NHL Player News

Kuemper has expressed his motivation to bounce back during the 2026-27 season, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports Monday.

Kuemper had a career-best season during the 2024-25 campaign, going 31-11-7 with a 2.02 GAA and .921 save percentage across 50 regular-season appearances. However, he was unable to replicate those results last year, as he went 19-14-15 with a 2.78 GAA and .891 save percentage while appearing in 50 regular-season games once again. He missed time in the second half of December due to an upper-body injury and had inconsistent production afterward, while teammate Anton Forsberg stepped up with one of the best showings of his career. Kuemper should be in the mix for ample playing time once again to begin the 2026-27 season, but Forsberg could push for additional starts if Kuemper's inconsistency continues this year.

Portillo could begin the 2026-27 campaign as the Kings' No. 3 goaltender, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports Monday.

The Kings have two established veterans in Anton Forsberg and Darcy Kuemper on the roster, but Portillo had a strong season with AHL Ontario during the 2025-26 campaign, going 18-7-3 with a 2.45 GAA and .907 save percentage after missing the start of the season due to injury. Portillo, Forsberg and Kuemper are all on the last seasons of their contracts, and Portillo would need to clear waivers before being sent down, which could give the Kings incentive to keep him on the roster as a backup option, at least over the first few weeks of the regular season.

Murashov appears to have the edge for a roster spot with Pittsburgh ahead of the 2026-27 season, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com on Saturday.

Murashov will compete with Joel Blomqvist for an NHL spot during training camp in September. Both netminders are exempt from waivers and could battle with Arturs Silovs for playing time in the 2026-27 campaign. The 22-year-old Murashov had a 24-9-4 record, a 2.20 GAA and a .919 save percentage across 38 regular-season games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2025-26. He also went 1-1-2 with a 2.56 GAA and an .897 save percentage over five NHL appearances with Pittsburgh during the first half of the year.

Thompson was on the ice for Friday's informal skate with teammates, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Thompson was breaking in some new pads while getting some early work in with his teammates ahead of training camp. The 29-year-old netminder played in a career-high 58 games last year, going 31-21-6 with a personal-best 2.44 GAA and a .912 save percentage, including four shutouts.

Copley is expected to step into the backup role due to Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder) being on the shelf, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports.

Copley logged just one NHL game for the Kings last season in which he gave up three goals on 28 shots in a loss to the Kraken on Dec. 23. Back in 2022-23, the 34-year-old Copley backstopped the Kings 37 times, going 24-6-3 with a 2.64 GAA, and could see a similar workload this season depending on the severity of Merzlikins' injury.

Greaves will be in line to see plenty of work early in the 2026-27 regular season if Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder) is forced to miss time, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports Thursday.

After excelling over a limited sample during the 2024-25 campaign, Greaves saw a sharp uptick in work last season and remained effective, going 26-19-9 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 save percentage across 55 regular-season appearances. Although Greaves served as the Blue Jackets' No. 1 netminder last year, he still had to split some time with Merzlikins, who made 30 regular-season appearances. However, Merzlikins underwent successful shoulder surgery Monday and doesn't yet have a timetable to return, so Greaves could see even more work early in the 2026-27 season if Merzlikins' procedure forces him to miss games. If Merzlikins is sidelined to begin the year, Pheonix Copley would be in line to serve as the team's No. 2 netminder.

Merzlikins underwent successful shoulder surgery Monday and doesn't yet have a timetable to return.

Merzlikins recently informed the team that he experienced some shoulder discomfort during offseason workouts, and an MRI revealed that surgery was the best way to proceed. The Blue Jackets plan to evaluate the netminder again in a few weeks, but it's not yet clear when he'll be able to resume on-ice activities or return to game action. If Merzlikins is unavailable to begin the regular season, Jet Greaves should see plenty of opportunities as the team's primary goalie, while Pheonix Copley would presumably serve as the No. 2 option in net. Merzlikins made 30 regular-season appearances for the Blue Jackets last year, going 14-11-3 with a 3.39 GAA and .883 save percentage.

Miftakhov signed a two-year contract with the KHL's Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday.

Miftakhov had a 3.25 GAA and an .888 save percentage in 28 regular-season outings with AHL Chicago in 2025-26. Although the 26-year-old hasn't played for Shanghai before, he has spent parts of five seasons in the KHL. Most recently, he posted a 2.18 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 30 regular-season appearances with KHL Kazan.

Hutchinson announced his retirement from the NHL on Monday.

After 11 seasons as a backstop across six different NHL organizations, Hutchinson has decided to hang up his goalie pads. The 36-year-old netminder compiled a 57-62-18 record, a 2.94 GAA, a .903 save percentage and six shutouts across 154 career appearances. The Barrie, Ontario native's best season came one province west in Manitoba with the Jets during the 2014-15 campaign, when he posted a 21-10-5 record, a 2.39 GAA and a .914 save percentage across 38 regular-season outings as a rookie. Hutchinson played a large role in the Jets reaching the playoffs that season, and Winnipeg fans will have the opportunity to watch him in the organization's alumni game in October.

Buteyets signed a two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL on Friday and was subsequently loaned to the Shanghai Dragons, Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Buteyets will opt to continue his development in the KHL rather than battle for minutes with AHL San Diego. The Ducks retain his rights as an unsigned restricted free agent, but it's unclear if he'll ever prove himself enough to be a backup option at the NHL level.