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Snapshots: Cooley, Davidson, Dubois, Wood, Didier

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While the Flames didn’t claim any goaltenders off waivers this fall, it appears they’re not completely sold on Devin Cooley being the backup.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Calgary has been talking to teams to see what other options might be out there.  However, they plan to give Cooley a look between the pipes, potentially on Wednesday, in the hopes that he can play his way into securing this position.  If the Flames were to trade for (or sign) another netminder, that would give them four on one-way contracts, typically not an ideal situation to be in.  Friedman added that as Calgary searches for another goaltending option, teams are asking for an incentive to take on one of those extra one-way goalies, something they’re resisting.  If Cooley does well and earns the trust to be the full-time backup, this will work out okay but if he struggles, expect to see them looking around the market some more in the coming days.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • It has been nearly four years since the Blackhawks promoted Kyle Davidson to GM with the team posting a 107-187-35 record with him at the helm. Despite their struggles, team owner Danny Wirtz gave Davidson a vote of confidence in an interview with Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, saying that “Everything Kyle set out to do, he continues to deliver on”.  Chicago has been stockpiling draft picks and prospects for several years now in the hope that a contender can emerge from this group and it appears Davidson will have a long leash from ownership to see if that will happen down the road.
  • Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury, notes Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post (Twitter link). An update on his status is expected on Tuesday.  The 27-year-old had a career year last season in his first year with Washington, notching 20 goals and 46 assists in 82 games during the regular season.  He was off to a slower start before this injury though, being held off the scoresheet in his first three appearances in 2025-26.
  • Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood left tonight’s game against New Jersey with an upper-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). He took a high stick from Dougie Hamilton in the first period and did not return.  Wood is in his first season with Columbus after being acquired from Colorado in the offseason and scored in his second game of the campaign.
  • Veteran defenseman Josiah Didier has signed a PTO deal with AHL Laval, the team announced (Twitter link). The 32-year-old was drafted by Montreal (who is Laval’s parent team) back in 2011 but he didn’t sign with them.  Didier has spent parts of 12 seasons in the AHL, totaling 496 games overall where he has 83 points and 530 penalty minutes.  With his experience, he’ll count towards their veteran limit whenever he suits up.

Snapshots: Sabres Injuries, Plattner, Blackwood

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The Buffalo Sabres didn’t have an ideal start to their 2024-25 campaign last night, suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers. But perhaps even more worrying than the final scoreline was an injury suffered late in the game by first-line center Josh Norris. Today, the Sabres issued an update on Norris’ status, as well as the status of other key injured Sabres in advance of their game Saturday in Boston. According to the Sabres, Norris “is being evaluated and is not expected to play tomorrow,” while Zach Benson is confirmed to not be playing tomorrow, and Owen Power, who has been out with an illness, is hopeful to return for tomorrow’s game.

The key storyline here involves Norris, as his health has been a persistent nagging issue throughout his NHL career. Norris has undergone three surgeries on his left shoulder since 2019, and his shoulder issues have caused him to miss significant time, such as in the 2022-23 season when he got into just eight total games. The Sabres have classified the injury as “upper-body,” so we don’t know for sure at this stage if the injury has anything to do with Norris’ shoulder, but nonetheless it’s certainly not a positive development that Norris is already facing bad injury luck so early in what is a hugely important season for himself and the Sabres as a whole.

Other notes from around the league:

  • San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner spoke to the media about the Sharks in person yesterday, something notable as according to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Plattner has not held such a media availability “in perhaps a decade.” Plattner spoke on various topics, expressing optimism about the direction of the Sharks and explaining in more detail the thought process behind some of the franchise’s bigger recent decisions. He also spoke about past regrets, specifically naming the loss of Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars and the team trading the eventual No. 3 overall pick (which became Tim Stutzle) to the Ottawa Senators as two of his biggest regrets in this recent era of Sharks hockey. Now led by 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini and a prospect pool ranked among the league’s best by public outlets, it appears Plattner’s optimism for the future is well-founded.
  • Although Colorado Avalanche netminder Mackenzie Blackwood practiced with the team today as he continues his push to return to full health, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media (including the Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal) that Blackwood still isn’t quite fully ready and is questionable to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip. It does appear Blackwood isn’t too far off, though, and Bednar did reveal the team is considering potentially sending Blackwood out on a conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate as an option to help him get back up to full speed. Blackwood, once healthy, is expected to be the Avalanche’s undisputed No. 1 goalie. He posted a .913 save percentage in 37 games last season and is under contract at a $5.25MM AAV through the 2029-30 season.

Injury Notes: Lindholm, Trocheck, Brodin

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The Boston Bruins announced tonight that veteran defenseman Hampus Lindholm has suffered a lower-body injury and will not return to their game against the Chicago Blackhawks. While there is obviously no further information on Lindholm’s status beyond that update, it is nonetheless far from encouraging news for one of Boston’s most important players.

It’s especially unfortunate for Lindholm to be forced out of a game due to injury so early in the season given the injury issues he faced in 2024-25. Injuries limited Lindholm to just 17 games played last season, the fewest of any year thus far in his 763-game NHL career. Lindholm is the Bruins’ clear number-two defenseman behind star Charlie McAvoy, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time last season including significant time on each of the two special teams. The hope will be that Lindholm’s removal from this game is more of a precautionary measure, and that this lower-body injury turns out to be something relatively minor, as much of the Bruins’ hopes for this season rest on the availability of one of their top blueliners.

Other notes from across the NHL:

  • The New York Rangers announced tonight that center Vincent Trocheck would not return to their game against the Buffalo Sabres due to an upper-body injury. While there is no word on the extent of Trocheck’s injury beyond being held out of the rest of tonight’s game, any extended absence would be a signifcant blow to the Rangers. Trocheck is an important all-situations second-line center for the Rangers. Not only does he center star winger Artemi Panarin and play on the Rangers’ first power play unit, he also was the team’s most-used penalty killing forward last season.
  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin remains out while he recovers from offseason upper-body surgery, though his absence may be coming to an end. Wild coach John Hynes told the media today, including the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan, that Brodin’s return is “imminent.” Brodin is a veteran top-four blueliner who has battled persistent injury issues over the last few years. Last season, he was limited to just 50 games, and he has not reached the 70-game threshold since 2021-22.

Snapshots: Devils Reassignments, Sharks Injuries, Lucic

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The New Jersey Devils reassigned forwards Lenni Hameenaho and Shane Lachance to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets today. The move corresponded with the team’s signing of veteran Luke Glendening earlier today. Both Hameenaho and Lachance are young forwards who appear relatively close to being NHL-ready, if they have not reached that status already. Lachance in particular had a strong preseason, but it would be surprising if both do not see NHL time at some point this season.

Lachance, 22, was traded to the Devils in March as part of the larger Trent Frederic trade, and signed with the team shortly after at the conclusion of his NCAA career with Boston University. The 22-year-old is a 6’4 winger who scored 30 points in his final 40 games in college and had two points in a two-game cameo late last season with the Comets. Lachance is the son of Scott Lachance, who has been a member of the Devils’ hockey operations department since his retirement as a player (2007-08) and currently serves as the team’s director of amateur scouting. Hameenaho, 20, was the Devils’ top pick at the 2023 draft and had 51 points in 58 games for Liiga’s Assat Pori last season.

Some more notes from around the league:

  • A slate of injury updates was reported in San Jose today, with San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng reporting that two veteran defenders, Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg, are dealing with upper-body injuries. Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka also reported that forward Egor Afanasyev and defenseman Jack Thompson are dealing with lower-body injuries and are both day-to-day. Peng added that both Orlov and Klingberg are expected to be ready to play in the team’s season-opening game on Thursday, but the same cannot be said about Afaneseyev and Thompson, as their availability for Thursday is unclear.
  • St. Louis Blues PTO signing Milan Lucic is currently dealing with a lower-body injury, and remains with the team as he works through his recovery, reports NHL.com’s Lou Korac. According to Korac, the Blues will extend Lucic’s PTO in 10-day increments as he works his way back into full health. While Lucic could still be a candidate to earn a full-time contract with the Blues, it is important to note that the 37-year-old winger has not only missed almost two full seasons of hockey, but also was not a particularly effective player even when he last played, nor did he have a notably strong preseason.

Snapshots: Toews, Drouin, O’Regan

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Jonathan Toews was at Winnipeg Jets practice today, reports Jets team reporter Mitchell Clinton. Toews had been out on a day-to-day timeline since leaving Tuesday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Wild with an injury. While it is not immediately clear if Toews will be fully healthy for the Jets’ preseason opener, this is nonetheless a positive development for both the Jets and Toews himself.

Toews’ health is one of the most significant storylines to watch in Winnipeg this season, as the three-time Stanley Cup champion is attempting to return to full-time NHL action after missing both 2023-24 and 2024-25 due to the lingering effects of long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Toews was a valuable player when he was last in the NHL, scoring 37 points in 2021-22 and 31 points (in 53 games) in 2022-23. The Jets have been searching for a steady second-line center to pencil in behind Mark Scheifele since the retirement of Bryan Little, and Toews will be the latest player to get a chance to prove he can handle the responsibility.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Jonathan Drouin is back at New York Islanders practice after missing three practices due to illness, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Drouin returns to full health at an important time as the Islanders prepare to finalize their roster and enter the 2025-26 regular season. Drouin signed a two-year, $4MM AAV contract this past summer to bring him to Long Island, a solid reward for the player after he revitalized his career as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Drouin, who scored 37 points in 43 games last season, is currently pencilled into the Islanders’ top line alongside Bo Horvat and fellow offseason addition (and fellow former Montreal Canadien) Emil Heineman.
  • Former San Jose Sharks forward Danny O’Regan has found a place to play for 2025-26. The 31-year-old former AHL Rookie of the Year and Boston University star has signed a one-year contract with the DEL’s Schwenningen Wild Wings. The Wild Wings’ translated press release indicates that the team made the signing in part as a response to the fact that offseason import signing Tim Gettinger is facing an extended absence due to injury. While O’Regan won’t provide the physicality Gettinger brings, he does bring more offensive touch – he scored a healthy 27 points in 65 KHL games last season and has a superior scoring record in the AHL when compared to Gettinger.

Snapshots: Eichel, Janmark, Sweden, Sharks

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With Kirill Kaprizov off the board, Golden Knights center Jack Eichel is now arguably the top pending unrestricted free agent in the 2026 class.  In a recent appearance on Daily Faceoff’s The Sheet (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the hang-up in those conversations appears to be term more than money.  Financially speaking, he pointed to the $14MM AAV on Leon Draisaitl’s contract as one that stands as a reasonable comparable with Eichel’s price tag likely to come in somewhere near that mark on a max-term agreement.  But at this point, talks appear to be relatively slow with the two sides evidently not on the same page for how long they’d like this contract to be.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Oilers winger Mattias Janmark will miss around a week due to an undisclosed injury, relays Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Janmark had 18 points in 80 games last season while playing a regular role for them in the playoffs as well.  Notably, Edmonton’s cap situation is relatively tight and they’ll already be without Zach Hyman to start the season.  Now, while Janmark won’t miss much time, he’ll be out for the opener which could create a bit of an early cap crunch for them to navigate through.
  • Sweden’s hockey federation revealed today that future Blues GM Alex Steen has been named as a Player Personnel Consultant for their entry into next year’s Olympics. Steen will be taking over for Doug Armstrong as GM in St. Louis after this season.  Meanwhile, Blackhawks assistant coach Anders Sorensen will have that title for the Swedes in that tournament while Panthers assistant Myles Fee will serve as their video coach.
  • The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled forward Shane Bowers, defenseman Braden Hache, and goalie Jakub Skarek from AHL San Jose. All three were cut earlier this week with Bowers and Skarek passing through waivers unclaimed.  They’ll likely be sent back to the Barracuda over the next day or two.

Snapshots: Lapierre, Ritchie, Steen

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The Washington Capitals did not enter the 2024-25 preseason with an abundance of NHL roles up for grabs, but that hasn’t stopped some roster hopefuls from making their mark on the team’s leadership. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti relayed word from Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery that 2020 first-round pick Hendrix Lapierre has had an impressive preseason and may have played his way into the team’s third-line center role. Carbery told Gulitti that his level of confidence that Lapierre can play the center position and potentially earn “that third-line center role” has led to him considering alternate options for how to deploy other players – namely Connor McMichael moving back to the wing.

Should Lapierre claim the third-line center role, it’d be a significant, positive development for a player in need of exactly that. Lapierre looked like he was on the way to establishing himself as a full-time NHL player in 2023-24, scoring 22 points in 51 games. But he failed to build on that momentum in 2024-25: he was strong in the AHL (32 points in 32 games) but only played in 27 NHL games and only registered eight points. While at this stage it appears more unlikely he’ll meet his draft-year projection of becoming a top-six center, his progress so far this season is an encouraging sign that he still could become an impactful middle-six pivot, which remains a strong return for a first-rounder in the early 20’s range.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The New York Islanders announced that young center Calum Ritchie has suffered a lower-body injury that will sideline him for at least one-to-two weeks. The 20-year-old pivot is entering his first season of professional hockey, something that is overwhelmingly likely to occur with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Ritchie is one of the Islanders’ top prospects and is widely considered to be a potential future top-six center. While this injury will slow him down, his performance in the OHL suggests he could be one of the top rookies in the AHL this season, assuming he does not play his way into the NHL too quickly.
  • The St. Louis Blues announced that special assistant to GM Doug Armstrong (and future GM) Alex Steen has been named to the management team of Sweden in advance of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. According to a press release, Steen “will assist with scouting and roster selection” for his native Sweden. The move is notable in part due to the fact that Steen’s boss, Blues GM Doug Armstrong, has long been the top management figure for Hockey Canada’s men’s teams and will continue in that role for the 2026 Olympics. Sweden is among the top contenders to win a gold medal at the upcoming Olympics, alongside Canada and the United States.

Snapshots: Luukkonen, Portillo, Paper Moves

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The Buffalo Sabres are once again uncertain about the short-term health of their starting goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The team pulled Luukkonen after just one period of action in Wednesday night’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff said that Luukkonen was still feeling some discomfort with the lower-body injury he recently returned from, per Michael Aguello of The Hockey News.

Luukkonen returned to Buffalo’s practices last week, after missing the start of training camp due to a late-summer injury. He described his injury as a, “flare up” and told reporters that he had no concerns with being ready for opening night. One week later, it appears Luukkonen is still in need of a bit more conditioning. He’ll be headed for a major workload when he does reach full health. Luukkonen played at least 50 games in each of the last two seasons. He’s posted a cumulative .899 save percentage in 109 games since taking the reigns as Buffalo’s starter. The goal will be to push that average above .900 with a return to the starter’s crease this season. First, he’ll need to ease himself back into the role. Should Luukkonen be unavailable for opening night, the Sabres will turn towards Alexandar Georgiev, who posted a .875 Sv% in 49 games last season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled goaltender Erik Protillo from the AHL. He will get a chance to continue his preseason action, after being assigned to the minors on Wednesday. Los Angeles also placed goaltender Pheonix Copley on waivers for the purposes of an AHL move, but the Tampa Bay Lightning submitted a claim to prevent that from happening. With Copley now out of the organization, Portillo is one of only fourt Kings goaltenders with an NHL contract, alongside the team’s top tandem of Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg – and top goalie prospect Carter George, who is on his entry-level contract. That standing will earn Portillo a bit more attention as Los Angeles’ training camp comes to a close. He hasn’t yet made his prseason debut, but posted . 966 Sv% in his NHL debut last season, and a .889 Sv% through 24 AHL games. Expect Portillo to get a hardier look in the Kings’ final preseason matchups, before vying for the Ontario Reign’s starting role out of the gates.
  • The Kings would have been unable to make the swap with Portillo that they did had it happened after next weekend. The NHL has altered their use of “Paper Loans” for this season, and will now require that players assigned to the AHL play in at least one game before being called back up, per PuckPedia. However, the league clarified to teams that the new rule won’t take effect until October 10th, which could allow teams the opportunity for some cap gymnastics at the start of the regular season. PuckPedia points out that, under this rule, teams could assign waiver-exempt players to the minors and submit an eligible opening night roster, then place injured players on in-season, long-term injured reserve, and recall their waiver-exempt players. An example could be the Edmonton Oilers assigning winger Isaac Howard to the minors, placing Zach Hyman on LTIR, and then recalling Howard before their first game on October 8th.

Snapshots: Reichel, McDavid, Koumontzis

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been active in recent days “engaging with teams” in trade talks centered around forward Lukas Reichel, according to Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli. Per Seravalli, the Blackhawks are “working on a deal” that will allow Reichel to land with another team within the next week and give the player a fresh opportunity with another club. Seravalli added that the expected trade will most likely not return anything of significant value to the Blackhawks – likely a mid-to-late-round draft pick – but is instead more about giving the player the chance to reset his NHL career in a new organization.

Such an outcome would be a disappointing end to Reichel’s tenure in Chicago, as the player once looked to be one of the club’s more promising young talents. The 2020 first-round pick had 15 points in 23 NHL games to close out the 2022-23 NHL season, and the year before had 57 points in 56 games in the AHL, extremely impressive numbers for a rookie forward still adjusting to the North American game. But Reichel was not able to build on that momentum, and for the last two years he has struggled to produce at the NHL level. As for where Reichel might be headed, that remains unclear at this time, but Sportsnet’s Mark Spector wrote today that the Edmonton Oilers will “for sure” have interest in acquiring the player. Oilers GM Stan Bowman led the Blackhawks Hockey Operations department that drafted Reichel, and could still be a believer in his NHL potential.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • With Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov now signed, focus has shifted to other pending UFAs, including Connor McDavid, who is the consensus best hockey player on Earth. Chris Johnston said today on TSN’s Insider Trading that McDavid is not interested in signing an eight-year contract as Kaprizov did today, and is instead focused on signing a “two, three, or four-year contract.” With the salary cap set to rise dramatically over the next few years, it is surely financially sensible for McDavid to seek a contract that would allow him to ink a new contract at the age of 32 – when he’s still within, or very close to, his athletic peak. In addition, such a move might be sensible for his aim of winning a Stanley Cup, as a shorter-term contract would provide him with the flexibility to leave Edmonton should the franchise’s status as a true Stanley Cup contender begin to erode.
  • Former Calgary Flames 2018 fourth-round pick Demetrios Koumontzis signed a one-year contract with the ECHL’s Greensboro Gargoyles today, officially ending the player’s stint with the Idaho Steelheads. Koumontzis began his professional career at the end of the 2022-23 season with Idaho, signing there after a solid five-year NCAA career with the Arizona State Sun Devils. Koumontzis scored 15 goals and 39 points across 92 games for the Steelheads, and will now join a Gargoyles team embarking on its inaugural season.

Snapshots: Vlasic, Ostlund, Sabourin, McCormick

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Although he was cut in the leg in a collision on Sunday, it appears the Blackhawks got about the best-case scenario when it comes to defenseman Alex Vlasic.  Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that while the blueliner won’t play in Chicago’s remaining three preseason games, he’s on track to be ready for the start of the regular season next week.  The 24-year-old was a top-pairing player for the Blackhawks last season, notching a career-high 30 points while playing in every game and logging over 23 minutes per contest for the first time in his career.  They’ll be counting on him to play a similar role this season.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Sabres center Noah Ostlund is listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut last season, getting into eight games with Buffalo while notching 19 goals and 17 assists in 45 games with AHL Rochester.  Ostlund will likely be ticketed for a return to the Americans upon being cleared to return.  If that doesn’t happen before the start of the regular season, the Sabres will carry a small pro-rated cap charge relative to the number of days that Ostlund was on Buffalo’s roster last season.
  • The Lightning announced that they have recalled winger Scott Sabourin from AHL Syracuse. Cut earlier this month, he’ll now get a chance to skate in another preseason game or two and stake his case for a possible in-season recall.  Signed to a one-year, two-way deal this summer, the 33-year-old had 25 points and 111 penalty minutes while playing with San Jose’s AHL affiliate last season and has 47 career NHL appearances under his belt.  Any time spent on the roster for the rest of the preseason won’t affect his waiver exemption which is 10 games or 30 days during the regular season.
  • Veteran center Max McCormick’s season is over before it even began. AHL Coachella Valley, affiliate of the Kraken, announced that the 33-year-old will undergo hip surgery and that he is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season as a result.  McCormick was limited to just 19 games with the Firebirds last season where he had 13 points.  He’s in the final season of a two-year pact with Seattle and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

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