On Friday, it was announced that the San Jose Sharks have placed forward Jimmy Huntington and goaltender Eric Comrie on waivers with the purpose of reassignment to the American Hockey League.
Neither player is a surprise, as Huntington has been a mainstay at the AHL level in recent seasons. He served as an alternate captain for the San Jose Barracuda last season, recording 48 points (15 goals and 33 assists) in 71 games for the Sharks' farm team. During the preseason, Huntington played in three games for the Sharks, scoring a goal and adding a pair of assists.
Comrie on the other hand, has been an NHL regular in recent seasons. He served as the backup to Connor Hellebuyck with the Winnipeg Jets in each of the last two seasons. Prior to that though, he was often used as a "tweener," splitting time between the NHL and AHL, which will likely be the role he serves in San Jose. If either Yaroslav Askarov or Alex Nedeljkovic suffer an injury, Comrie will probably be the first player recalled to the NHL.
Comrie appeared in one game for the Sharks in the preseason, allowing two goals against on 16 shots in just over 30 minutes of ice time.
DENVER — For nearly 39 minutes Friday night, the Avalanche looked like a team still searching for answers.
Then T.J. Hughes took over.
The rookie scored twice in the final 1:32 of the second period to erase a 2-1 deficit, then completed his hat trick late in the third as Colorado pulled away for a 5-2 preseason victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Ball Arena.
Hughes finished the night with four points, while Jaden Schwartz added a goal and two assists and Nazem Kadri chipped in two assists. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 24 of 26 shots in his latest preseason appearance.
First Period
Just 4:24 into the opening period, Nazem Kadri was sent to the penalty box for hooking, giving Winnipeg the first power play of the evening.
The Jets wasted little time capitalizing.
At 6:15, Nino Niederreiter buried a rebound past Mackenzie Blackwood after the Avalanche goaltender kicked out a shot from defenseman Neal Pionk, giving Winnipeg a 1-0 lead.
The Jets nearly doubled that advantage with just under 12 minutes remaining in the period. Blackwood left a juicy rebound in front of the net with Gabriel Vilardi closing in, but Vilardi couldn’t finish the chance.
Colorado got its first opportunity on the man advantage near the midway point of the period when Niederreiter took Noah Juulsen down along the blue line and was assessed a two-minute interference penalty.
It wasn’t much of a power play for the Avalanche, though.
Head coach Jared Bednar said in recent days that last season’s power-play unit was too slow for his liking, and Colorado’s first opportunity Friday had a similar feel. The Avalanche managed just one shot on net during the two-minute advantage.
With just under four minutes left in the period, Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg unloaded a big slap shot from the point, but Blackwood — who has been excellent with his glove throughout training camp — was there to make the save.
Colorado’s penalty trouble continued late in the frame when Gavin Brindley was called for interference after officials determined he had run into Isak Rosen, sending the Winnipeg forward crashing into the boards.
Replay, however, appeared to show Rosen lose an edge before going down.
The Jets’ power play lasted only a few seconds before Niederreiter was sent to the box for roughing, wiping out Winnipeg’s man advantage.
After 20 minutes, the Jets carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, while holding a 9-7 edge in shots.
Second Period
Colorado began the second period shorthanded after Brock Nelson was whistled for hooking at 1:48.
The Avalanche finally broke through at 6:09. Jaden Schwartz got a stick on a shot from T.J. Hughes, redirecting it past Jets goaltender Stuart Skinner to tie the game at 1-1. Fedor Svechkov also picked up an assist on the play.
The tie didn’t last long.
Just over a minute later, Winnipeg regained the lead after Nathan MacKinnon attempted a dangerous clear that was intercepted by the Jets. Vladislav Namestnikov quickly turned the turnover into offense, firing a shot past Blackwood to make it 2-1.
The Avalanche continued to battle some of the same issues that surfaced in the opening period.
Colorado was later called for too many men on the ice, giving Winnipeg another opportunity to extend its lead. The Jets couldn’t capitalize, but the Avalanche continued to have problems in their own zone, including defensive breakdowns, trying to make one pass too many instead of putting pucks toward the net and failing to provide Blackwood with enough support around the crease.
Then, with the second period winding down, everything changed.
Hughes scored twice in the final 1:32 to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead.
His first came with 1:32 remaining when Hughes took a pass from Kadri in the low slot and snapped a wrist shot through Skinner, with the puck sneaking underneath the Jets goaltender’s pads to tie the game at 2-2.
Hughes wasn’t finished.
With only 11 seconds left on the clock, the rookie struck again. After receiving a pass from Brett Kulak, Hughes drove the puck down the left wing before cutting his shot toward the net and banking a backhand off Skinner’s stick and into the cage.
Just like that, Colorado went from trailing 2-1 to leading 3-2 heading into the second intermission.
Third Period
The Avalanche had done the hard part by stealing the lead late in the second. In the third, they had to protect it.
For much of the period, Colorado kept Winnipeg from generating the kind of sustained pressure it needed to get back into the game, while Blackwood handled the chances that did get through.
The biggest came with about 6:20 remaining.
Namestnikov broke in alone with a chance to tie the game, but Blackwood stayed with the play and made a huge save on the breakaway. The stop preserved Colorado’s one-goal cushion and gave the Avalanche the breathing room they needed.
Then Cale Makar provided the insurance.
With 4:25 remaining, Makar took a pass from Nathan MacKinnon in the slot and snapped a shot underneath Skinner’s glove to make it 4-2.
It was Makar’s first goal of the preseason and a reminder of the impact Colorado’s top defenseman can have when he is fully involved in the offensive game.
Winnipeg had one more problem to deal with.
Hughes.
With 22 seconds remaining, the rookie completed his hat trick to cap a four-point night and put the finishing touch on Colorado’s comeback.
What began as a frustrating night for the Avalanche turned into one of their most entertaining preseason performances yet, with Hughes’ three goals providing the spark and Blackwood making the key saves when Colorado needed them.
Skinner finished with 28 saves on 32 shots, while Niederreiter and Namestnikov each finished with a goal and an assist for Winnipeg.
Next Game
The Avalanche will wrap up their preseason schedule Saturday afternoon against the Utah Mammoth on the road.
Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. as Colorado gets one final tune-up before turning its attention toward the regular season.
The Buffalo Sabres are aiming to improve on their rewarding 2025-26 season, in which they finished first in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division in the regular-season, then beat the Boston Bruins in Round 1 of their Stanley Cup playoff series before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.
Here at TheHockeyNews.com, as part of an annual series of articles, we’re analyzing the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in a series titled “Know Your Enemy”. In these files, we’re looking at how Buffalo played against every East team last season, and how they’re likely to fare against every of those Eastern teams this season.
And in this file, we’re turning the spotlight on the Tampa Bay Lightning..
The Lightning finished second in the Atlantic last year, just three standings points behind Buffalo. Tampa Bay had the same amount of wins as the Bolts did last season, so the Lightning are going to be one of the Sabres’ toughest opponents this season. Here’s this columnist’s perspective on how the Sabres should fare against the Lightning this season:
BUFFALO SABRES VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
NEW LIGHTNING PLAYERS: Ilya Mikheyev (LW), John Carlson (D), Dennis Hildeby (G), Jeffrey Viel (LW)
2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 3-0-1, Lightning 1-3-0
2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: November 11 at Buffalo; November 22 at Tampa Bay; January 2 at Tampa Bay; April 5 at Buffalo
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Lightning were one of the best teams in the league before their off-season made them considerably better. They’ve now got a healthy Victor Hedman back, as well as free-agent signing Carlson, the long-time Washington Capitals defenseman. Carlson essentially replaced departed D-man Darren Raddysh, and that could be a significant upgrade for the Bolts.
Meanwhile, Bolts GM Julien BriseBois went out and added an above-average winger in Mikheyev, and he traded with the Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire an up-and-coming goaltender in Dennis Hildeby. The Lightning have needed a better backup for star Andrei Vasilevsky for years now. And Hildeby, who was stuck in a logjam with the Leafs, could thrive on a Lightning team better than Toronto. If he can give Tampa 25-30 games, Vasilevskiy will be fresher for the Bolts’ next playoff run.
All of which is to say, yes, the Sabres can still beat Tampa Bay, but it certainly won’t be easy for Buffalo, and there is a world in which the Sabres get swept by the Bolts. It could be a feast-or-famine type of year for the Sabres, but they clearly have a nemesis in Tampa Bay. And the Lightning have the superstars – Jake Guentzel; Nikita Kucherov; Hedman and Brayden Point; and the newcomer, Carlson – to overwhelm their opponents, Buffalo included.
The Sabres will be taking on the Lightning twice in an 11-day stretch in early November, and they’ll then clash again the day after New Year’s Day. And after that, they’ll get one more look at Tampa in their third-to-last game of the regular-season on April 5. That particular game could affect either or both team’s place in the Atlantic standings, and it could set up a first-round matchup between Buffalo and the Bolts. And that would be a first-round series Sabres fans may not be pleased with.
The Sabres are a strong team, and they did handle their business against the Lightning last season, winning three out of four games, and never losing in regulation in those four games. That’s a record against the Bolts that few teams can boast of. But the Lightning have as least as much talent, if not more, than Buffalo does.
And in the four regular-season clashes between the two teams, the one thing that’s guaranteed is we’re going to see high-quality hockey.
The San Jose Sharks announced a few more cuts to their training camp roster, including center Filip Bystedt. The Sharks' 27th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Bystedt showed improvements during the 2025-26 campaign, but seemed to struggle quite a bit during preseason outside of the latter half of his final game. Since he's still waiver-exempt, Bystedt was reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda, but it seems fair to question whether or not he'll ever make the jump to the Sharks' roster at this point.
Bystedt made more than one appearance in preseason for the first time in his career this time around, playing two games and registering three points (a goal and two assists). On paper, his production was fine, but he often felt slow, disengaged, and out of position. While other young players are running with their opportunity, he seemed content with heading back to the Barracuda.
Players like Cam Lund, who is unfortunately not playing in preseason due to injury, Igor Chernyshov, and Ethan Cardwell have all gotten the chance to play some NHL games over the past few seasons, but Bystedt is yet to make his debut despite being drafted two years before Chernyshov and a round ahead of Lund.
While late first-round picks usually aren't game changers, the Sharks undoubtedly would've preferred to see Bystedt show that he's deserving of an opportunity by now. At 22 years of age, he still has time to get to the NHL, but it won't be long before he's no longer viewed as a prospect.
This season, it seems like it's now or never for Bystedt, he needs to appear in at least one NHL game in the 2026-27 campaign, otherwise it'll be very easy for him to get left behind moving forward as more and more prospects become NHL ready.
The Senators moved quickly to restore their goaltending depth on Friday, acquiring Jonas Johansson from the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations. The move came just hours after the Vancouver Canucks claimed Leevi Meriläinen off waivers.
Johansson has played 105 NHL games, breaking into the league with Buffalo in 2019–20 and has also spent time with Colorado, Florida and Tampa Bay.
In 25 games as the Lightning’s backup last season, he went 11-10-2 with a 3.29 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. Buffalo selected him in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft. nhl.com
His most recent outing was against the Senators in April, when he gave up five goals on 31 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Sens.
If Johansson directly takes Meriläinen’s place on Ottawa’s depth chart, the Senators’ top three goaltenders would all be Swedish: Linus Ullmark, Samuel Ersson and Johansson.
There is still competition in camp for work in Belleville. The Sens still have Vadim Zherenko on a professional tryout, while youngsters Jackson Parsons of Embrun and Kevin Reidler are also in the organization’s goaltending picture. Reidler gives the Senators yet another Swedish option.
But Johansson looks to be the new number three, simply because he brings NHL experience. Given the choice, after losing Meriläinen and letting Mads Sogaard walk in free agency, the Sens didn't want to be one injury away from having to turn to a goalie with absolutely no NHL experience.
For the record, Johansson is on an NHL deal with a cap hit of $1.25 million, but he's one of 10 players that Tampa assigned to the AHL on Friday afternoon, so waivers aren't a concern.
Much has been made of the roster battle the Philadelphia Flyers were expected to have on defense, with esteemed prospects like David Jiricek, Oliver Bonk, and Ty Murchison all vying for a place in the NHL.
The forgotten name in all of this has been veteran newcomer Simon Benoit, who arrived earlier this summer as an auxiliary piece in the Joseph Woll trade.
Benoit, 28, is expected to be the Flyers' seventh defenseman this year as the team's latest flavor of reliable veteran, following in the footsteps of Marc Staal, Erik Johnson, and Noah Juulsen from the recent past.
Although the 6-foot-4 defender is still expected to have a minor role in the grand scheme of things this year, Benoit is still making his presence known.
In Thursday's preseason tune-up that featured much of the Flyers' NHL regulars, Benoit played 17:16, including 2:14 shorthanded, as the Flyers were forced to play with five defenders for the majority of the 2-0 win after Helge Grans went down with an injury.
Benoit probably would have played more, too, if he hadn't fought the Bruins' Brian Halonen, which kept him in the box for five minutes.
In the minutes he did play, though, Benoit supplied a team-leading four shots on goal and was the only Flyer to have a +2 rating on the night.
"It's awesome, and I like that. I think it shows you guys what he's capable of doing," longtime teammate Woll said of Benoit's fight with Halonen on Thursday night. "He can throw 'em with the best in the league, and, yeah, I'm pumped for him."
Something about Flyers players wearing No. 44 and getting into fights...
In any case, it's an element the Flyers have lost this year, with Nick Deslauriers being traded to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the NHL trade deadline, and Garnet Hathaway getting dealt to the Florida Panthers early in the offseason.
That leaves Benoit's fellow defenseman, Nick Seeler, as the last remaining rough-and-tumble customer on the roster,
Seeler's physicality is on the decline, though at age 33. Seeler had 78 penalty minutes and four fights in 2023-24, but just 74 penalty minutes and four fights in the two seasons since then.
Adding Benoit, even while not an every-night regular, is an important safety valve for the Flyers to have, especially following the departures of Deslauriers and Hathaway over the last few months.
With the clock ticking fast toward opening night Wednesday in Toronto, Adam Pelech and Matthew Schaefer — on his off side — should form the Islanders’ first pair. Barring something unexpected, Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock would be the second.
Friday’s preseason match against the Rangers, though, was the first time the Islanders’ hopeful second pair got into any game action during camp. The Islanders wanted to give both an extra few days of practice after they had undergone shoulder surgery — Romanov soon after the hit from Mikko Rantanen that ended his season last November and Pulock after the season. That came with the tradeoff of asking both to play back-to-back nights, with coach Pete DeBoer looking to roll out an NHL lineup Saturday against the Devils.
Rusty would be an understatement to describe how they looked.
New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov (28) skates with the puck during training camp at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, N.Y., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Much of the 6-1 margin can be explained by the Rangers playing their NHL lineup against a group of mostly AHLers. Romanov and Pulock’s respective minus-3s cannot, though the rust does account for some margin of it.
Romanov, in particular, repeatedly was boxed out and often behind the play.
“I was happy to play my first game in 10 months,” he said. “First two periods was tough. I was just turning my head left and right, look at guys skating in front of me. Third period, I started feeling it. I had a couple good takeaways, interceptions.”
Pulock, for his part, sounded similar, saying he liked some pieces of his game and felt good on the ice, but knows he’ll be better with more game time.
“That’s what preseason is for,” DeBoer said. “It’s to work out the kinks, get the rust off, get a little bit better. … That first game is always hard.”
New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock (6) skates with the puck during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
It was largely forgotten amid the hole it created in the Islanders lineup with Romanov out, but he struggled badly in the 15 games he played last season, never looking like himself.
As for Pulock, he labored through a shoulder injury in the second half of the season, his play slipping as a result.
This is to say: The Islanders don’t need to imagine what it is like to have a diminished version of either one in their lineup. It won’t go well.
“Summer was obviously different,” Pulock told The Post pregame. “It’s the first time I’ve had a surgery like that. The rehab process, different steps. I think off the start, there wasn’t much happening [after surgery] until you can start the strengthening portion of things. I spent the summer here with our guys. I think they did a great job from a strength standpoint — all my testing is better than it was before.”
Ditto for Romanov, who said he’s dropped approximately 17 pounds and is down from 14 percent body fat a year ago to 7. He cut out sugar and junk food, monitored his gluten intake and got in more on-ice training. The Islanders brass has been impressed all camp with his physical improvement.
Playing well, though, is a different thing than coming to camp in great shape — and Friday was a reminder. And even following a season ruined by injury, Romanov still has expectations attached to him from an eight-year deal signed in the summer of 2025.
DeBoer, for his part, still is holding out a top-four spot as a carrot, pointedly using the word “potential” in describing Romanov’s chances of playing there, though there’s little reason to believe he won’t.
Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers is checked by Alexander Romanov of the New York Islanders during the first period of a preseason game at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. Getty Images
“He has all the tools for that and that’s what we need out of him,” DeBoer said. “There’s a spot for him in that hole. So he’s gotta come back healthy, which he is right now. He hasn’t played games in a long time. We’ve gotta give him some runway there to get back up to speed. I’m excited about what I see in practice and how it translates into the games.”
For the low stakes moment that a preseason game represents, that’s about just regaining comfort on the ice.
“I just want to remind myself how to play hockey,” Romanov said pregame, “because when you don’t play a whole year, even [though] you’re in shape, you gotta bring back this experience that you have. I’m just happy to play my first game since injury and every shift, every second, just try to play my best game and see how it goes.”
Alex Nylander, brother of William, was in the Toronto Maple Leafs' organization for the last two years.
For 2024-25, he signed a one-year contract at $775,000 with the Maple Leafs, and one year later signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies. The majority of those two campaigns were spent in the minors, playing a total of 129 regular-season games for the Marlies.
Last year, Nylander scored 24 goals and 53 points in 65 appearances and went on to win the Calder Cup with Toronto later in the year. In terms of production, that was his best season in professional hockey.
In the NHL with the Maple Leafs in that span, Nylander featured in just five regular-season outings, recording four penalty minutes, a minus-one rating and averaging 9:53 of ice time.
In total, the 28-year-old has played 126 NHL games, scoring 25 goals and 49 points. In the AHL, he's made 459 regular-season appearances, registering 141 goals and 307 points in his career.
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It won't be long before the Detroit Red Wings open the 2026-27 regular season, with just one exhibition game remaining before the real action begins Oct. 2.
Between now and Monday, however, every NHL team must trim its roster to 23 players or fewer. The Red Wings took another step toward that requirement with their latest round of roster moves.
17 players have been sent to the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, including:
F Ondřej Becher
F Cameron Butler
F Noah Dower Nilsson
F Sheldon Dries
F Dylan James
F Jesse Kiiskanen
F John Leonard
F Sutter Muzzatti
F Théo Rochette
F Dominik Shine
F Wilmer Skoog
D Ronnie Attard
D Jacob Bryson
D Shai Buium
D William Lagesson
G Trey Augustine
G Michal Postava
Additionally, forward Kienan Draper and defensemen Justice Christensen, Alex Kannok Leipert, and Jacob Truscot have all been released from their professional tryouts; All four players will return to Grand Rapids.
This means that players like Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, and Anton Johansson all still have a chance to make the Opening Night roster.
Last fall, Brandsegg-Nygård and Sandin-Pellikka, along with Emmitt Finnie, earned roster spots thanks to their strong performances in Training Camp and the preseason.
The Red Wings have one game remaining on their exhibition slate, as they'll host the Columbus Blue Jackets to Little Caesars Arena on Saturday evening.
The Red Wings suffered their only loss of the preseason thus far against the Blue Jackets, a 1-0 setback via the shootout. They followed that with a 7-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with a 3-2 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Detroit opens the regular season on Oct. 2 against the New York Rangers.
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New York Islanders' Pierre Engvall pursues New York Rangers' Alberts Smits during the second period at UBS Arena, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y.
When the Rangers routed the Islanders 6-1 on Friday in their preseason finale, it served as “the closest thing to a full lineup that we’ve had of any of the exhibition games to this point,” head coach Mike Sullivan.
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And that means that fourth-line winger Matt Rempe and rookie defenseman Alberts Smits are seemingly in the driver’s seat for the final two spots for the Blueshirts’ opening-night group. Nothing will become official until the Rangers make their final cuts by Monday, but the scene at UBS Arena that essentially served as a dress rehearsal was telling. Rempe was with the fourth line and picked up an assist on Tye Kartye’s goal in the second period.
Smits skated with Braden Schneider and logged 18:18 of ice time.
While Sullivan didn’t provide many hints about the final calls, he said that Smits — drafted No. 5 overall in June — has “certainly made a compelling argument through his play that he’s capable of playing in the NHL.” Smits impressed Sullivan with his physicality and sharp passing as an 18-year-old, but similar to the Rangers’ call with Gabe Perreault last training camp, when they sent him to AHL Hartford, they want to ensure that Smits can be an impactful player on their roster.
New York Islanders’ Pierre Engvall pursues New York Rangers’ Alberts Smits during the second period at UBS Arena, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“It’d mean a lot,” Smits said postgame when asked what it’d mean to make the roster, while leaving the decision as to whether he’s done enough up to the coaches and saying that he has to show daily that he’s ready to make the jump.
The presence of Rempe alongside Tye Kartye and Joe Veleno continued the trend throughout training camp of the 6-foot-9 forward settling back in after being limited to just 26 games last year. He underwent two procedures on his left thumb, limiting what he could contribute with his stick. Rempe would need to clear waivers too, while Jaroslav Chmelar can get assigned without the risk of being picked up by another team.
New York Rangers’ Alberts Smits pursues New York Islanders’ Mitchell Chaffee (26) during the second period at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Rempe knew entering training camp that he had a lot to prove, said he “wants to be here bad” and then collected eight hits during the Rangers’ preseason game against the Devils on Thursday. And Sullivan, who reiterated that Rempe simply needs to play games, said Friday that the 24-year-old can be more than someone capable of fights and a few hits.
“I think he has to be,” Sullivan said. “When you look at the nature of how the game’s being played today, if a player, if their value is only in their ability to fight, how many fights does the average NHL fighter get in the course of a season? Half a dozen?
“So if he’s only gonna make an impact five or six times a year … you would all say that there needs to be other elements to a player’s game. And I think Remps brings other elements.”
Igor Shesterkin made 15 saves and nearly delivered a preseason shutout against an Islanders team of mostly AHL players before Pierre Engvall’s shot beat him with just over eight minutes left. … Perreault, Oliver Bjorkstrand, J.T. Miller, Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad scored the Rangers’ other five goals. … Nathan Aspinall, Liam Greentree, Drew Fortescue, Cole Beaudoin, Jackson Dorrington and Carey Terrance were all assigned to the Wolf Pack. Anton Blidh, Marc Del Gaizo, Glenn Gawdin and William Trudeau were placed on waivers, according to multiple reports.
With just one preseason game left to play, the Philadelphia Flyers have all but decided on their final 23-player roster ahead of the start of the regular season.
On Friday, the Flyers announced four more cuts to their training camp roster, sending surging prospects Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble back to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, alongside power forward Jacob Gaucher and top defense prospect Oliver Bonk.
The Flyers' current roster now stands at 26 players, and they need only make three more cuts to finalize their roster ahead of opening night.
For Knuble and Luchanko, it is a bit of a shame, as Knuble had two goals and an assist in his three preseason games with the Flyers, while Luchanko recorded an assist in each of his three preseason games, too.
This is the unfortunate result of a numbers game for both players, though this was a decision largely made in the best interest of Luchanko's development ahead of time, too.
In an offseason Q&A with The Hockey News, Danny Briere had already strongly indicated that Luchanko would spent the season in the AHL with the Phantoms unless he had clearly established himself as one of the Flyers' 12 best forwards.
With Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates, and Sean Couturier all still ahead of him in the pecking order at the center position, Luchanko will spend the season in the AHL until if and when the injury bug strikes.
Jett Luchanko recorded an assist in all three of his preseason appearances for the Flyers. (Photo: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)
At the same time, Bonk was not especially impressive in the preseason and made a few uncharacteristic mistakes that undermined his standout hockey IQ, his top trait as a pro player.
That's fine, though, as Bonk hasn't even played a full professional season yet after missing the start of last year due to injury. The Flyers will be happy to let him marinate for another year.
Projecting Flyers' final cuts
So, the Flyers have three more cuts to make, and they are all fairly obvious moves, depending on the health of the rest of the team.
Prospect Aleksei Kolosov, the Flyers' de facto No. 3 goalie, remains on the roster with Dan Vladar temporarily on the shelf with an upper-body injury.
If and when Vladar is healthy, Kolosov will return to the Phantoms and reprise his role as their starting goalie, working with Carson Bjarnason as his backup.
On defense, Helge Grans remains on the roster for now after suffering a lower-body injury in Thursday night's 2-0 preseason win over the Boston Bruins.
Grans played his best game of the preseason in the brief 1:29 he skated for before exiting with a dubious injury, and he will require waivers to be assigned to the AHL. Perhaps the Flyers are waiting until other teams all make their cuts at the same time to reduce the chance Grans is claimed.
Veteran tough guy Garrett Wilson remains as the one notable AHL player yet to be cut by the Flyers; Wilson fought Dylan McIlrath in the Flyers' first preseason game against the Capitals, and that's been about it for him since then.
And, in the event the Flyers need roster flexibility, Carl Grundstrom already cleared waivers earlier this week, which protects him for the next 10 games he plays or for the next 30 days on the roster, whichever comes first. Then, he'll need to clear waivers again.
Knuble and Luchanko were the two toughest remaining cuts for the Flyers, and now that the decision has been made, the Flyers' NHL roster ahead of opening night is virtually set in place.
The Senators have lost Leevi Meriläinen to the Vancouver Canucks, who claimed the 24-year-old goaltender off waivers on Friday.
Meriläinen was in goal Wednesday night for Ottawa’s road split squad game against Toronto. The Senators sent an undermanned lineup into a matchup with a Maple Leafs team loaded with NHL regulars, and the result was a 6-1 loss.
Meriläinen stopped 21 shots before being replaced by Jackson Parsons after Toronto’s sixth goal early in the third period. The Senators were under siege for much of the night, and the scoreboard reflected the team’s play rather than Meriläinen’s performance.
That said, Wednesday’s game came after a difficult season for a goalie who had looked like a major part of Ottawa’s future a year and a half ago.
When injuries sidelined Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg during the 2024–25 season, Meriläinen gave the Senators far more than just emergency support. He went 8-3-1 in 12 appearances, with a 1.99 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and three shutouts. He even had a fourth shutout if you just count regulation play.
The Sens ended their seven-season playoff drought that spring, and it is hard to imagine the team getting there without the points Meriläinen helped secure while its veteran goalies were out.
He looked every bit like the goalie of the future.
But he couldn’t sustain that level last season. In 20 NHL appearances in 2025–26, Meriläinen went 8-10-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage.
Eventually, the Sens signed free agent James Reimer, and when Linus Ullmark returned from his leave of absence, Meriläinen was sent to Belleville and didn't return.
There had been some discussion about the Senators opening the season with three goaltenders. Meriläinen signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $1.1 million this summer, but he was no longer exempt from waivers.
With Ullmark in place and newcomer Samuel Ersson making a strong first impression in the preseason opener against Montreal, the Senators chose to try to sneak Meriläinen through waivers so they could send him to Belleville to keep developing. They were probably hoping the 6-1 loss on Wednesday might scare everyone off.
Vancouver, desperate for help in goal, took the opportunity to claim him.
Thatcher Demko is still working his way back from hip surgery, while Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo are the other goaltenders in the club’s projected lineup. Former Senator Chris Driedger is also at camp on a professional tryout after spending last season in the KHL.
The Canucks obviously feel like Meriläinen has a chance to help them at the NHL level. They would not be allowed to send him to their AHL team without putting him on waivers again.
In Ottawa, the claim changes the picture behind Ullmark and Ersson. Parsons and Kevin Reidler are promising options, but both have limited professional experience.
The Senators also brought Vadim Zherenko to camp on a tryout after four seasons with AHL Springfield. If Ottawa wants a more experienced goalie available for a call-up,
Zherenko could become an important option. First, though, the Senators would have to sign him to a contract.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- With a drumroll ... it looks like Zach Dean and Dillon Dube have won out the battle for the two extra forward slots for the St. Louis Blues to begin the 2026-27 season.
The Blues cut four players early Friday morning, including forwards Otto Stenberg, Dylan Peterson and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, along with defenseman Adam Jiricek, leaving five spots needing to be cut in total to get down to Monday's 23-man opening night roster.
The Blues will be putting goalie Georgii Romanov on waivers for the purpose of getting him to Springfield of the American Hockey League, and that left Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker and Jack Finley, who were put on waivers on Friday, on the outside looking in. If any of the veterans are able to clear, they will join Steve Ott and the Thunderbirds in the AHL to begin the season.
"I wouldn't say certainly (that's the 23-man team that was on the ice Friday), but it's certainly been a good camp," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said prior to Friday afternoon's transactions. "We wanted it to be competitive, it's been competitive. There's a lot of young guys, the veterans have shown really well. We're excited about where our group's at."
Dean, who will play in all four games this preseason when the Blues end their exhibition schedule Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, and Dube, signed to a one-year, one-way, $850,000 contract this summer, in the end won out the jobs as the 13th and 14th forwards when the Blues submit their 23-man roster by Monday's 4 p.m. (CT) deadline.
What stood out for those two?
"I think their speed, their energy, their tenacity on pucks, coming up with pucks," Montgomery said. "That's been primarily (it). Those things, those attributes.
"They both are fast, they both are tenacious. I would say that Dean probably has more game-breaking speed and I would say that Dube has a little more savvy. He's really savvy out there. He always comes up with pucks, he's going to the right places."
Dean skated on the Blues' top line Thursday between Pavel Buchnevich and Connor McMichael in a 1-0 win over the Blackhawks on home ice and had a couple really high-end scoring chances and played another solid game.
"He played really well," Montgomery said. "He supported those guys really well. I thought that line was effective. Yeah, played well."
With Jiricek going to Springfield to likely play top-heavy minutes, that left Calle Rosen as the seventh defenseman, with the veteran winning out that battle in the end.
Tyler Tucker, who tweaked his right knee in practice this past Sunday and hasn't skated since, is all but likely to begin the season on injured-reserve but for how long, nobody knows.
"I don't want to talk too much because I would say that I think so, but there's a chance not," Montgomery said. "I'd just rather not say because I don't definitively know."
The 32-year-old Rosen, who scored the lone goal Thursday, provides the experience and insurance needed in an extra defenseman that Jiricek would not benefit from being here and not playing.
"He's a really good hockey player," Montgomery said of Rosen. "Smart, veteran, great feet. What a shot last night. Supports people really well."
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Ahead of the AHL pre-season opening on Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins made another small wave of roster cuts.
And there was one name on it that came as a bit of a surprise.
The Penguins announced that the re-assigned Liam and Markus Ruck to the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. They also re-assigned forwards Atley Calvert, Tanner Howe, Mikhail Ilyin, and Avery Hayes to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate.
In addition, goaltender Colin Delia was released from his paid tryout (PTO), and forward Oliver Okuliar - injured in practice on Sunday - was designated as injured non-roster and sent to WBS to continue his rehabilitation process.
The biggest surprise on the list was Hayes, who put together a strong training camp. He scored a next-effort goal against the Buffalo Sabres in the 4-1 pre-season opening win, and he had five goals in 14 games with the NHL club last season.
"He's a good young player. I think there are other guys that, right now, are ahead," head coach Dan Muse said. "Sometimes it is about what you've done, and sometimes, it's also that you've got to get it down to numbers and other guys that have played better or we feel like, right now, are going to be a better fit. Those are all part of the decisions."
The Penguins have assigned the following players to @WBSPenguins (AHL):
F Atley Calvert F Avery Hayes F Tanner Howe F Mikhail Ilyin
Forward Oliver Okuliar has been designated as injured non-roster and will continue his rehabilitation process in WBS.
The Penguins are down to their final pre-season game, which will take place in Buffalo on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET. There are still a group of prospects that remain with the NHL club and took the ice with the main squad for practice Friday, including forwards Bill Zonnon and Ville Koivunen as well as defenseman Harrison Brunicke and goaltender Sergei Murashov.
Of note, forwards Rutger McGroarty and Tristan Broz, defensemen Owen Pickering, Ryan Graves, Caleb Jones, Jake Livanavage, and Chase Pietila and goaltender Joel Blomqvist skated earlier in the day and remain on the training camp roster as of now.
The Buffalo Sabres encountering early-season injuries to projected top-four blueliners Olen Zellweger and Mattias Samuelsson has made GM Jarmo Kekalainen hit the open market for some veteran insurance, as the club signed defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year, $850,000 deal.
The 32-year-old spent last season as a teammate of new Sabres blueliner Louis Crevier with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he posted 12 points (0 goals, 12 assists) in 69 games. Grzelcyk was a 2012 draft pick of the Boston Bruins, and the Charlestown, MA native spent his first eight seasons with his hometown club. He has become a journeyman the last two seasons, signing a one-year deal with Pittsburgh in 2024 and posting a career-high 40 points (1 goal, 39 assists) in 82 games, before signing with the Hawks last season.
" I'm super excited to have (Matt) on the team. I've played against him many times, and I think he's an exceptional player. He's very smart. He can play in all situations. It's going to be fun to get to know him too. I heard a lot of great things about him." Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said after practice on Friday. "(The signing) just shows that we're here to win. We're not satisfied, so (management will) do everything they can, and we do everything we can, so I'm happy with the situation."
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
The signing could have a two-fold meaning. Without adding Grzelcyk, the Sabres would likely have to open the season using two of Dennis Gilbert, Ryan Johnson, and Radim Mrtka for the start of the season, but Gilbert played sparingly for the Sabres two years ago and for Ottawa last season, while Mrtka, 19, may not be ready to play in the NHL.
“I think where we're at, we still like our defense, it's still next man up, but I'd rather have a young player step in and play big minutes in the Rochester role. Just better for hi m, than coming out and playing 8-10, minutes, or 10-12 minutes. So in the role we need them, Grzelcyk would be a good fit."
The other possible meaning is that the injuries to Zellweger and Samuelsson are more serious, something that Ruff indicated the opposite of on Friday. Zellweger is in the league’s concussion protocol, but the Sabres head coach believes that he could be ready by the start of the season next week. He also believes that Samuelsson could be back earlier than the week-to-week timeline would reflect.
Grzelcyk was not present at practice on Friday, but it is not impossible that the veteran will be in town by Saturday to participate in the club's morning skate before their preseason finale against Pittsburgh.
