Kesselring left the Sabres' preseason game on October 1st after aggravating an injury that he'd been dealing with throughout camp. Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff said that Kesselring will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis, effectively ruling him out for the start of the regular season.
Perfetti suffered the ankle injury during the Jets' preseason finale after delivering a hit on Kevin Bahl in the second period. With Perfetti out to open the season, that opens a door in the Jets' top-6 and on the top power-play unit. Nikita Chibrikov is expected to get the first crack on the second-line with Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist, while it will likely be Alex Iafallo on PP1.
San Jose has acquired the contract of Ryan Ellis, and a 2026 6th-round pick from Philadelphia for Carl Grundstrom and Artem Guryev. Ellis is in the 7th year of an eight-year, $50 million contract, but is not eligible to play due to a significant back injury, making this trade a salary dump for Philadelphia. Ellis's last NHL appearance was in the 2021-22 season.
Grzelcyk joined Chicago in training camp on a PTO and has earned himself a one-year, $1 million contract with the Blackhawks just before the start of the regular season. Grzelcyk is entering his 10th NHL season after putting up a goal and 40 points in 82 games with Pittsburgh in 2024-25.
McBain has battled an illness and an injury that have limited his preseason availability, but he will be ready to play in Utah's season opener next week. The 25-year-old McBain was productive from Utah's bottom-six last season, scoring a career-high 27 points (13G / 14A) and tallying 291 hits in 82 contests.
Cooley has been absent for most of the preseason, tending to an undisclosed injury, but will be available to play in Utah's season opener next week. The 20-year-old Cooley is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign, scoring 65 points (25G / 40A) in 75 games. He's slated to center a potentially dynamic top-line for an exciting and young Utah Mammoth club between Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka.
Colorado added some depth to their blueline on Friday, claiming Solovyov off of waivers from the Calgary Flames. The 25-year-old hard-hitting defenseman has four points (0G / 4A) and 26 hits in 15 career games over the past two seasons.
With several lingering and long-term injuries, the Panthers added some offensive depth by claiming Cole Schwindt off of waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights. The 24-year-old Schwindt played a career-high 42 games and scored eight points (1G / 7A) with the Golden Knights last season.
Kotkaniemi is inching closer to a return but still has not been cleared for contact. The 25-year-old Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, scored 33 points (12G / 21A) in 78 games last season. It's unclear when he will return to full-contact drills at practice.
The Panthers, already battling several key injuries, received promising news on Friday, announcing that Lundell is day-to-day and his upper-body injury will not keep him out of the lineup long-term. With Aleksander Barkov (knee) out for most, if not all of the season, Lundell is slated for an increased role and uptick in ice time in the 2025-26 season. The 24-year-old Lundell had a career-high 45 points (17G / 28A) in 79 games last season.
Hunt was the 65th overall pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft but never found a permanent role with the team, limited to only 13 total NHL games before being claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 23-year-old defenseman will hope to find stability in his return to Minnesota.
Smith only played 13 NHL games last season, split between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche, and has been signed to a two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. The 27-year-old Smith has 22 points (9G / 13A) in 168 career games.
Kesselring's regular-season debut with the Buffalo Sabres will be delayed after exiting Thursday's preseason game with an undisclosed injury and announcing he was out week-to-week on Friday. The 25-year-old is coming off a solid season with Utah, scoring 29 points (7G / 22A) and averaging 17:41 in 82 games.
