lung after a hit during a preseason game and is expected to be reevaluated at the end of October. The 36-year-old is entering his 17th NHL season and has only missed two games across the previous four years. In 2024-25, he had 16 goals, 49 points and 70 PIMs in 80 games played.