Atlantic Notes: Pastrnak, Tkachuk, Marchand, Edvinsson
Yesterday, it looked like Bruins star David Pastrnak would be limited to begin training camp when the team told reporters, including Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, that he wouldn’t be skating for the first few days due to a tendonitis flare-up. That ended up not being the case as he was on the ice this morning skating and shooting by himself, relays Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald. He’s not participating in the full session today, though. Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports that trade pickup Viktor Arvidsson is skating as a placeholder in Pastrnak’s spot on the top line alongside Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm for the time being. In any event, it doesn’t look like Pastrnak’s ironman streak, which dates back to the 2021-22 season, is in jeopardy as he aims for his fourth consecutive 100-point season.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- The Panthers put out some contrasting smoke signals yesterday on Matthew Tkachuk‘s timeline for returning from adductor surgery. He underwent the procedure in mid-August, and the initial report was that he was targeting a January season debut. General manager Bill Zito was more optimistic about Tkachuk’s timeline yesterday, telling George Richards of Florida Hockey Now that December could be an option, while head coach Paul Maurice gave a more vague “midseason” designation. In any event, Florida will be playing at least the first quarter of their season without the services of one of their many star wingers.
- Florida winger Brad Marchand also spoke during yesterday’s media availability, telling Alex Baumgartner of Five Reasons Sports that the lack of income tax in the state was one of the main factors in the Cats’ ability to keep all of him, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad from reaching free agency this summer. “If we were not in a non-tax state, it wouldn’t have worked out probably for two guys. Two guys probably would have been leaving in that situation. So it’s a benefit that this team has, we were able to utilize and make work,” Marchand said. He also cited the term of his extension offer from Florida (six years) as a driving force behind his decision to stay and one of the reasons he opted not to sign an extension with the Bruins, leading to his trade to Florida at the deadline last year.
- Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson will miss most, if not all, of training camp due to a lower-body injury, general manager Steve Yzerman said yesterday (via Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports). His return timeline is “around the start of the regular season.” If he’s to miss any time, that’s a crushing early-season blow to one of the league’s thinnest blue lines. The 2021 No. 6 overall pick broke out for 31 points and a +12 rating in 78 contests last season and is one of only two truly top-four-caliber defenders in the organization, alongside Moritz Seider.
Sabres Notes: Luukkonen, Tuch, Greenway
The injury keeping Sabres starting netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sidelined to start training camp is a lower-body issue, general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters yesterday, including Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic. He won’t require surgery and “there’s no alarms right now, but there was a tweak where he didn’t feel great,” Adams said. He’s not on the ice today as the Sabres begin the on-ice portion of their camp. That absence is why the club brought in veteran Alexandar Georgiev on a one-year, $825K deal last week to give them added security in the event Luukkonen isn’t ready to go by the time the regular season starts. There’s still little clarity on whether that will be the case. Still, it’s up to their top goaltending prospect Devon Levi, who’s notably still waiver-exempt, to force his way above Georgiev and free agent signing Alex Lyon in camp and start the year with the big club while forcing one of the vets, likely Georgiev, to the waiver wire.
Other updates from Buffalo as training camp gets underway:
- Star winger Alex Tuch will be limited to start camp with an undisclosed injury, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550. He’s only day-to-day, and his issue is “nothing significant,” Hamilton said. It remains to be seen if he’ll be cleared for their preseason opener on Monday against the Blue Jackets, a contest he likely wouldn’t play in anyway that early in the exhibition schedule. The pending unrestricted free agent’s availability for opening night of the regular season isn’t currently in doubt.
- The news isn’t as promising regarding winger Jordan Greenway. Hamilton relays that he sustained a setback in his recovery from the lower-body injury that ended his 2024-25 season in March, requiring a second surgery in mid-July. He’s still on the mend from that and isn’t expected to be available for any preseason games. His projected return timeline is “around” opening night, Hamilton said, so there’s a small possibility of an IR placement for him to begin the year.
Rutger McGroarty Likely To Start Season On IR
Penguins top prospect Rutger McGroarty did not appear on Pittsburgh’s training camp roster as the team announced he and a few others were not medically cleared to participate. It appears McGroarty’s absence carries some more weight than the rest, though. General manager Kyle Dubas said today that McGroarty has an upper-body injury and will be out indefinitely, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com. While not officially ruled out for the start of the season, an indefinite timeline is essentially a guarantee for missed time with less than three weeks until puck drop.
Acquired from the Jets in a rare prospect-for-prospect blockbuster last offseason, McGroarty immediately signed with the Penguins and turned pro after spending the prior two seasons at the University of Michigan. The 21-year-old broke camp with the Pens but didn’t last very long, going pointless in three outings before being sent to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On the whole, his offensive success was a tad underwhelming. He ended up on a hot streak to end the year, but a difficult adjustment period early on led to a final scoring line of 14-25–39 in 60 minor-league games with a -10 rating. According to Byron Bader’s NHLe model, which tracks how a player’s point production in different amateur/minor leagues translates to the NHL over an 82-game pace, McGroarty’s production dropped from an equivalent of 51 points during his sophomore season at Michigan to just 31 in the AHL last year.
It was a concerning dropoff for a bit, but his hot streak with WBS got him a late-season recall. He looked more comfortable in the NHL that time around, scoring a goal and two assists in five games before a lower-body issue ended his season with a few games left on the schedule. That, plus his collegiate track record and pedigree as a No. 14 overall pick, still has him ranked as the retooling club’s No. 1 prospect according to NHL.com and Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff.
That momentum will pause here. While there aren’t as many forward jobs in Pittsburgh for young players to compete for as some were expecting – trade chips Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust both remain factors for now – those two are the only top-six locks on the wings with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to open the year. McGroarty was going to be a leading candidate to grab one of the other two top-six wing openings with a strong camp.
Instead, it’ll be other young names like the 22-year-old Ville Koivunen, who had 56 points in 63 AHL games last year and seven assists in an eight-game NHL call-up, getting that chance. Veteran reclamation projects like Anthony Mantha could get a look alongside Crosby or Malkin as well.
Snapshots: Beck, Krug, Robertson
2021 Calgary Flames draft pick Jack Beck is headed to college hockey. SunDevilSuource’s Gabriella Chernoff reports that Beck has committed to play for Arizona State University this season. On the surface, Beck’s commitment might seem like a normal roster addition, but the reality is it’s anything but. Beck was a professional hockey player in 2024-25, playing most of the year with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers.
The NCAA had long held that athletes in almost all cases, at the moment they receive compensation in exchange for their services as players, sacrifice their eligibility to compete in NCAA competitions. But the college sports landscape has undergone massive shifts over the last several years, and Beck’s commitment is indicative of a major shift within hockey. CHL players, who were previously ineligible to play college hockey, have been committing to NCAA programs en masse for months – and now players who have signed professional contracts and played professional games, like Beck, are following them. In light of this development, is not immediately clear where the NCAA draws the line in terms of what pro experience is allowed for a player to retain his eligibility, but ESPN’s John Buccigross commented today that college coaches “aren’t happy” with the direction things are headed.
Other notes from the hockey world:
- In a bit of unfortunate but also expected news, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reported that veteran defenseman Torey Krug failed his season-opening medical, and will, barring a hugely expected turn of events, not play in 2025-26. Rutherford added that the organization hopes to be able to place Krug on in-season long-term injured reserve to give them a “greater ability” to use the additional financial flexbility such a move would create over the course of the season.
- The Dallas News’ Lia Assimakopoulos relayed word from Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill related to pending restricted free agent Jason Robertson: Nill said negotiations with Robertson, who is repped by Pat Brisson of CAA, are currently “at a standstill.” Nill added that both sides want to see where the market progresses before continuing further – but added that he remains confident they’ll reach an agreement on a new contract. Robertson, 26, is one of the Stars’ best players, scoring 80 points in 82 games in 2024-25.
Atlantic Notes: Lightning Free Agents, Paul, Dach
The Tampa Bay Lightning have a slate of notable pending free agents, including veterans Ryan McDonagh and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Today, Lightning general manager Julien Brisebois told the media, including team reporter Benjamin Pierce, that contract negotiations with the representatives of its pending free agents will be tabled until after the season. Brisebois also added that despite doing so, the club still plans on retaining McDonagh beyond this season.
Brisebois said that when they re-acquired McDonagh, they informed him that “the plan was to not only have him finish his contract here, but sign another contract after that.” He added that his expectation is that McDonagh will do just that. Brisebois pointed to Yanni Gourde and his six-year contract extension as the model for what he’s “hoping and expecting will happen after the season” with McDonagh. Even at 36 years old, McDonagh remains an effective all-around defenseman. He scored 31 points in the regular season for Tampa, three points in five playoff games, and averaged 20:35 time-on-ice per game including the most short-handed ice time on the team.
Some other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Brisebois provided some additional detail on the status of injured center Nick Paul. Brisebois said, via team reporter Gabby Shirley, that Paul’s injury is one “he had been dealing with most of last season.” He added that “everything” the team tried to heal the injury “wasn’t working,” leading the player and team to address the matter via surgery. The original news of Paul’s injury was covered in more detail earlier today here.
- Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis told the media today, including TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, that he currently views Kirby Dach as the club’s second-line center behind captain Nick Suzuki. Dach had an impressive first season in Montreal, scoring 38 points in 58 games. But injuries have been a persistent issue for Dach, even including 2022-23, and as a result it would be fair to question whether Dach has the ability – and availability – to stick in such an important lineup spot. But Dach, the 2018 third-overall pick, certainly possesses the natural ability and potential to do it.
Avalanche Notes: Third-Line Center, Landeskog, Malinski, Injuries
The Colorado Avalanche have a roster bursting at the seams with high-end talent, and as a result, many players enter this year’s training camp with their spot in the lineup relatively assured. But not all players have that luxury: Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told the media today, including outlet DNVR Avalanche, that the club considers its third-line center role to be among the few key spots in the lineup up for grabs in the preseason.
The Avalanche finished last season with veteran Charlie Coyle in that spot, but Coyle has since been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Today, Bednar highlighted Ross Colton and Jack Drury as the two main contenders for the third-line center role. Colton, 29, is Bednar’s more experienced option. He is playing on a $4MM AAV contract that runs through 2026-27 and had a career-high 17 goals and 40 points in 2023-24, his first with the Avalanche. Competing with Colton is Drury, who arrived in Colorado from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the first Mikko Rantanen trade. Drury’s resume does not suggest he has as much offensive ability as Colton, though Drury brings a more advanced defensive element to the picture – he factored into Colorado’s penalty kill last season while Colton did not. (1:24 average short-handed time-on-ice compared to Colton’s 0:05) Regardless of who ultimately prevails in this preseason lineup competition, it’s clear Bednar has an abundance of quality options to choose from at the center position – an extremely valuable asset for any coach.
Some other notes from Denver:
- The Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal relayed word from Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog today that the veteran forward is a “full go” entering the 2025-26 campaign. That Landeskog will be able to play this season without restriction is notable due to the fact that he has missed a massive amount of time due to a complex knee issue. After captaining the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, Landeskog missed the next three full regular seasons. He returned to play in five playoff games for Colorado, but given the length of his absence, there was some concern that Landeskog might be limited entering 2025-26. Based on today’s comments, it appears those worries can be dismissed.
- Jared Bednar told the media today, including Guerilla Sports’ Meghan Angley, that they will try to play right-handed defenseman Sam Malinski on the left side this season as a response to the club’s abundance of NHL-caliber right-shot blueliners. Malinski, 27, finished last season paired with the since-departed Ryan Lindgren on his right side, meaning this change will require a new adjustment from Malinski. The former Cornell standout broke into the NHL last season, scoring 15 points in 76 games whilst averaging nearly 16 miutes of time-on-ice per game. The offseason addition of veteran blueliner Brent Burns, who is a right shot, appears to be what has prompted this adjustment for Malinski.
- Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen reported updates on various injuries to Avalanche players today, including the club’s projected starting netminder. Per Deen, Mackenzie Blackwood is out week-to-week dealing with an offseason injury, but is hopeful to be ready within the first week or two of the regular season. Veteran Samuel Girard is dealing with a lower-body injury and will miss time in the preseason, but is hopeful to be ready for opening night. And finally veteran winger Logan O’Connor is dealing with a hip ailment, and is on track to miss the start of the season with a recovery timeline that places his return more in the range of early November.
Chicago Blackhawks Sign Wyatt Kaiser
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that defenseman Wyatt Kaiser has been signed to a two-year, $1.7MM AAV contract. Yesterday, we covered how the Blackhawks and Kaiser hadn’t made much progress on a new deal. The fact that he’s signed his new contract today is a testament to just how quickly things can change in the hockey world.
Kaiser, 23, will see his compensation rise sharply compared to last season, when he carried a $916K cap hit. Kaiser is a 2020 third-round pick who enjoyed his best professional season to date in 2024-25. Kaiser got into 57 NHL games last season, a large increase compared to 2023-24, when he played in 32 NHL contests. Kaiser averaged 18:07 time-on-ice per game, which ranked fifth among regular Blackhawks defensemen. That 18:07 mark includes a 1:33 per-game average in short-handed situations, which ranked fourth among the club’s blueliners.
The Blackhawks have a large number of talented young defensemen in their system as things currently stand, and despite his solid 2024-25, he’ll need to fend off challenges from those players in order to retain his roster spot. Sam Rinzel, who earned a nine-game cameo at the end of last season, is all but guaranteed a lineup spot, and 2024 second-overall pick Artyom Levshunov could pose a serious threat for a spot as well.
In addition to those two names, who are both right-shot blueliners, Kaiser will also have to compete with several talented left-shot blueliners for a lineup spot on his natural side. Nolan Allan, the club’s 2021 first-round pick, got into 43 NHL games last year and offers real defensive ability, while Kevin Korchinski is the 2022 seventh-overall pick who holds quite a bit of organizational investment.
But despite the presence of numerous quality defensive prospects to compete with for a lineup spot, the fact remains that Kaiser has more NHL experience than almost all of them. With this new contract in hand, Kaiser will now be able to focus entirely on training camp and securing his spot on Chicago’s opening-night roster.
Pacific Notes: Canucks Updates, Hyman, Walman
After trading J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers last season, the Vancouver Canucks no longer have the luxury of two first-line caliber centers in their lineup. The departure of Miller via trade and the free agent departure of Pius Suter (the club’s highest-scoring pivot in 2024-25) has left the Canucks in a somewhat vulnerable position down the middle – but it’s one the club hopes to be able to trade its way out of. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told the media, including Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor, that the club is “not waiting” when it comes to adding center reinforcements from outside the organization, and is “open for business” regarding making trades to add players.
This past summer’s trade market has been described by figures across the NHL’s front office and media landscape as uncharacteristically slow, with far fewer teams interested in trading established NHL talent for future assets such as prospects or draft capital. Allvin specifically said he believes the Canucks “have enough assets in our organization” and enough “draft capital if that’s needed.” The main element of a trade they appear to be missing, at least at this point in time, is another club willing to part with a capable center in exchange for something Vancouver those assets Vancouver is seeking to offer up.
- Allvin also updated the media on injuries to three Canucks players: Jett Woo, Ty Mueller, and Anri Ravinskis. Woo, 25, had surgery in August and is currently out on a month-to-month recovery timeline. It’s a tough blow for Woo, who was likely eyeing this upcoming preseason to make a push for an NHL roster spot after helping lead the AHL Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup championship. Mueller, 22, is injured on an undisclosed timeline, while Ravinskis is recovering from summer hernia surgery.
- The Nation Network’s Jason Gregor reported today that Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman won’t be on the ice with the rest of the Oilers for the first week of the club’s training camp. Hyman is still dealing with the wrist injury that knocked him out of last season’s playoffs, one that required offseason surgery. Hyman declined to establish a specific timeline related to his recovery. The 33-year-old is one of the Oilers’ most important forwards, scoring 54 goals and 77 points in 2023-24 and 27 goals last season.
- Oilers defenseman Jake Walman will begin the season playing on his off-hand side alongside Darnell Nurse, per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. Walman is a left-handed defenseman who ended last year playing on the left side alongside John Klingberg, but will now take up a role next to Nurse on what will presumably be the Oilers’ second pairing. Walman is entering a crucial contract year and if he can repeat his strong 2024-25 performance (he had seven goals, 40 points) he could line himself up to cash in nicely in free agency.
Mammoth Notes: Cooley, O’Brien, Injury Updates
The Utah Mammoth didn’t make the playoffs in their first season in Salt Lake City, but they did take meaningful steps closer to contention, and perhaps their most important step forward was through the development of 2022 third overall pick Logan Cooley. Today, Utah general manager Bill Armstrong told the media, including The Deseret News’ Brogan Houston, that Cooley’s representation has been “very patient” regarding Cooley’s next contract. He added that there’s no rush to get an extension done.
Cooley, who is repped by Brian & Scott Bartlett of Bartlett Hockey, is in line for a major contract extension after a breakout 2024-25 campaign. The 21-year-old is a dynamic playmaker and ranked second among Utah players in scoring last season with 25 goals and 65 points. Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who was drafted two spots ahead of Cooley at the 2022 draft, received a $7.6MM AAV on his long-term second contract. Given Cooley will be signing his extension at a later stage than Slafkovsky, and will have more experience on his resume at the time of signing, it stands to reason that Cooley’s next deal will exceed Slafkovsky’s. Given his age and production, Cooley could very well see his next deal exceed Mikhail Sergachev‘s $8.5MM AAV to become the highest-paid player in Utah.
Some other notes from the NHL’s newest franchise:
- Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny told the media today that veteran forward Liam O’Brien is currently dealing with a lower-body injury, and is out on a week-to-week timeline. Injuries limited the 31-year-old bruiser to just 28 games played last season, and he also only managed two points. Although it’s not a contract year for O’Brien – his $1MM AAV deal runs through 2026-27 – he’ll look to get back on the ice in order to re-establish himself as one of the league’s more physically imposing bottom-six players.
- Alongside O’Brien, Tourigny also established who the club’s other injured players are for the start of the team’s training camp. Tourigny named Anson Thornton, Juuso Valimaki, Caleb Desnoyers and Terrell Goldsmith as the remaining injured players. The most relevant name from that list from a roster-building perspective is Valimaki’s, as he is a veteran of 271 career NHL games. With that said, Mammoth fans are likely to pay close attention to the status of Desnoyers, the 2025 fourth-overall pick.
Metro Notes: Hughes, Panarin, Scheel
By tomorrow, the negotiation stalemate between the New Jersey Devils and defenseman Luke Hughes will begin eating into the blueliner’s training camp availability. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, although both sides continue to discuss terms, no deal is anticipated before the Devils’ first practice tomorrow.
There haven’t been any meaningful updates regarding the extension this month. The last one came in late August, indicating that Hughes is prioritizing a five-year contract, while New Jersey wants a two-year or eight-year deal.
A five-year contract would walk Hughes into unrestricted free agency at the end of the deal, the same time his brother Jack becomes an unrestricted free agent. Much has been made of the Hughes brothers’ stated desire to play together someday, and the youngest one has become rigid in his contractual demands.
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- The New York Rangers have one of the highest-profile pending unrestricted free agents for next summer in Artemi Panarin. Given that he’s eligible for an extension and the focal point of the Rangers’ offense, hypothetical extension negotiations were a hot-button topic at today’s media availability with General Manager Chris Drury. Unfortunately, to keep the negotiations out of the spotlight, Baugh reported that Drury refused to speak on negotiations in any meaningful way.
- Moving back to New Jersey, the Devils will no longer have all four players recently signed to professional tryout contracts at training camp. Earlier today, Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News reported that netminder Adam Scheel won’t participate in New Jersey’s training camp, claiming that he’s taken a separate opportunity elsewhere. There have been no reports indicating where Scheel has signed.