On Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they have agreed to a contract extension with defenseman Wyatt Kaiser.
Kaiser was an RFA with the hopes of getting a deal done before training camp began, and the two sides were able to come together successfully. The deal is a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.7 million.
Kaiser set career highs in goals with four, points with 8, and games played with 57 during the 2024-25 season. He also managed to be a contributor in blocked shots and hits, which is part of what makes him a solid young defensive defenseman.
Despite the Blackhawks starting to build some nice depth on the back-end, they are mostly young players, so a good rotation will be necessary in 2025-26. Kaiser will be a part of the mix on the left side.
When the rosters came out for training camp, Kaiser's name did appear on it with the designation that he was without a contract. Now, he will be able to report to camp with no issues.
After taking a major step in the right direction in 2024-25, the Montreal Canadiens followed that up with a busy off-season. They notably brought in star defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders in a big trade. They also acquired a young forward in Zack Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Logan Mailloux.
While Dobson and Bolduc are the Canadiens' newcomers that are being talked about most, the Habs also brought in an interesting veteran forward who should not be ignored: Sammy Blais.
The Canadiens quietly signed Blais to a one-year, $775,000 contract back in July. This was after the 6-foot-2 forward spent all of the 2024-25 season in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, where he recorded 14 goals and 40 points in 51 regular-season games. He also made a big impact during Abbotsford's championship run this spring, recording six goals, 19 points, and 77 penalty minutes in 23 playoff games.
Now, after a successful season in the AHL, Blais will be looking to get back to the NHL level with the Canadiens. When looking at the Habs' group, it is fair to wonder if the 2014 sixth-round pick could make the Habs' roster as an extra forward with a strong training camp. His hard-nosed style of play and versatility could get him some consideration for their fourth line.
Blais last played at the NHL level with the St. Louis Blues in 2023-24, where he recorded one goal, seven points, and 194 hits in 53 games. It will now be interesting to see if he can claw his way back to the NHL with the Canadiens from here.
Media days have kicked off for the Vegas Golden Knights, and while the main focus is whatâs to come on the ice this season, that doesnât mean that the Knights canât have a little fun.
The series The Summer I Turned Pretty has taken the world by storm, and the ongoing question all summer has been: âAre you team Jeremiah or Conrad?â Based on Jenny Hanâs bestselling trilogy, the show follows Belly Conklin as she returns to Cousins Beach stirring up many emotions, and forces her to choose between two brothers.
Vegas Golden Knights Instagram
While it may not be so obvious, a few unexpected fans of the show are some of the Golden Knights themselves. The video includes fan favorites, defenseman Noah Hanifin, center Cole Schwindt, right-winger Mitch Marner, and center William Karlsson.
Turns out, even pro hockey players couldnât avoid the appeal of the show. All episodes are now streaming on Prime Video.
Personally, Iâm happy to hear that the Knights and I are on the same page.
Weâre almost at the start of the NHLâs 2025-26 regular season, and on THN.comâs Buffalo Sabres site, weâre nearing the conclusion of our exclusive player-by-player series in which we break down the expectations for each Sabres player this coming season.
Weâve already made our way through Buffaloâs goaltenders, blueliners, and the grand majority of the Sabresâ top-four lines of forwards. And in todayâs file, weâre analyzing the expectations for right winger Beck Malenstyn, a player who is firmly entrenched on Buffaloâs fourth line. Malenstyn may even be in danger of losing his job as an everyday NHL player.
But letâs get down to all the notable information about Malenstyn, then harbor an educated guess about whatâs most likely to be ahead for the 27-year-old in â25-26:
Player Name: Beck Malenstyn
Position: Left Winger
Age: 27
2024-25 Key Statistics: 76 games, four goals, 10 points, 10:32 average time on ice
2025-26 Expectations: As you can see by Malenstynâs individual numbers, heâs not a threat to go on a point-producing spree anytime soon. Malenstyn is almost the dictionary definition of what NHL management members want out of a fourth-line forward: heâs physical â he led all Sabres forwards with 191 hits last year â and heâs big at 6-foot-3 and can give you some decent minutes on defense. Other than that, youâre likely to come away disappointed with Malenstyn, who barely got to double-digits in points in his first year as a Sabre.
Weâre not saying Malenstyn isnât an NHLer, but in an era when every salary cap dollar saved is a dollar you can spend on a difference-maker, you can probably find young players on entry-level contracts making about a half-million less than Malenstyn makes to do the same job. Remember, this is a player who averaged 10-and-a-half minutes per game. We're obviously not talking about someone who is out there in crucial situations.
And given that this is Year 2 of Malenstynâs two-year contract, we wouldnât expect an announcement of a contract extension for him anytime soon. Indeed, with younger Sabres pushing up against him in Buffaloâs depth chart â players like first-year Sabres winger Josh Doan, and any one of Buffaloâs small army of young players -- seeking an opportunity to show what theyâre made of.
For better or worse, we know what Malenstyn is made of. Heâs an honest player, and one who can drop down, block shots and kill penalties for you. But heâs being relatively well-compensated as a fourth-liner, so heâs going to start the year on a line with right winger Justin Danforth and center Peyton Krebs.
Krebs still has some ceiling as an NHLer, and if he can come out of the gate thriving, Malenstynâs individual numbers could get a boost. But otherwise, we canât expect Malenstyn to be the catalyst for a surge in the offense generated by Buffaloâs fourth line.
Malenstyn may depart the Sabres at the end of this season, or sooner. He could be used as salary cap ballast to make an in-season trade work under Buffaloâs financial picture. But itâs difficult to envision Malenstyn as a long-term piece of the puzzle in Western New York.
The bottom line -- there are many players on Malenstynâs level, and even if the Sabres appreciate what he does, that means constant change is likely in the cards for him, and a new employer for him at this time next year. But he still has time to ensure he stays in Buffalo beyond this coming year.
The Montreal Canadiens had a game-changing off-season.
You donât win top spot in THN.comâs Summer Splash series if youâre not the cream of the crop in terms of off-seasons. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has done great work in improving the overall quality of the team with the trade acquisitions of star defenseman Noah Dobson and Zack Bolduc, and Montreal now has a terrific shot at improving on its solid 2024-25 season.
Still, when youâre rebuilding from the basement to the ceiling the way the Habs are, youâre still going to have some problem areas to deal with. And as the 2025-26 season appeared close on the horizon, the Canadiensâ chief problem area is their second-line center.
In six NHL seasons, Dach has played more than 58 games in a single season just one time â when he appeared in 70 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021-22. Even in the two seasons shortened by COVID-19, he missed at least part of the season.
All in all, Dach has appeared in only 269 career regular-season games, the 10th-most among the 2019 NHL draft class despite making the league right away. So itâs understandable why some observers would rather Hughes acquire a more experienced hand to be their second-line center. You want the proven commodity, and Dach is certainly not that.
From this writerâs perspective, thereâs simply not enough sample size for Dach to be adequately judged. And the truth is, Dach's scoring rate dropped significantly last season, from putting up 14 goals and 38 points in 58 games in 2022-23 to generating just 10 goals and 22 points in 57 games in 2025-26. Those numbers certainly arenât going to cut it as the Canadiensâ second-line center.
This coming year, Dach is about to have what is probably his last best shot at flourishing with the Habs and realizing the potential that came with being the third-overall draft pick in 2019. Heâs in the final season of a contract that pays him $3.36 million, but heâs not going to get a significant raise unless he improves significantly.
Thatâs just the law of the pro sports jungle, and if Dach doesnât realize his potential, he'll be quickly replaced, either internally or via a trade or free agent-signing next summer or sooner. The rubber is about to hit the road for Dach in a major way, and he needs a seriously solid start to the season â and throughout the season, for that matter â for him to solidify his status as a Canadiens fixture moving forward. The stakes are sky-high for him, and in that regard, heâs no different than the Canadiens as a whole.
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Forward Viktor Norringer, who played in Sweden last season and will be with the Muskegon Lumberjacks this fall, will also be at training camp. He was drafted by the Predators in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Harrington was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft and has since bounced around the league. He's played with the Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.
His best NHL season came in 2018-19, where he scored 17 points in 73 games with the Blue Jackets and four points in 10 playoff games. During the 2023-24 season, he played in Switzerland with Zurich SC and GCK Lions.
The Philadelphia Flyers drafted Ratcliffe in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft, but he has only played 10 NHL games since then.
He spent three and a half seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms from 2019 to 2023. Ratcliff was called up to Philadelphia for 10 games, scoring four points. In 2023, he was traded to the Nashville Predators and played 13 games with the Milwaukee Admirals.
As a free agent, he'd sign with the Chicago Wolves for the 2023-24 season, scoring 10 points before returning to Milwaukee for the 2024-25 season, where he played 13 games. Radcliffe has also attended the Blues' training camp on a professional tryout back in 2023.
Barch is just 18 years old and is coming off his first junior season with the Saginaw Spirit. In 27 games, he scored five points and logged 29 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he played in five games, recording a point and four penalty minutes.
Barch also competed for the Predators in the NHL Prospect Tournament this past weekend in Tampa.
The 19-year-old Kostov is entering his fourth junior season with the Flint Firebirds. He's coming off a strong campaign with Flint during the 2024-25 season, scoring 45 points in 68 games. He Kostov also had three points in five playoff games.
At 6-feet-4-inches, this is a player that could really jump out at camp for the Predators. He played for the Predators in the NHL Prospect Tournament this past weekend in Tampa.
On top of these five additions, Daniel Carr, Kyle Marino, Oasiz Wiesblatt, Zack Hayes, Chad Nychuk and T.J. Semptimphelter are all attending training camp on a tryout agreement.
Mar 27, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Jonathan Marchessault (81) goals is waved off after review from the NHL against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
As the 2025-26 season approaches, weâre previewing each of the Nashville Predatorsâ Central Division opponents.
This series will feature each team in chronological order and not their predicted order of finish in the division.
After the Blues brought in Jim Montgomery to replace Drew Bannister as head coach last November, things began to look up.
The team went 35-18-7 the rest of the way, and grabbed the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, getting back to the post-season for the first time since 2022.
Their reward: Matching up with the Winnipeg Jets, winners of the Presidentâs Trophy for posting the best regular-season record.
The Blues gave it everything they had, falling in double overtime in Game 7 of the first round.
As he begins his first full year with St. Louis, Montgomery will now have the expectations of getting back to the playoffs again. His other challenge will be to balance a mixture of seasoned veterans with youth.
Offense
After putting up 19 goals and 36 points in 72 games for the Blues last season, Zack Bolduc was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Logan Mailloux. Fourth-line center Radek Faksa, after one season with the Blues, returned to his former team, the Dallas Stars, in free agency.
Otherwise, the Bluesâ main offensive core is intact. Robert Thomas, who led the club with 81 points in 2024-25, will once again be the top center. Jordan Kyrou, who led the Blues in goals with 36, dodged off-season trade rumors and is also back.
The Blues are hoping for another great season from Dylan Holloway, who tallied 26 goals and 63 points in his first season. If he hadnât missed the playoff series against the Jets with a hip injury, who knows what might have been?
Pius Suter (25 goals, 46 points) signed a two-year contract with St. Louis in free agency, and should also give the offense a boost.
Defense
The Blues succeeded in getting younger on the blue line by waiving 34-year-old Nick Leddy and acquiring the 22-year-old Mailloux. Ryan Suter, 40, became a UFA.
After being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks last December, Cam Fowler (40 points in 68 games between the Blues and Ducks), will be counted on for veteran leadership. So willColton Parayko and Justin Faulk.
Philip Broberg showed why the Blues made a smart choice signing him to an offer sheet prior to last season, recording 29 points in 68 games.
Goaltending
Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer made a nice tandem in net last season. Binningtonâs 2.69 goals-against average was his best since 2020-21.
Hofer went 16-8-3 with a 2.65 GAA and .904 SP. Heâs 25, and signed a two-year, 6.8-million contract in June.
Special Teams
Overall, the Bluesâ power play ranked 16th in 2024-25. But they got significantly better after Jan. 1, scoring at a 26.7% clip the remainder of the season, ranking fifth during that span.
Things were not so great with the penalty-kill unit, finishing 28th &74.2%). Adding Pius Suter should be a big help, after he guided the Vancouver Canucks to a third-place ranking in the NHL in that department. Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich will also be back on the top PP and PK units.
Last Seasonâs Series
The Blues were a thorn in Nashvilleâs side in 2024-25, going 4-0-0 over the four-game series. Only the final contest, a 3-2 Preds loss on March 27, was close. St. Louis outscored the Predators 18-8 in the series.
2025-26 Season Series
The two teams wonât meet in the regular season until December, when theyâll square off three times: Dec. 11 in Nashville, Dec. 15 in St. Louis, and Dec. 27 also in St. Louis. The final get-together is Feb. 2 in Nashville.
The Bottom Line
The Central will be a tough division again this season with the likes of Dallas, Winnipeg, Colorado, etc. But if the Blues can be more consistent throughout the season and hang around, theyâll be in the playoff conversation.
The Ottawa Senators made it official on Wednesday: restricted free agent winger Alex Formenton will not be returning to the NHL club.
Formenton was one of five players from Canadaâs 2018 World Junior hockey team who were found not guilty on charges of sexual assault after a team banquet in London, the summer after the teamâs gold medal victory. The verdict came down a couple of months ago, and speculation on Formenton's future immediately began to swirl in Ottawa, since his playing rights still belonged to the Senators.
On Wednesday, the opening day of the 2025 Senators training camp, general manager Steve Staios was made available to the media and was asked, among many other things, to comment on Formentonâs status.
"Well, I've engaged in discussions with the agent," Staios said. "And I think both sides agree that it would be best for everybody for a fresh start (with a different team) for Alex."
Staios noted he has not spoken with Formenton directly and will now gauge the market to see if thereâs interest in an available trade for the player's rights. Formenton and the four other players are eligible to sign an NHL contract as of October 15th, but they cannot play until December 1st.
Formenton has already signed a 3.5-month deal with his former Swiss team, extending well into December. Still, itâs reasonable to assume contractual accommodations are in place that would allow him to return to the NHL this season, should a team pursue him.
HC AmbrĂŹ-Piotta welcomed the fleet-footed Formenton back warmly last week. On social media, the club shared a highlight package, images from his official team shoot, and even an in-house interviewâhis first hockey-related media appearance in years.
âYeah, it feels amazing," Formenton said. "To get back on the ice feels really good. Like Iâve said before, it feels like home here. Iâm so excited to get started and play in front of these fans.
âIt seems like a very tight group. Everyoneâs willing to fight for each other, and hopefully itâll be a very successful season. The fans deserve it, and everyone in that room deserves it.â
Formenton last played for the Senators during the 2021-22 season. He had 18 goals and 31 points in 79 games. But the 26-year-old is also maybe the fastest player to ever don a Sens uniform, and elite speed is always an enticing virtue. It's not enticing enough for the Sens to want to re-sign him, but maybe it's enough to bring back a modest asset in a trade.
Ratcliffe spent this past season with the Predators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, recording one goal and two assists in 13 games. This was after the 6-foot-5 winger spent the 2023-24 season with the Chicago Wolves, where he posted seven goals, 10 points, and 60 penalty minutes in 66 AHL games.
Ratcliffe was selected by the Flyers with the 35th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 26-year-old forward spent the majority of his time with the Flyers organization with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 162 games over five seasons with the Phantoms, he recorded 22 goals and 56 points.
Ratcliffe also played in 10 NHL games with the Flyers during the 2021-22 campaign, where he posted one goal, four points, 10 penalty minutes, and 18 hits. Since then, the London, Ontario native has not made an appearance at the NHL level and has spent each of the last three seasons exclusively in the AHL.
Ratcliffe's time with the Flyers came to an end during the 2022-23 season when he was traded to the Predators in exchange for future considerations. Now, he will be looking to earn a contract for the 2025-26 season from the Predators after landing this PTO.
The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that defenseman Simon Edvinsson has become a regular on the blue line, and will be expected to take on a top-four role in the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season.
The bad news is that he's not going to be available for Training Camp, which begins on Sept. 18, as well as the entire pre-season.
General manager Steve Yzerman explained during a virtual press conference on the eve of Training Camp that while Edvinsson won't be able to participate, they hope to have him back by the time they open the regular season on Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena.
"The only, only player at today who's not ready to go, who will be out for a few weeks, is Simon Edvinsson, who had a dealing with a lower body injury, and we'll have him ready to go sometime around the start of the regular season," Yzerman said.
Yzerman didn't elaborate as to what exactly the nature of Edvinsson's ailment was, or how it happened.
Edvinsson, who was Detroit's first round pick (6th overall) in 2021, played for FrĂślunda HC of the SHL in his native Sweden before coming overseas to North America to join the AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins for the 2022-23 campaign. He also appeared in nine regular season games with the Red Wings that season as so not to burn through a year of his entry-level contract.
He became a regular in the Detroit lineup towards the end of the 2023-24 season, joining the team on March 19 and remaining in place. He then skated in 78 games in what was his first full campaign in the NHL, recording seven goals with 24 assists along with a solid +12 rating.
He also ranked third among Red Wings defensemen, averaging 21:07 of ice time per night, just six seconds shy of teammate Ben Chiarot.
The 2025-26 NHL season will also be the third and final season of Edvinsson's entry level contract, and he'll be eligible for restricted free agency next offseason.
The chances of Edvinsson actually hitting the open market are low, as the Red Wings should have no real difficultly signing him to an extension.
Thanks to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers have an exciting new prospect everyone is hoping makes the NHL roster out of training camp this fall.
A reduced role for Nick Deslauriers and the losses of Joel Farabee, Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and Scott Laughton have opened up opportunities for the Flyers' young guns, and one who is poised to make the most of one of those opportunities is Nikita Grebenkin.
Grebenkin, 22, has been one of the early standouts in rookie camp and, in my estimation, looked head-and-shoulders above most of his peers and the New York Rangers youngsters he was going up against in the rookie series.
Earmarked for a bottom-six role just based on his size, playstyle, and skillset, Grebenkin, alongside Alex Bump, has a rather clear path to NHL time this season with the Flyers.
In fact, the former Maple Leafs prospect was called up by the Flyers on an emergency basis at the end of last season before a game against the Ottawa Senators, only for the emergency conditions to expire.
By rule, Grebenkin had to be re-assigned to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with whom he spent the rest of the season.
But, the hype he's managed to generate through his play (and affable personality) show exactly why the Flyers targeted him in the Laughton trade with the Maple Leafs.
Laughton, 31, has only one year remaining on his contract at a $3 million cap hit - the Maple Leafs are only paying half - and hasn't exactly fit in well in Toronto thus far.
The 2025-26 season will tell the story, but if Grebenkin manages to become a full-time NHLer, the Flyers will have comfortably won this trade - more so than they have already.
They will have replaced Laughton's presence and personality in the bottom-six with a player nine years younger and arguably more skilled in addition to adding a 2027 first-round pick, which could later be used to draft a player or leveraged in a trade to help the team improve in the short-term, as Flyers GM Danny Briere alluded to in his press conference Tuesday.
If that happens, the Flyers ought to bust out a thank-you letter to send to the Maple Leafs for making this trade in such an unfavorable and volatile NHL trade market for buyers.
Grebenkin was featured in one of the Flyers' media day posts ahead of training camp on Twitter/X on Wednesday morning, and he was also the thumbnail for the rookie game livestreams.
It would be unwise to read much more into it than that, but the Flyers clearly believe in this player, and Grebenkin has nearly instantly established himself as a much-watch prospect.
Briere believes Grebenkin, Bump, and the other prospects will be a reason to be excited about the Flyers this season, and it's going to be full steam ahead for the Russian winger in just a few days.
The Winnipeg Jets could look to add another bottom-six forward with Dillon Dube available following the controversial Hockey Canada legal cases.
The hockey news cycle has shifted recently following the acquittal of the five Hockey Canada players, who had been involved in a lengthy criminal and civil case over an alleged sexual assault in a hotel room.
The players, Dillon DubĂŠ (Forward â Calgary Flames), Michael McLeod (Centre â New Jersey Devils), Alex Formenton (Forward â Ottawa Senators), Cal Foote (Defenceman â New Jersey Devils) and Carter Hart (Goaltender â Philadelphia Flyers), were found not guilty after the complainantâs testimony was deemed inconsistent, and key video evidence contradicted several of her claims, leading the court to conclude that the allegations lacked sufficient credibility and merit.
Following the conclusion of the trial, the NHL stated that the players will be allowed to sign with a team on October 15th and could return to playing full-time on December 1st. It begs the question of if NHL General Managers are willing to outweigh talent over controversy and take in a player that could create a dramatic scene around the organization.
The Winnipeg Jets are Stanley Cup contenders and are on the verge of a championship with offense being their weakness in their final games of the season. Excluding their 4-0 win over Dallas in Game 5, they scored only four goals across the other three of their final four games and could look to add more depth to their lineup after already bringing in Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist this past off-season.
Three of the five players are forwards with the most impactful player being Dillon Dube as a former 45-point scorer with the Flames during the 2022-23 season. The 27-year-old BC native has been garnering interest from around the league and could be looking to stay within Canada.
Dube routinely played in bottom-six roles when with the Flames and did quite well in the role as a 30-40 point player. He could join the Jets lineup and take on a fourth-line center role, filling the gap left by Rasmus Kupariâs departure. From his first full-time NHL season up until the year before his final season, when his performance likely declined due to the off-ice legal distractions, he recorded 115 points in 257 games, averaging 0.45 points per game.
Over a full season, that translates to roughly 37 points, which would be a solid contribution for a bottom-six forward in Winnipeg. He typically played between 10 and 12 minutes per game and also logged time on the penalty kill, which could help him carve out a role with the Jets.
Joining a Stanley Cup contender would give him an immediate chance to compete for a championship in his first season back in the NHL while also having to worry less about the media attention he would get by joining a team in a city like Toronto or New York. Dube will have a lot to prove and could be an energetic, gritty addition to the Jets' bottom six and push the likes of Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke to compete at a higher level.
As training camp kicks off and NHL pre-season games begin this weekend, teams have been providing injury updates on their players.
While a chunk of them might only miss some pre-season action, others will likely miss the start of the season and longer.
Players Hopeful For The Season Opener
David Pastrnak, RW, Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney informed reporters that superstar right winger David Pastrnak will not skate for the first few days of training camp. Sweeney said heâs dealing with a little tendonitis but should be in full practice as early as next week.
Max Domi, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving announced center Max Domi tweaked something in his lower body and likely wonât be a full participant at training camp. However, no reports suggest he wonât be ready for opening night.
Simon Edvinsson, D, Detroit Red Wings
According to Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, defenseman Simon Edvinsson will be out for a couple of weeks due to a lower-body injury. Nonetheless, the team expects the 22-year-old to be ready for the season opener.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, Buffalo Sabres
After the Buffalo Sabres signed Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year deal, some suspicions about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonenâs health kicked in. Turns out the 26-year-old goaltender is dealing with something.
"There's no alarms right now, but there was a tweak where he didn't feel great," Sabres GM Kevyn Adams told reporters.
Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar provided updates on three players, and MacKenzie Blackwood was one of them. The goaltender had apparently dealt with something over the summer and has been rehabbing it along the way. Heâs been listed as week-to-week and hopeful for the Avsâ season opener on Oct. 9.
Samuel Girard, D, Colorado Avalanche
Samuel Girard is another player for the Avalanche who will miss time with a lower-body injury. Although the 27-year-old D-man will miss a part of training camp, the expectation is that heâll be ready for opening night.
Jordan Greenway, LW, Buffalo Sabres
During the off-season, Sabres left winger Jordan Greenway faced a setback in his recovery from an injury that affected him last season. He received a second surgery in July to treat his injury. Itâs expected that heâll be cleared to play around opening night.
Alex Tuch, RW, Buffalo Sabres
Alex Tuch's situation is minor and day-to-day.
âHe may not be out there tomorrow or the next day or two, but nothing significant,â Adams said. âJust a little bit of a minor thing.â
Liam OâBrien, LW, Utah Mammoth
Liam OâBrien has been listed with a week-to-week, lower-body injury. Itâs unclear exactly when OâBrien is expected to return, but thatâs the report supplied by Utah Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny.
Out To Begin The Season
Tomas Nosek, C, Florida Panthers
Tomas Nosek went through knee surgery at some point in the summer.
âItâs going to be months, for sure,â Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito said.
Matthew Tkachukâs injury has been known for some time now. On Wednesday, Zito predicted that the 27-year-old left winger could be out until around December as he deals with a serious lower-body injury.
âDonât hold me to that. My internet medical degree,â Zito told reporters.
Logan OâConnor, RW, Colorado Avalanche
Logan OâConnor underwent hip surgery sometime in June of this past off-season. Per coach Bednar, Coloradoâs right winger will remain out of the lineup until the early stages of November.
Nick Paul, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois revealed that center Nick Paul is coming off surgery from Friday to treat an upper-body injury. The team expects the 30-year-old to be out until November.
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Former Detroit Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri saw his tenure with the organization come to a close last offseason when he was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks, who are overseen by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman's former Detroit teammate and assistant GM Pat Verbeek.Â
In his first and only season in Southern California, Fabbri recorded eight goals and eight assists in yet another injury-shortened campaign. He underwent surgery in November to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, sidelining him for several weeks.
As if that weren't enough, he also suffered a season-ending hand injury in February.Â
Entering this offseason as an unrestricted free agent, Fabbri was unable to land a new NHL contract but has now been given a chance to earn one.Â
He's accepted a Professional Tryout Agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins:Â
Hearing the Penguins will bring Robby Fabbri to training camp on PTO.
Former first-round pick. Has 106 goals and 216 points in 442 career games. Spent last season with Anaheim.
Fabbriâs NHL career, which began when he was selected in the first round (21st overall) by the St. Louis Blues in 2014, has been plagued by more major injuries than many players endure in their entire careers.
He tore the ACL in his left knee twice during his time with the Blues, then suffered another ACL tear, this time in his right knee, while with Detroit in 2022. He later missed the final weeks of the 2022-23 season after undergoing yet another surgery on his left knee.
For his perseverance and dedication, he was named the Red Wingsâ nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy that season.
Acquired from the Blues in November 2019 in exchange for Jacob de la Rose, Fabbri was one of the few bright spots in Detroitâs lineup during the difficult 2019-20 campaign.
In what proved to be his final season with the Red Wings in 2023-24, he tallied 18 goals and 14 assists while appearing in 68 games, the second-highest total of his career.
Briere reiterated that sentiment Tuesday with his rebuilding club two days out from training camp. Despite a five-year playoff drought, matching the worst in franchise history, the Flyers donât have a postseason-or-bust mindset for 2025-26.
But, without losing focus of the long-term vision, they do have a pressure and need to get better.
âGoing into the season, certainly, the message is we expect our team to take a step forward and try to help them, but not at the detriment of the future of this organization,â Briere said. âWe donât feel weâre there, weâre still kind of building this thing brick by brick and thatâs the approach still going. Now, if thereâs an opportunity, weâre going to jump on it. But weâre still in the early stages of where we want to take this organization.â
Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones are entering Year 3 of their tenure. Their future-centric plan has the support of ownership.
âThe goal is to build a team thatâs going to become a contender for years to come,â Briere said. âThe goal is not just to make the playoffs one year, get knocked out, disappear for two years. ⌠Itâs about building a team that eventually will have a shot at winning some rounds and winning a Stanley Cup for years to come and be there year after year.â
âIâve played center kind of my whole career up until two seasons ago,â Zegras said in June. âIâve always felt more comfortable there. I think there are definitely areas that I need to work on, whether itâs in the faceoff circle or below the goal line or in front of the net in the D-zone.â
And what kind of lift can Christian Dvorak provide down the middle? The Flyers signed the 29-year-old to a one-year deal in July. Heâs a bottom-six pivot who had his best NHL season under Tocchet with the Coyotes in 2019-20.
âHe helped me out a lot in Arizona as a young guy, we had a really young team there and he was really good with us,â Dvorak said in July. âI know heâs going to be great with the young guys here in Philly.â
Last October, the Flyers had forwards Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling in their season-opening lineup. Farabee and Frost were traded to the Flames in January, Laughton was dealt to the Maple Leafs in March and Poehling went to the Ducks in the Zegras trade.
âThe trades of Farabee, Frost, Laughton, the reality is those guys were starting to lose responsibilities because our young guys were starting to step up,â Briere said. âNow we have more young guys that are pushing and that, to me, is what is exciting.
âNobody can be comfortable or happy with what theyâve done in the past. Theyâve got to keep getting better and better, and that includes all our veterans, because our young guys are starting to push and they want more and theyâre hungry for more.â
Alex Bump might be the hungriest of the Flyersâ prospects. He could crack the season-opening roster as a 21-year-old winger. Heâd seemingly have to beat out a veteran like Rodrigo Abols or Nicolas Deslauriers for a lineup spot. Weâll see if the Flyers give him a look on the second or third line throughout camp and the preseason.
Goaltending remains the biggest question for the Flyersâ present and future.
Last season, the club had an NHL-worst save percentage at .872. The season before that, it was tied with the Senators for the leagueâs worst mark at .884.
At the end of last season, Briere challenged his goaltenders, informing them that heâd be bringing in outside help. He signed Dan Vladar to a two-year deal in July. The Flyers are hoping Tocchetâs preferred style of play and Vladarâs experience relieve the burden on Samuel Ersson, who turns only 26 years old in October.
âI expect the goaltending to be better, no doubt about it,â Briere said. âI think also the system might protect them a little better, that Rick Tocchet and his staff are going to put forth. ⌠I think Vladar will come in and probably be a little bit more support for Sam.
âBut we do believe in Sam still. He has shown some flashes. I think with Sam, having a guy there to protect him and not expecting him to play three games a week should probably help Sam in the long run, thatâs my feeling. But Sam is still developing and we still believe in him.â
âIâm a big believer in Sam Ersson,â Jones said a week ago. âI think that Sam is in a position now age-wise and being pushed by the depth at that position now, that itâs going to benefit him. I think that Sam is going to stand up to the test here this year.â
The trade of Ivan Fedotov three days ago cleared some cap space for the Flyers and it also provided a clearer picture of their tandem at AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. Aleksei Kolosov, a 2021 third-rounder, is No. 3 on the Flyersâ depth chart and Carson Bjarnason, a 2023 second-rounder, is No. 4 as he turns pro this season.
Half of the Flyersâ defense appears like it could be jostling for minutes and responsibilities.
Thereâs even a job up for grabs with Rasmus Ristolainenâs absence. As expected, the 30-year-old will miss camp and the early part of the season as he recovers from surgery on a second triceps tendon rupture.
âRisto is moving ahead,â Briere said. âWe knew all along that he wouldnât start the season, but everything is looking good for him to meet up with the team in hopefully the first month and a half, two months of the season, at some point. On that front, itâs trending in the right direction.â
The Flyers know what they have in Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler. Itâll be interesting to see how the new coaching staff utilizes Cam York. The 24-year-old looks poised for a rebound season after he re-signed in July to a five-year, $25.75 million contract.
Jamie Drysdale is still really young, but heâs in a contract year and searching for more consistency. Egor Zamula is also in a contract year and could be competing for games with free-agent additions Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert.
Is Emil Andrae ready to become a regular? And could Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald or Oliver Bonk work their way to the big club?
âI donât know the exact roster spots that we have available because we have different options,â Briere said. âWe could go with 13 or 14 forwards, we could go seven or eight D, so those are all things, depending on how guys perform during camp, that weâre going to evaluate.â
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