NHL Player News

Delia was released from his professional tryout agreement with the Penguins on Friday.

Delia was only going to make the Opening Night roster if there was an injury among the organization's top three backstops. It wouldn't be surprising to see Delia sign a minor-league deal with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he can't land an NHL deal elsewhere.

Blackwood will get the starting nod at home versus Winnipeg on Friday, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.

Blackwood appears to have the inside track for the No. 1 job in Colorado, though he will likely have to split the workload with Scott Wedgewood. With the 29-year-old Blackwood getting the nod Friday, it will likely be Wedgewood who starts versus Utah on the road Saturday.

Kochetkov signed a two-year, $7.9 million contract extension with the Hurricanes on Friday.

Kochetkov was limited to nine regular-season appearances during the 2025-26 campaign due to a hip injury, but he was effective when on the ice, going 6-2-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .899 save percentage. He's back to full health ahead of the 2026-27 regular season and will remain under contract with the Hurricanes through the 2028-29 campaign, but he'll likely begin the upcoming season as Brandon Bussi's backup after Bussi went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .894 save percentage across 39 regular-season appearances last year.

Sorokin is slated to start Saturday's preseason finale at home against the Devils, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Semyon Varlamov will draw the home start against the Rangers on Friday, while Sorokin will defend the home crease during the Islanders' final preseason matchup in the second half of the back-to-back set. Sorokin started Tuesday's road preseason game against the Rangers and allowed three goals on nine shots while playing approximately half the game. He's expected to play the full game Saturday and appears to be in line to serve as the Islanders' No. 1 netminder to begin the regular season.

Gibson was placed on waivers by the Capitals for the purpose of reassignment to AHL Hershey on Friday.

Gibson hasn't yet made his NHL debut, and he's slated to begin the regular season in the minors if he clears waivers. He made 23 regular-season appearances with Hershey last year and went 9-9-5 with a 2.94 GAA and .903 save percentage.

Vanecek will not be in the lineup for Friday's preseason clash with the Rangers, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Despite earlier reports indicating that Vanecek would start Friday, it seems the Islanders will utilize Semyon Varlamov in the crease while Joshua Kotai serves as the No. 2 option. Barring any setbacks, it seems likely that Varlamov will take the backup role to open the season, which would leave Vanecek headed for waivers or the minors.

Lindgren will start Saturday's preseason finale on the road against Philadelphia, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Lindgren made his preseason debut Monday against the Flyers and turned aside 12 of 14 shots before being replaced by Clay Stevenson midway through the game. Lindgren will have another opportunity to face Philadelphia to close out the preseason, and the 32-year-old is expected to play the full game during his final tune-up ahead of the regular season.

Vanecek was the first goalie off the ice during Friday's morning skate, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports, indicating that he'll draw the preseason start at home against the Rangers.

Vanecek started in the Islanders' preseason opener Sunday and turned aside 20 of 22 shots during a 2-1 loss to New Jersey. He'll defend the crease once again during the penultimate game of the preseason as he continues to compete with Semyon Varlamov for the No. 2 goaltending job behind Ilya Sorokin.

Merzlikins (shoulder) was placed on non-roster injured reserve by the Blue Jackets on Friday.

Merzlikins underwent shoulder surgery in late August and failed his physical at the start of training camp. He's considered out indefinitely, so it isn't particularly surprising that he's been placed on non-roster injured reserve ahead of Opening Night. Jet Greaves should serve as the Blue Jackets' No. 1 netminder this year, while Cam Talbot will likely be the team's backup until Merzlikins is able to return.

Nedeljkovic posted a 21-save shutout in Thursday's 10-0 preseason win over the Ducks.

Nedeljkovic took care of his job, and the Sharks' offense did the rest. The 30-year-old netminder is poised to enter the season as Yaroslav Askarov's backup, but Nedeljkovic never went more than three games in a row without an appearance in 2025-26. Considering the Sharks are still on the rise, Nedeljkovic should have a good chance to match his 2.87 GAA and .896 save percentage from 40 games last year.