Alexeyev did not appear in Washington's only game of the season but is expected to make his 2023-24 debut Monday as the Capitals' take on the Flames at home. The 23-year-old defenseman had five assists, 28 SOG, four PIMs, and a -2 plus/minus through 32 games as a rookie in 2022-23. He should be replacing Lucas Johansen in the Capitals' lineup Monday.
Mantha's frustrating tenure with the Capitals continues as he is expected to be a healthy scratch on Monday night. He had zero points and failed to record a shot on goal in 11:52 time-on-ice in the Capitals' season-opener. He has 58 points (24G / 34A) in 119 games as a Capital and is expected to be replaced by Aliaksei Protas on the fourth line.
Bemstrom is expected to play in his second game of the season after being scratched by the Blue Jackets on Saturday. He recorded two shots on goal in 14:27 time-on-ice in his only game of the season. The 24-year-old had a career-high 22 points (7G / 15A) in 55 games last season.
Jarry will get his second start for the Penguins in as many games and look to help them secure their first victory of the season. Despite a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Jarry played reasonably well in the season opener, saving 32 of 35 shots. The Penguins are -120 road favourites against the Capitals, who will be playing their first game of the season.
Jarry picked up 24 wins for the Penguins in the 2022-23 season to go along with a 2.90 GAA and a .909 SV% across 47 appearances. He is expected to command a heavy workload for the Penguins this season and will get the nod in their season opener against Chicago. Jarry looks to be one of the safer starts on the slate as the Penguins are heavy favourites over Connor Bedard’s Blackhawks tonight.
After clearing waivers earlier this week, Jones has now been traded to the Avalanche in exchange for Cal Burke. The Texas native has 217 career games under his belt, tallying 50 points (14G / 36A) in that span. Jones will likely serve as a depth defenseman for the Avalanche this season.
Jones had four goals, 12 assists, 86 SOG, 40 PIMs, and a -19 plus/minus through 73 games played with Chicago in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Carolina. The 26-year-old defenseman will join his third NHL team (CHI, EDM) after being taken in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft (117th overall). He has 14 goals, 50 points, 80 PIMs, and 225 SOG through 217 career NHL games played so far across his five-year career.
Hamaliuk was acquired by Pittsburgh as part of the three-way trade involving San Jose and Montreal that saw superstar Erik Karlsson also land with the Penguins. The 22-year-old left-winger was San Jose's 2019 second-round pick (55th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut. In 2022-23 he had three goals, nine points and 37 PIMs across 44 games with San Jose (AHL) in his first professional season.
Karlsson was acquired by Pittsburgh as part of a massive blockbuster trade with involves both San Jose and Montreal. The 33-year-old defensemen is fresh off of winning the 2022-23 Norris Trophy after a season which saw him surpass 100+ points for the first time in his career with 25 goals, 76 assists, 209 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -26 plus/minus through 82 games with San Jose last season. The addition of the superstar brings 178 goals and 761 points in 920 games alongside three Norris Trophies to the Penguins' blue line.
Johnsson had three assists, 18 SOG, six PIMs and a -6 plus/minus through 13 games with both New Jersey and San Jose in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $800,000 AAV contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 28-year-old left-winger will be hoping for a resurgent season in the NHL after spending most of 2022-23 in the minors (AHL). He joins Pittsburgh with 48 goals and 116 points across 259 career NHL games with Toronto, New Jersey and San Jose across six seasons.
Imama had five goals, 10 assists, 109 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus with the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Ottawa. The 26-year-old left-winger also appeared in five games for Arizona last season but failed to pick up a point to go along with his five PIMs and -2 plus/minus. He brings a goal, 10 PIMs and nine games of NHL experience to the Senators.
Koppanen had an assist, two SOG, and four PIMs through five games with Boston in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55 million ($775,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 25-year-old left-winger was Boston's 2016 fifth-round pick (135th overall) and made his NHL debut in 2022-23.
Shea had seven goals, 21 assists, 36 PIMs and a +37 plus/minus through 70 games with the Texas Stars (AHL) and has signed a one-year, one-way $775,00 contract with Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old was drafted by Chicago in 2015 in the fourth-round (121st overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut despite his constant success at the AHL level.
Graves had eight goals, 18 assists, 141 SOG, 28 PIMs and a +34 plus/minus through 78 games played with New Jersey in 2022-23 and has signed a six-year, $27 million contract ($4,500,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old led the NHL in plus/minus in 2019-20 with Colorado (+40) and has racked up 28 goals and 100 points across 302 NHL games in his career thus far.
Harvey-Pinard had 14 goals, six assists, 58 SOG, 10 PIMs and a +7 plus/minus through 34 games with Montreal in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension. The 24-year-old left-winger was a seventh-round pick in 2019 (201st overall and broke out in 2022-23 as the rest of the Canadiens roster struggled.
Wotherspoon has appeared in 293 AHL games since 2016, but finally made his NHL debut for the Islanders in 2023. He had just one assists in 12 games and signs with the Bruins, where he'll end up back in the AHL to start the 2023-24 season.
Jarry was 24-13-7 with a 2.90 GAA and .909 SV% in 2022-23 and has signed a five-year contract extension worth $26.875 million ($5.375M AAV). The 28-year-old goaltender was drafted by the Penguins in the second-round of the 2013 draft (44th overall) and has a 117-60-20 career record, 2.65 GAA and .914 SV% through seven seasons in Pittsburgh.
Acciari had 14 goals, nine assists, 102 SOG, 21 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 77 games with both St.Louis and Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year contract worth $6.0 million ($2.0M AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old hard hitting forward has amassed 384 games played throughout his eight year career and has picked up 59 goals and 100 points in 384 games.
Clifton spent the first five seasons of his NHL career in Boston, tallying 43 points (10G / 33A) across 232 games. The 2023 season was his best to-date, posting 23 points (3G / 18A) with 120 blocked shots and 208 hits in 78 games. He brings a hard-nosed style to the Sabres' blueline and should fit well on their second pairing, potentially as a partner to up-and-comer Owen Power.
Hayes is coming off of one of the best seasons of his nine-year career, posting 54 points (18G / 36A) in 81 games. However, most of that production came in the first half of the season, with Hayes picking up just seven points (1G / 6A) in his final 28 games. With the Flyers retaining 50 percent of Hayes' contract, he will only cost the Blues $3.571 million over the next three seasons. He will likely settle in as a middle-6 centre in St. Louis behind Robert Thomas.
