NHL Hockey Player News

With San Jose announcing Alex Stalock as their Sharks Audio Network colour commentator this upcoming season, it drew the end of the goaltender's career after 11 NHL seasons with three different teams (SJS, MIN, CHI). The 37-year-old was drafted by San Jose in the 4th round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft (112th overall) and posted a 70-65-20 career record alongside a .908 SV% and 2.70 GAA in 179 lifetime appearances.

Islanders' GM Lou Lamoriello said that Sorokin could miss the first couple of days of training camp but there's no concern about his injury extending into the regular season. Sorokin will be looking to bounce-back in 2024-25, after posting career worsts in GAA (3.01) and SV% (.908) in 56 games last season.

Lehkonen underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and will not be a full participant in Avalanche training camp. At this point, there's no firm timeline for his return to the Avalanche lineup. Lehkonen should be a back of your roster IR stash in Fantasy Drafts this fall.

Calgary solidified some of their offensive depth on Thursday after they re-signed former 1st-round pick (2019 - 26th overall) Jakob Pelletier to a one-year, two-way contract worth $800,000. The 23-year-old left-winger appeared in 13 games in 2023-24 and had a goal, three points, and nine SOG while averaging just 9:16 TOI/GP in a bottom-six role.

Bad news came out of New Jersey's camp on Thursday morning as they announced their star 21-year-old defender Luke Hughes suffered a left-shoulder injury during offseason training and is expected to miss the next 6-to-8 weeks as he recovers. The sophomore defenseman is expected to return between October 24th and November 7th and will play a key role in the Devils' back end. In 2023-24, he had nine goals, 47 points, 135 SOG, 28 PIMs and a -25 plus/minus in 82 games played.

Months after speculation of his signing, Jani Hakanpaa has agreed to a one-year, $1.47 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 32-year-old stay-at-home defenseman will join his fourth NHL team in his seventh season after putting up two goals, 12 points, 33 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus in 64 games with Dallas in 2023-24.

Adam Larsson will continue to patrol Seattle's blueline for four more seasons after the towering defensemen signed a four-year, $21 million contract extension ($5,250,000 AAV) on Tuesday. The 31-year-old is entering his 14th NHL season and fourth with Seattle after putting up four goals, 18 points, a +6 plus/minus and 55 PIMs in 81 games in 2023-24.

After 12 NHL seasons and 607 games played Jordie Benn has announced his retirement from professional hockey on Tuesday. Benn's career started with an unconventional route after he entered the NHL as an undrafted free agent with Dallas in 2011-12. The 37-year-old ends his NHL career with 26 goals, 137 points, 244 PIMs and a +19 plus/minus in 607 games played with six separate organizations (DAL, MTL, VAN, WPG, MIN, TOR).

Nick Robertson's offseason saga gained a new story on Tuesday after the winger signed a one-year, $850,000 contract extension amidst rumours circulating all summer of him wanting a trade out of Toronto. The 22-year-old is still expected to be traded despite the newest contract according to Frank Seravalli. The Maple Leafs' 2019 2nd-round pick (53rd overall) appeared in a career-high 56 games with Toronto in 2023-24, with 14 goals, 27 points and 96 SOG while averaging just 11:23 TOI/GP.

Calgary added to its defensive depth on Tuesday by bringing in both Tyson Barrie (PTO) and Jarred Tinordi on a one-year, two-way contract worth $800,000. Tinordi is a towering 6'6" defenseman entering his 10th NHL season with his seventh different team. In 52 games with Chicago in 2023-24, the 32-year-old had no goals, nine points, 64 PIMs and a -27 plus/minus.

Anaheim's goaltending depth was dealt a tough blow on Thursday as it was announced that Tomas Suchanek would miss the next six to eight months after successfully undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured ACL. The 21-year-old Czech netminder was expected to compete for the starting job in San Diego (AHL) this season after posting a 14-10-5 record, 910 SV% and 2.92 GAA in 29 games with the Gulls in 2023-24.

Anaheim was dealt a tough pre-training camp blow on Thursday as Beckett Sennecke announced he would be out for 6-to-8 weeks after suffering a foot fracture during off-season training. The 18-year-old right-wing prospect was Anaheim's 2024 1st-round selection (3rd overall) and was expected to compete for a roster spot in training camp prior to the injury. In 63 games with Oshawa (OHL) in 2023-24, he had 27 goals and 68 points.

A Toronto Marlies (AHL) defensive staple is returning for two more seasons after the Maple Leafs signed Marshall Rifai to a two-year, $1.55 million contract extension on Thursday. The 26-year-old undrafted defenseman made his NHL debut in 2023-24, appearing in two games and failing to pick up any points. Since joining the Marlies (AHL) from Harvard (NCAA) in 2022-23, Rifai has six goals and 35 points in 126 games played.

After 17 successful seasons, Alex Goligoski called it a career on Thursday. The 39-year-old represented four different organizations (DAL, ARI, PIT, MIN) and had 87 goals and 475 points in 1078 career games played. HIs final NHL season came with Minnesota in 2023-24, where he had 10 points, 18 PIMs and 32 SOG in 36 games played.

Anaheim added to San Diego's goaltending depth on Thursday after they signed Oscar Dansk to a one-year, two-way contract. The 30-year-old netminder had spent the last two seasons with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) and posted an 11-12-3 record with a .322 GAA and .897 SV% in 27 games played in 2023-24.

The Rangers announced Thursday that Marc Staal would be joining the team as a Player Development Assistant drawing an end to the 37-year-old's 17-year NHL playing career. The stay-at-home defender joined the NHL with New York in 2007-08 and ended up representing four different organizations (NYR, DET, FLA, PHI) across his impressive 1136-game career. He spent 2023-24 with Philadelphia and added five points in 35 games played to his 53 goals and 234 career points.

Canucks' fans received some excellent news on Tuesday as their star goaltender Thatcher Demko returned to the ice and is skating and working out with indications of being healthy for training camp. Demko was originally expected to miss the beginning of training camp as his offseason recovery was taking longer than expected but that news has been flipped with his return Tuesday. The 28-year-old was key in Vancouver's success last season, with his 35-14-2 record, 2.45 GAA, .918 SV% and 5 shutouts.

Edmonton locked up a massive piece of their future on Tuesday after the Oilers agreed to an eight-year, $112 million contract extension ($14,000,000 AAV) with Leon Draisaitl starting at the beginning of the 2025-26 season. The upcoming 2024-25 campaign will mark Draisaitl's 11th NHL season, having surpassed the 100+ point plateau in five of the last six years. He will look to build off last year's rare down(ish) campaign which saw him still pick up an impressive 41 goals and 106 points in 81 games played.

Krug will undergo surgery to address pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, which will force him to miss the 2024-25 season. According to the Blues, "the decision to undergo surgery was reached following an effort to rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical interventions." In an effort to replace Krug in 2024-25, the Blues signed Philip Broberg and Ryan Suter in the offseason.

Bortuzzo failed to pick up a point in 27 games played between St.Louis and the New York Islanders in 2023-24 but earned himself a one-year, two-way contract with Utah on Saturday. The 35-year-old stay-at-home defenseman is entering his 14th NHL season and has 20 goals and 74 points in 560 career games played. He will provide Utah with some much-needed defensive depth.