NHL Player News

Brodin (upper body) won't play in Thursday's Opening Night matchup against the Blues, Sarah McLellan of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

There was some hope that Brodin would be available for Thursday's regular-season opener despite landing on injured reserve Monday, but he'll be forced to miss at least one game to begin the 2025-26 campaign. However, head coach John Hynes said Thursday that Brodin's return is "imminent," so it's possible that the 32-year-old will be cleared to play as early as Saturday against the Blue Jackets.

Rielly scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over Montreal.

Both Lane Hutson and Mike Matheson found themselves without sticks on a shift midway through the third period, and the Maple Leafs took advantage -- while Matthew Knies' initial breakaway attempt was stuffed by Sam Montembeault, Rielly was able to flip home the rebound to give his squad a 3-2 lead. It was a strong start to the campaign for the 31-year-old blueliner, and Toronto may need him to elevate his offensive game with Mitch Marner now in Vegas -- while Rielly has topped 50 points in a season four times, including a career-best 20 goals and 72 points back in 2018-19, he managed just seven goals and 41 points over 82 regular-season games last season.

Clarke scored a goal and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout win over the Golden Knights.

Clarke tied the game at 5-5 with six minutes left in the third period. The 22-year-old defenseman was held off the scoresheet in Tuesday's 4-1 season-opening loss to the Avalanche. He saw just 15:20 of ice time in Wednesday's win compared to 19:03 in the opener, but it looks like he'll generally be trusted with more responsibilities this year as he seeks to reach a new level. Clarke broke out to the tune of 33 points in 78 regular-season games a year ago, though he had just five goals while shooting a lowly 3.8 percent -- he'll need more efficiency to find more success in 2025-26.

Ahcan was reassigned to AHL Colorado on Wednesday.

Ahcan played in just two regular-season games for the Avalanche last year and will likely face similar challenges getting into the lineup this season. Even if there are injuries to the blue line, Ahcan likely will find himself behind Ilya Solovyov (not injury related) on the team's depth chart.

Vlasic (lower body) is set to play Thursday versus Boston, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday.

Vlasic missed Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Florida because of the injury. He had four goals, 30 points, 59 hits and 157 blocks in 82 outings with the Blackhawks in 2024-25. Now that Vlasic is healthy, Ethan Del Mastro is likely to draw out of the lineup after logging 17:35 of ice time Tuesday.

Slavin (undisclosed) is good to play in Carolina's season opener against New Jersey on Thursday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports Wednesday.

Slavin recorded six goals, 27 points and 136 blocks in 80 regular-season appearances with Carolina in 2024-25. The 31-year-old is likely to play on the first pairing, but he probably won't see time with the man advantage versus the Devils.

Miller (upper body) is available for Carolina's season opener against New Jersey on Thursday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports Wednesday.

Miller had seven goals, 27 points, 107 hits and 110 blocks in 74 outings with the Rangers in 2024-25. He's likely to open the season in a top-four role and receive time on the second power-play unit.

Brodin (upper body) hasn't been ruled out for Minnesota's season opener against St. Louis on Thursday, per Sarah McLellan of The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Brodin was put on injured reserve Monday, but he's eligible to be activated whenever he's healthy. The 32-year-old had four goals, 20 points and 104 blocks in 50 regular-season outings with Minnesota in 2024-25. If he can't play Thursday, then David Jiricek is likely to draw into the lineup.

Pesce (undisclosed) is good to play in New Jersey's season opener against Carolina on Thursday, per Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site on Wednesday.

Pesce had three goals, 17 points, 29 PIM, 24 hits and 138 blocks in 72 regular-season outings with the Devils in 2024-25. He should open the season in a top-four capacity, but Pesce isn't expected to have a role with the man advantage.

Kleven (undisclosed) didn't travel with the Senators ahead of their two-game road trip to begin the regular season, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Kleven has been dealing with an undisclosed injury since Sept. 21, and he was placed on injured reserve Monday. There was initially some hope that he'd be able to return for the Senators' Opening Night matchup against Tampa Bay, but he'll be forced to miss that game, along with Saturday's game against Florida. His next chance to suit up will be during Monday's home opener against the Predators, but it's not yet clear when he'll be able to return.