Kaapo Kakko Out Six Weeks With Broken Hand
It has been a busy day for the Kraken today. After making 21 cuts from their training camp roster earlier today, they will now be without a key forward when the regular season gets underway. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Kaapo Kakko is expected to miss the next six weeks due to a broken hand.
Kakko was acquired midseason from the Rangers last season in exchange for defenseman William Borgen, plus 2025 third and sixth-round picks. The move worked for New York as they quickly locked up Borgen to a long-term deal while it also worked quite well for the Kraken.
Before the swap, Kakko had just four goals and 10 assists in 30 games but the change of scenery helped him rediscover his offensive form. He picked up 10 goals and 20 helpers in 49 games with Seattle while his playing time went up by nearly four minutes per game to a little over 17 minutes a night as he became a regular in their top six. He also had a pair of assists in two games in this month’s preseason action.
In the 2024 offseason, Kakko looked like a possible non-tender candidate before effectively accepting his $2.4MM qualifying offer before it was even officially tendered. But the way he finished up with Seattle gave him much more leverage heading into an arbitration-eligible summer and he was able to ink a three-year, $13.575MM pact that gives him some security and the Kraken two extra years of club control.
It’s a tough blow for the 24-year-old as that second-half positive momentum is now on hold since he’ll miss at least the first month of the season. While Seattle shouldn’t need to put him on LTIR given that they have plenty of cap flexibility at the moment, Kakko will be eligible to go on there if necessary as he’ll miss at least 10 games and 24 days. From there, he’ll hope to pick up where he left off as Seattle will be counting on him to be a top-six piece for them upon his return.
East Notes: KeyBank Center, Ovechkin, McLaughlin, Dorwart
The Buffalo Sabres are staying in their current home for a few more years. As part of its agreement with Erie County, the Sabres have declined an opt-out clause in their lease at the KeyBank Center and have extended the deal for another five years, according to a team announcement.
The KeyBank Center has been home to the Sabres since 1996, although it has been known as Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, and First Niagara Center during that time. Once the lease concludes after the 2030-31 NHL season, it will have served as Buffalo’s home arena for 35 years, which is on the shorter side compared to the typical NHL stadium’s lifespan.
If the Sabres’ ownership decides to build a new arena for the 2031-32 NHL season, it likely won’t be very far from the KeyBank Center. As cited in the team’s announcement, a third-party consulting firm conducted a study, revealing that the arena had an economic impact of $694.2 million in 2023, generating tax revenue of $48.6 million.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- For more than a week, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has been struggling with a lower-body injury, which has limited his participation in the team’s practices and preseason games. Fortunately, Ovechkin continues to take positive steps back to action, as Sammi Silber of the DC Backcheck reported that Ovechkin is participating in the team’s practice this morning, albeit in a non-contact jersey. There are no concerns for Ovechkin’s availability for Washington’s first game on October 8th.
- The New Jersey Devils have lost a potential depth forward for the rest of training camp. Earlier this morning, Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News passed along a note from Devils’ head coach, Sheldon Keefe, saying that Marc McLaughlin has sustained a significant injury. In the report, Keefe said, “There’s a definite injury there that will require him to miss some time. [..] He is not going to be available for the remainder of this camp, for sure.“
- In another injury update from the Metropolitan Division, a prospect for the Philadelphia Flyers continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury sustained earlier in training camp. According to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia, forward Karsen Dorwart is taking part in on-ice activity before the team’s practice. Despite playing in a handful of games for the Flyers last season, the Michigan State University alumnus will have a difficult time cracking Philadelphia’s opening night roster after missing so much time.
Aleksander Barkov Undergoing Knee Surgery, Out Seven To Nine Months
6:04 PM: The team released an update on Barkov, noting that he sustained injuries to his ACL and MCL. The surgery has now been performed and carries a typical recovery time between seven and nine months. The short end of that timeline would potentially give him a chance of returning in the second round of the playoffs while the long end would mean that he would miss the entire postseason as well.
10:39 AM: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needs surgery to repair the right knee injury he sustained in his first practice session of training camp yesterday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. There’s no timeline for his return, and there’s fear he could miss the entire season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
There is a clear video of yesterday’s incident. Barkov had a low-speed collision with teammate Niko Mikkola, bending as if he were attempting a hip check, which caused Mikkola’s weight to come down on top of him. He landed awkwardly on his right leg under pressure and was unable to get up without assistance (via WPLG Local 10 News).
A gargantuan hole now exists on the Cats’ first line, a position Barkov has held ever since entering the league as an 18-year-old in 2013. The back-to-back Selke Trophy winner is smack-dab in the middle of his prime at age 30 and is widely regarded as the best two-way center in the game, and for good reason. He’s now rattled off five straight seasons above a point per game, averaging a 33-62–95 scoring line per 82 games since the 2020-21 campaign. He’s also logged a cumulative +92 rating during that time and has won 56.1% of his draws. He reached new heights on the possession front last year, logging a career-high 60.8% Corsi share at even strength.
While the Panthers’ forward depth has been the hallmark of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, it’s already getting stretched thin. They’re now down two stars for at least the first few months of the season as Matthew Tkachuk recovers from offseason adductor surgery. Not having Barkov available down the middle also amplifies the impact of relatively minor injuries like Tomas Nosek‘s. The natural pivot would have been in line to swallow up expanded bottom-six minutes normally, but he also underwent knee surgery recently and will miss multiple months.
This season’s new rules surrounding long-term injured reserve will now have a significant impact on the Panthers’ approach. If a player is not expected to miss the entire season, a team only unlocks the equivalent of last year’s league average salary – roughly $3.8MM in this case – in relief. That does not change based on the number of players on LTIR. If the Panthers were to make Barkov ineligible to play in the regular season or playoffs, though, they could unlock Barkov’s full $10MM cap hit worth of relief, assuming they optimize their capture correctly.
Florida already entered the season in a precarious position, projecting to exceed the cap by $4.5MM, per PuckPedia. While Barkov’s injury is a significant blow to their lineup, there’s now an easy out for them to achieve cap compliance by the time opening night rosters are due by ruling him ineligible to return this season, even giving them room to add a significant salary via trade to help shoulder his absence.
Until then, all eyes are on Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to anchor Florida’s top two lines. Bennett has been a stellar second-line pivot for the Cats since his arrival in 2021, and although he’s fresh off signing an eight-year, $64MM extension, he’s never been tested in a top-line role. There’s an argument to be made that Lundell, the 12th overall pick of the 2020 draft, should see the greater increase in minutes. He’s filled in on the top line during short-term absences for Barkov in the past and has been a more effective per-minute producer than Bennett. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is also locked up long-term and had a career-high 45 points in 79 appearances last year, averaging 16:43 per game and winning 53% of his draws.
The Panthers have a few options to fill the domino effect and replace Lundell as the No. 3 center. Evan Rodrigues, frequently a top-six complementary winger, is a natural pivot and has taken over 2,500 draws in his 10-year career. He might be a better fit in the role compared to other potential flex-overs like Eetu Luostarinen, who the Cats would presumably like to keep with Lundell and sustain the chemistry they’ve built in consistent deployment together over the past few years.
There’s also now a clear opening for PTO invites, Noah Gregor and Tyler Motte to land NHL deals. Both now clearly slot in among the Panthers’ top 14 forwards with Barkov, Nosek, and Tkachuk all sidelined.
Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.
Maple Leafs’ Marshall Rifai Needs Wrist Surgery
Maple Leafs depth defenseman Marshall Rifai will miss some significant time after sustaining a wrist injury in last night’s exhibition win over the Canadiens. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters today, including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, that he requires surgery with no specific return timeline.
Speculatively, it’s a right wrist issue for Rifai. He was held out for the second and third periods of the game and took a hard hit into the glass from Montreal forward Joshua Roy midway through the first (video via Michael Mazzei of The Leafs Nation).
Rifai only had a slim chance at breaking camp with Toronto, which has avoided any other notable injuries on defense, but that’s now gone. Their top six group is set in stone, which meant Rifai was in competition with more experienced names like Henry Thrun, Philippe Myers, and Dakota Mermis for a press-box role. All of those three are waiver-eligible, and at least one – likely two – will need to hit the wire with a surplus of NHL forwards on the Leafs’ roster. With them only expected to carry one extra blueliner, the odds were far from being in Rifai’s favor.
Nonetheless, he’s a depth talent the organization likes to have around. The 27-year-old was an undrafted free agent signed out of Harvard in 2022 and has been a frequent standout in training camp, although he only has two regular-season appearances to his name, coming back in 2023-24. He was recalled a handful of times last season but never got into game action. He’s beginning a two-year, league-minimum, one-way extension that he signed at the beginning of last season, so he’s at least in line for an NHL-caliber payday despite most of his playing action coming in the minors.
Since he’s signed to a one-way deal, the 6’2″ lefty is not SOIR/non-roster eligible. He’ll need to begin the year on regular injured reserve, meaning his $775K cap hit will count against the Leafs’ books unless he misses enough time (10 games/24 days) to be eligible for long-term injured reserve. After being cleared to play, he can then be placed on waivers and reassigned to AHL Toronto if he clears.
Canadiens’ David Reinbacher Suffers Broken Hand
Top Canadiens defense prospect David Reinbacher sustained a broken metacarpal bone in his hand in last night’s exhibition loss to the Maple Leafs and will miss the next four weeks, according to a team announcement.
The 2023 No. 5 overall pick has now sustained a significant injury in back-to-back preseasons, both in games against Toronto. Last year, it was a left knee injury that ate up more than half his season. He didn’t make his debut for AHL Laval until February, with his injury essentially removing any chance he had of making his NHL debut.
The shorter return timeline this time around means it won’t be as developmentally disruptive for Reinbacher, but it does zero his chances of breaking camp with the club. The righty faced an uphill battle anyway with Alexandre Carrier and Noah Dobson ahead of him on the depth chart and Lane Hutson shifting to his offside on a pairing with Kaiden Guhle, but he’s looked strong in limited AHL action thus far and might have been worth a look. Instead, he’ll start the year on season-opening IR with a $0 cap hit since he didn’t appear in an NHL game last year until he’s cleared to play and can be reassigned to Laval – unless there’s an unexpected opening on the NHL roster in late October.
Reinbacher’s injury troubles mean he only has 21 AHL games to his name over the past two seasons. He’s got a 4-6–10 scoring line in them with a +11 rating, though, and he added six points in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games last season.
In the interim, the Canadiens will be down their only realistic right-shot recall option. They’re extremely thin organizationally on that side. Aside from Carrier and Dobson, career AHLer Nathan Clurman is the only healthy natural righty under contract.
Penguins’ Joel Blomqvist Out At Least Four Weeks
Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist will be out “for a minimum” of four weeks as he deals with a lower-body injury, the team announced. As a player on a two-way contract who played less than 50 NHL games last year, he’s eligible for season-opening injured reserve with a prorated cap hit.
The injury bug continues to bite the Pens, who have already lost forwards Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty for the beginning of the regular season. It’s especially tough news for Blomqvist, who was hoping to work his way into a potential three-goalie rotation on the NHL roster or force the club to expose either Tristan Jarry or Arturs Silovs to waivers in what stands as a wide-open crease in Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old has been viewed as the organization’s top goalie prospect for the last couple of years, but after making 15 NHL appearances last year, he’s no longer considered a prospect by most public rankings.
It’s unclear if Blomqvist sustained the injury in his lone preseason outing, which came back on Monday against the Canadiens. He went a perfect 11-for-11 before leaving the game as scheduled during the first TV timeout past the halfway point of regulation.
The injury greatly diminishes his hopes of sticking on the NHL roster when he’s ready to return. A roster spot wasn’t a given anyway – he’s still waiver-exempt, a status he could maintain through 2026-27 if he doesn’t play an additional 45 games by then. He also wasn’t particularly impressive in his first taste of big-league action last season. He made 12 starts and three relief appearances along the way as both Jarry and veteran backup Alex Nedeljkovic, now with San Jose, both struggled ahead of him. He logged a 4-9-1 record with a .885 SV% and 3.81 GAA. He allowed 4.7 goals above expected based on the shot quality he faced, according to MoneyPuck – the same amount Jarry allowed in more than twice as many appearances. Blomqvist’s -0.365 GSAx/60 was 11th-worst in the league among goalies with at least 15 appearances.
Nonetheless, the 6’2″ Finn has been one of the AHL’s more impressive young goalies since arriving in North America full-time in 2023. In 65 career minor-league appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Blomqvist has a 2.38 GAA, .918 SV%, two shutouts, and a 33-21-10 record. He was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team following the 2023-24 campaign.
There’s still ceiling in his game, but he’ll need to wait to show it as he enters the final season of his entry-level deal. The pending restricted free agent will carry a cap hit equal to the number of games he dressed for last season – not just the ones he played – divided by 82 and multiplied by his $866,667 cap hit.
Injury Notes: Dobson, Reinbacher, Guhle, Rifai, Anderson
Things are not going well for the Montreal Canadiens’ defense in their preseason contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening. After failing to appear on the bench for the third period of tonight’s game, the Canadiens announced that recently acquired Noah Dobson will not return, without specifying any injuries.
Shortly after, Senior Editor of RG Media, Marco D’Amico, shared that defenseman David Reinbacher had also gone to the dressing room with an apparent injury. Each of these injuries comes on the heels of Sportsnet’s Eric Engels report from earlier, that defenseman Kaiden Guhle was held out of tonight’s contest for maintenance purposes.
In all fairness, there were no specific injuries alluded to in any of the updates, and teams are quicker to pull players in preseason due to precautionary reasons. Still, it is cause for some concern as Montreal ramps up for the 2025-26 campaign. Despite earning a playoff spot last season, the Canadiens learned there’s little wiggle room in postseason eligibility in the Atlantic Division. Fortunately, even if there are mild injury concerns to start the new season, the Canadiens only have two matchups against postseason teams from a year ago in October.
Additional injury notes:
- On the flip side of tonight’s contest, the Maple Leafs are also dealing with injury concerns on their blue line. During the game, Toronto announced that Marshall Rifai was removed due to an upper-body injury. Unlike his opponent counterparts, it was unlikely that Rifai would have cracked the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster regardless of availability. The Beaconsfield, Quebec native spent all of last year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring three goals and 13 points in 67 contests.
- Moving to another Original Six organization, any chance for the Chicago Blackhawks to gauge forward Joey Anderson‘s potential for a depth role has passed. Earlier today, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reported that Anderson underwent a procedure for a chronic issue, which will cost him the rest of the preseason. Despite playing in 18 games for the Blackhawks last year, Anderson had long odds of making Chicago’s opening night roster, spending much of last season as an assistant captain with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.
Afternoon Notes: LaFontaine, Luukkonen, Predators
The New York Islanders have announced that prolific centerman Pat LaFontaine will be inducted into the team’s Hall-of-Fame. LaFontaine spent eight years with the Islanders beginning in 1983, when New York drafted him third overall. He also spent seven years with New York state’s other NHL clubs – six years with the Buffalo Sabres, and one year with the New York Rangers. LaFontaine ended his career with 1,013 points in 865 games – enough to earn an induction into the NHL Hall Of Fame in 2003, alongside Grant Fuhr.
The Islanders managed to land the 1983 third overall selection in the midst of four consecutive Stanley Cup wins, after trading Dave Cameron and Bob Lorimer to the Colorado Rockies in 1981. The move proved to be franchise-defining, awarding them a young superstar in LaFontaine to help replace aging vets like Butch Goring. LaFontaine did just that, contributing 25 points in his first 31 NHL games to help push New York to a Stanley Cup Final loss in 1984 – and then taking reigns for the organization when Mike Bossy retired in 1987. LaFontaine’s 105 points in 1989-90 made him just one of four Islanders to break the century mark. He left Long Island with 566 points in 530 games – good for ninth in all-time scoring for the franchise.
Other notes from around the league:
- Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned to the practice sheet after missing the start with a lower-body injury. He said he expects to be fully ready for the start of the season, and that his absence was due to a flare up with a minor injury late in the summer. His return will be great news for the Sabres, who seem set to roll out the 26-year-old as their starter for a third season. Luukkonen posted a stout .910 save percentage and 27-22-4 record in 54 games of the 2023-24 season; but fell to a .887 save percentage and 24-24-5 record last season. He’ll look to return to a positive record as he faces a similar workload this year.
- Nashville Predators centerman Zachary L’Heureux is listed on the roster for a team scrimmage on Thursday, after missing the last few days with an injury. Defense prospects Tanner Molendyk and Cameron Reid also returned from injury ahead of the scrimmage. L’Heureux seems well set on earning a roster spot out of camp, while Molendyk will likely head to the AHL, and Reid would need a colossal performance to avoid a return to the OHL. The trio are three of Nashville’s top prospects – and should be exciting names to watch as they face off against organizational teammates in Thursday’s scrimmage.
Flyers’ Ethan Samson Out Long-Term, Three Out Day-To-Day
The Philadelphia Flyers shared updates on four injured players on Thursday morning. Most notably, depth defenseman Ethan Samson is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury. Samson appeared to be outside of the NHL roster as training camp went on, but he was a standout during the team’s rookie showcase. His absence will alter Philadelphia’s plans for building their minor-league defense through the season’s first couple of months.
Samson was a pivotal piece of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season. He led the team’s defense in goals (12) and ranked second in points (24). Both were substantial improvements over the three goals and 12 points that Samson managed as an AHL rookie in 2023-24. He’s proven to be a diligent offensive-defenseman in the minor ranks, with an impressive bit of grit behind his downhill drive. He appears close to earning a spot on Philadelphia’s call-up sheet, though will now need to wait until at least mid-season to see that through.
The Flyers also announced that defenseman Oliver Bonk, and forwards Karsen Dorwart and Lane Pederson, are all day-to-day with upper-body injuries.
Bonk has carried a day-to-day designation for a full week now. He has been on and off of the ice since Philadelphia’s rookie camp, both donning a non-contact jersey and in a regular jersey. Bonk played through 69 games last season, as the London Knights blazed to an OHL and Memorial Cup championship. It seems the Flyers’ top defense prospect is still working his way back to 100 percent – a factor that could default him to the AHL when the season opens up.
While a part of Philadelphia’s injury updates, Dorwart did briefly return to the ice on Thursday after missing the last few days. He played through the first five games of his NHL career at the end of last season, after signing with the Flyers as an undrafted college free agent. He didn’t manage any scoring in those appearances. Even still, with a strong return from injury, Dorwart could still be a candidate for a depth role when the Flyers break camp. Pederson, who was injured in Philadelphia’s last preseason game, will more likely start in the AHL. He appeared in 18 games and scored 12 points with the Bakersfield Condors last season, before a separate injury ended his campaign early.
Injury Notes: Eller, Lucic, Zuccarello, Sturm
Lars Eller told reporters today, including Bruce Garrioch of TSN, that he had abdominal surgery last July, from an ailment that had been lingering since last November. Despite the injury, the veteran center managed to skate in 80 regular season games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, notching 22 points, subsequently earning a one-year, $1.25MM contract with the Ottawa Senators, his fifth NHL club.
As per Garrioch, there is yet to be a decision on when Eller will debut for the Sens, soon to add to his Danish-leading 1,116 career NHL regular season games, but it appears he is on the right track.
Other injury updates from across the NHL:
- St. Louis Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery told reporters, including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, that Milan Lucic is day-to-day with a groin injury. The former star is vying to extend his career, having missed the 2024-25 season before being signed to a professional tryout from the Blues on August 19, the latest of several past notable players to sign such tryouts with the organization. Lucic was unable to skate today, and as mentioned by Montgomery, the ailment is unfortunate timing as he fights to earn a spot.
- Michael Russo of The Athletic noted a pair of back injuries affecting the Minnesota Wild. 38-year-old star Mats Zuccarello remains sidelined, and per Russo, there is no further update at this time. Previously, it has been raised that surgery is a possibility. Meanwhile, Nico Sturm, who signed a two-year deal to return to the Wild, will be held out for 4-5 days preemptively, due to a back injury sustained in a team scrimmage.