Norris has been out since late-February after undergoing his third surgery on his left shoulder. The Senators have been cautious with Norris throughout training camp to ensure he's ready to go for the start of the season. Tuesday will be his pre-season debut and he'll look to stay healthy this season after missing 106 games over the last two seasons.
Zub has been battling a lower-body during training camp but will suit up on Tuesday, which is a good sign that he'll be available for the Senators' season opener (Oct.10). Zub is coming off of the best season of his career, posting 25 points (5G / 20A), 139 hits and 122 blocked shots while averaging 21:01 TOI/GM in 69 games.
Jones has been sidelined during his first training camp with the Bruins due to an undisclosed injury. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters on Tuesday that he's "getting close," which is a good sign that he could be available for the Bruins' season opener.
Lindholm suffered an undisclosed injury on the first day of training camp and has yet to appear in a preseason game. His availability for Tuesday's game is a good sign that he'll be ready-to-go when the Bruins open their season on October 8th.
Saad and his wife are expecting their third child right around the time of the Blues' first road trip of the season. In Monday's practice, he skated on the "fifth line," an indication that the Blues are preparing to be without the veteran winger when their season starts on October 8th. While Saad is out, Zack Bolduc is expected to skate in the top-6, and his strong preseason could make Saad more of a bottom-6 option this season.
Karlsson worked out off-ice on Monday and is "going through the process" according to head coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins have said previously that they expect Erik Karlsson to be ready for the season opener, but he's running out of time to join his teammates fro practice.
Basha was Calgary's 2024 2nd-round pick (41st overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flames on Sunday. The 18-year-old left-winger has already returned to Medicine Hat (WHL) for his fourth season of junior hockey this year after putting up 30 goals and 85 points as the Tigers third highest scorer in 63 games played in 2023-24.
New York will be without one of their key bottom-six forwards to start the season after it was announced Jimmy Vesey injured his lower body in practice and would be out week-to-week. The 31-year-old is entering his third season in New York after joining on a PTO in 2022-23 and put up an impressive 13 goals, 26 points, 20 PIMs and 116 SOG in 80 games played in 2023-24.
St.Louis solidified their offensive depth on Monday as they came to a one-year, two-way agreement with 24-year-old Nikita Alexandrov. The tall centre was expected to take a step forward in his sophomore campaign in 2023-24, but struggled offensively with only two assists, four PIMs and 15 SOG in 23 games played. He will look to add on to the three goals and nine career points he has amassed through his 51 NHL games played across two seasons.
Alriksson was Vancouver's 2023 4th-round pick (107th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks on Sunday. The 19-year-old Swedish forward is entering his second season with Guelph (OHL) after a strong rookie campaign in 2023-24 which saw him put up 17 goals, 33 points and 35 PIMs in 67 games played. He will return to the Storm for his sophomore season in 2024-25.
Saturday was the first time that Robertson's practiced since undergoing foot surgery in the offseason. Stars assistant coach Alain Nasreddine said the team remains optimistic that Robertson will be in the lineup on opening night.
Bjugstad suffered an upper-body in the preseason and is expected to miss the start of the regular season. Utah head coach said that the veteran centre is still "quite far away," so expect that to open the door for Jack McBain to play a bigger role to open the season.
Doughty was hurt in an awkward play in Wednesday's preseason game and is now considered month-to-month after it was announced the 34-year-old would undergo surgery to repair a fractured ankle. It will be a significant loss for the Kings as Doughty has played in all but one game in the last two seasons, averaging nearly 26:00 TOI/GP. In 82 games in 2023-24, he had 15 goals, 50 points, 44 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus. Brandt Clarke is expected to take his spot on the Kings' top powerplay to start the season. Head Coach Jim Hiller did mention Doughty is expected back this season.
Mateiko was Washington's 2024 3rd-round pick (90th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday worth $889,167 AAV. The 18-year-old Latvian winger is expected to return to Saint Johns (QMJHL) for his third season of junior hockey after joining the Sea Dogs from Latvia in 2022-23. Mateiko was drafted after putting up 23 goals, 43 points and 20 PIMs in 49 games in 2023-24.
With New Jersey taking part in the Prague Global Series that starts on October 4th, it appears they will be without one of their big off-season acquisitions after it was announced Brett Pesce is still recovering from surgery for a fractured fibula and is considered week-to-week. Pesce signed a six-year contract to join New Jersey in the offseason after nine successful seasons on Carolina's blueline. In 70 games in 2023-24, he had three goals, 13 points, 20 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus while averaging 20:17 TOI/GP.
Gill was Philadelphia's 2024 2nd-round pick (59th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $975,000 AAV with the Flyers on Friday. The 18-year-old towering defenseman is expected to return to Rimouski (QMJHL) for the 2024-25 season where he put up 12 goals, 46 points and 62 PIMs during his Sophomore campaign in 65 games in 2023-24.
Stanley's run of injuries and bad luck continued on Friday after it was announced the 26-year-old would be undergoing knee surgery and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks. The towering defenseman has struggled to stay healthy throughout his entire four-year career, missing 120 of the last 164 games in the previous two seasons alone. In 2023-24, he struggled to get anything going offensively with a goal, two points, 36 PIMs and 29 SOG in 25 games played.
New Jersey's defensive core continued to take injury hits on Thursday after it was announced Santeri Hatakka would be out "more than day-to-day" after leaving Thursday's preseason game. The 23-year-old had a legitimate shot of making the Devils out of training camp after Luke Hughes was announced out due to injury, but will now, unfortunately, be joining his fellow young defender. In 12 games in 2023-24, he had two assists, 12 SOG and a +5 plus/minus while averaging just 14:39 TOI/GP.
Gibson's 2024-25 is already starting out on a negative note after Anaheim announced Thursday that the 31-year-old had undergone emergency appendectomy surgery on Wednesday and is expected to be out for approximately 3-6 weeks. The American netminder has failed to produce a save percentage above .900 in each of the last two seasons and beginning 2024-25 on the Injured Reserve is a tough way to ensure a bounce-back campaign after only 13 wins in 2023-24.
It was reported earlier Thursday that Doughty's initial x-ray showed an ankle fracture but the 34-year-old is scheduled for more additional imaging later in the day after leaving Wednesday's preseason game with an ankle injury. If the defensemen is forced to miss a chunk of time, it will be a significant loss for the Kings as Doughty has played in all but one game in the last two seasons, averaging nearly 26:00 TOI/GP. In 82 games in 2023-24, he had 15 goals, 50 points, 44 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus.
