NHL Hockey Player News

Ilya Sorokin has fully recovered from offseason back surgery but will start the season backing up Varlamov, as he did for much of the stretch run and into the playoffs last season. Varlamov has a report with head coach Patrick Roy from their days with the Colorado Avalanche and could find himself in a position to garner more starts again this season if his play warrants it. The 36-year-old Varlamov is coming off a solid 2023-24 campaign, posting a .260 GAA and .918 SV% in 28 games (14-8-4).

The Penguins will likely turn to Jarry between the pipes in their season opener against the New York Rangers on Wednesday. With Alex Nedeljkovic injured, Jarry should see a heavy workload in the Penguins' crease for the foreseeable future. Jarry went through inconsistent stretches last season, losing the starting role to Nedeljkovic in the latter end, but was mostly serviceable, posting a 2.91 GAA, a .903 SV%, and six shutouts in 51 games (19-25-5). The Penguins enter action as +123 home underdogs against the Rangers.

Juuse Saros had a maintenance day, resulting in Murray being recalled from the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). Murray's call-up was most likely precautionary as Saros isn't expected to miss any time. The 26-year-old Murray spent most of the 2023-24 campaign in the AHL, posting a 3.02 GAA and .896 SV% in 31 games (14-15-2) with the Texas Stars.

With the departure of Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils, the Flames start the season with Vladar and Dustin Wolf as their two netminders. Vladar will get the first opportunity to make his case for the starting position in their season opener against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Vladar is coming off the worst season of his young career, posting a 3.62 GAA and .882 SV% in 20 games (8-9-2). The Flames enter action as +164 road underdogs against the Canucks.

Despite having only 69 games of experience in his NHL career, the Seattle Kraken had no reservations about signing Daccord to a five-year, $25 million contract extension. The 28-year-old Daccord had a breakout 2023-24 campaign, posting an impressive 2.46 GAA, .916 SV%, and three shutouts in 50 games (19-18-11). Daccord served as the backup to Philipp Grubauer in Seattle's season opener, a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues, but should, at the very least, split time in the crease for the duration of the season.

Lindgren suffered an upper-body injury early in training camp and is currently two weeks into his initial four-week timeline. The 26-year-old Lindgren will be an important part of the Rangers defensive core when he is healthy. He had 17 points (3G / 14A), 103 blocks, and 114 hits in 76 games last season.

Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's season debut on Friday as part of the NHL Global Series in Prague but was unavailable for their contest on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. The 19-year-old Benson appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points. The Sabres return to action on Thursday, at home, against the Los Angeles Kings.

Peterka left Buffalo's Global Series game in Prague on Saturday after just 1:39 TOI in the first period due to a concussion but returned to team practice on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Peterka broke out last season with 50 points (28G / 22A) in 82 games and appears to be nearing a return to the lineup. The Sabres next game is at home on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Originally expected to start the season opener for the Maple Leafs, Woll will not play on Wednesday night due to a lower-body issue. Anthony Stolarz will make his Maple Leafs debut in the crease and will likely be backed up by Dennis Hildeby, who was recalled on an emergency basis from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) earlier today. The 26-year-old Woll battled injuries last season and was limited to only 25 appearances (12-11-1), posting a 2.94 GAA and .907 SV%.

Stolarz was signed by the Maple Leafs in the offseason under the presumption that he would be a heavy-workload backup behind Joseph Woll, but he will start for their season opener as Woll is battling through lower-body tightness. The 30-year-old Stolarz posted career bests with a 2.03 GAA and .925 SV% in 27 games with the Florida Panthers last season (16-7-2). Stolarz also set a career-high with 24 starts last season and has only started more than 12 games twice in his career, but the expectation is that Stolarz should set a new career-high in starts this season. The Maple Leafs enter the action on Wednesday as -190 road favorites against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Penguins will likely turn to Jarry between the pipes in their season opener against the New York Rangers on Wednesday. With Alex Nedeljkovic injured, Jarry should see a heavy workload in the Penguins' crease for the foreseeable future. Jarry went through inconsistent stretches last season, losing the starting role to Nedeljkovic in the latter end, but was mostly serviceable, posting a 2.91 GAA, a .903 SV%, and six shutouts in 51 games (19-25-5). The Penguins enter action as +123 home underdogs against the Rangers.

In the final year of his contract, Ullmark has signed a massive contract extension with the Ottawa Senators before even playing his first regular season game in their uniform. Ullmark was acquired by the Senators along with a first-round pick in the offseason in a trade that sent Jonas Korpisalo and Mark Kastelic to the Boston Bruins. Ullmark enjoyed tremendous success in his three years in Boston, including a Vezina Trophy and William Jennings Trophy in 2023. He went 88-26-10 with. A 2.28 GAA and .924 SV% in 130 games with the Bruins while splitting time with Jeremy Swayman.

With Thatcher Demko sidelined for at least the next several weeks, Silovs has been thrust into the Canucks starting role, just as he was in the playoffs. Silovs only has nine regular season games under his belt but gained 10 games of playoff experience (5-5-0) in the Canucks' playoff run, posting a 2.91 GAA and .898 SV%. With a strong performance on the net on Wednesday, Silovs could put himself in a position to handle a heavy workload in the first month of the season. The Canucks enter action as sizeable -203 home favorites against the Calgary Flames.

Verhaeghe has established himself as one of the premier goal scorers in the NHL and has been rewarded with an eight-year, $56 million contract extension. Over the past two seasons, in addition to some clutch playoff performances, the 29-year-old Verhaeghe has tallied 145 points (76G / 69A) and 521 shots in 157 regular-season games. He is currently suiting up on the top line and top powerplay unit for the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Boqvist took a clearing attempt to the face while the Panthers' were on the power play in the first period of Tuesday's game vs. the Bruins. This is a tough break for the often injured Boqvist, who had a great opportunity starting on the Panthers' PP1 to open the season. Aaron Ekblad took over for Boqvist on that unit.

Garland missed the Canucks' pre-season finale on Saturday but told reporters he will be good to go when the Canucks kick off their regular season on Wednesday. The 28-year-old winger will be looking to build off a successful 2023-24 campaign that saw him rack up 20 goals and 27 assists across a full 82 regular season games.

With prolonged contract negotiations that kept Jeremy Swayman from participating in any preseason games, the Bruins will turn to Korpisalo in their season opener against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Korpisalo was acquired as part of a trade in the offseason that sent Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators. The 30-year-old Korpisalo has shown flashes of brilliance in his career but has been mostly inconsistent, highlighted by a forgetful 2023-24 campaign with the Senators where he posted a 3.27 GAA and .890 SV% in 55 contests (21-26-4). The Bruins enter action as +137 road underdogs against the Panthers.

The Seattle Kraken will turn to Grubauer as their starting netminder for their season-opening matinee against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. The 32-year-old Grubauer begins his fourth season with Seattle but has been unable to find his previously elite form since joining the club. Last season, Grubauer struggled with injuries and lost his starting job to Joey Daccord while posting an unspectacular 2.85 GAA and .899 SV% in 36 games (14-16-2), despite those being the best totals in his tenure with Seattle. The Kraken enter action on Tuesday as -165 home favorites against the Blues.