NHL Player News

Silovs will be between the pipes on the road against the Rangers on Tuesday.

Silovs outperformed Tristan Jarry during the preseason, going 2-1-0 with a .904 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA, and will get the surprise nod for the Penguins' season opener. The duo figures to continue battling for the No. 1 job throughout the year, and could even face a challenge from youngster Sergei Murashov, who is currently in the minors. Given the uncertainty in the Penguins' net, Silovs is a risky fantasy play early in the season.

Shesterkin was the first goalie to leave the ice Tuesday, Colin Stephenson of Newsday reports, indicating he'll be between the pipes at home versus the Penguins.

Shesterkin will be looking for a bounce-back campaign after managing just 27 victories in 61 regular-season appearances last year. It was the first time since 2020-21 that the 29-year-old backstop was unable to reach the 35-win threshold. Despite the lack of wins, Shesterkin still managed to post a solid 2.86 GAA and .905 save percentage, good indicators that he'll be able to return to form this year.

Bobrovsky will get the starting nod at home against the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Bobrovsky will kick off his 2025-26 campaign with a clash versus the NHL's second-worst team last season, the Blackhawks. The veteran netminder has reached the 30-win mark in three of the last four seasons while also featuring in at least 50 games in each of those campaigns. There is no reason to expect this year to be any different, so fantasy players can expect another workhorse campaign from Bobrovsky in 2025-26.

Blomvist (lower body) was placed on season-opening injured reserve on Monday, per PuckPedia.

Blomqvist is expected to be forced out of action for at least the first two weeks of 2025-26. The 23-year-old made 12 appearances last season for Pittsburgh, but failed to find a rhythm, resulting in a subpar 3.81 GAA and .885 save percentage. Blomqvist could still ultimately play himself into a backup role, but his absence will give Arturs Silovs the first crack behind Tristan Jarry.

Woll (personal) will be on injured reserve to start the 2025-26 season, PuckPedia reports Monday.

The Maple Leafs announced Sept. 23 that Woll will be away from the team indefinitely while dealing with a personal family matter. Cayden Primeau, who was claimed off waivers by Toronto on Monday, seems poised to begin the year as the understudy to Anthony Stolarz while Woll is unavailable.

Luukkonen (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Monday.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said Friday that Luukkonen would be re-evaluated in a week. The Finnish netminder has already been ruled out for Opening Night versus the Rangers on Thursday, and the club will likely utilize extreme caution with its No. 1 netminder, especially considering he is dealing with a lower-body injury.

Thornton was placed on non-roster, injured reserve Monday due to an undisclosed injury.

Thornton's placement on the non-roster injured list is a formality; he was never going to make the Opening Night roster. Undrafted out of the OHL, the 22-year-old netminder played primarily in the ECHL last year, going 2-18-7 with a 4.35 GAA with the Allen Americans. Those numbers aren't going to earn Thornton a call-up anytime soon. He'll head back to the minors once cleared to play.

Hildeby was assigned to AHL Toronto on Monday.

Hildeby performed well in the preseason, posting a 1.84 GAA and a .920 save percentage across three appearances. However, he will begin the year in the AHL after the Maple Leafs claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers from Carolina. Toronto also released James Reimer from his professional tryout agreement Monday.

Toronto released Reimer from his professional tryout agreement Monday.

Reimer struggled in Toronto's preseason finale against Detroit on Saturday, allowing four goals on 28 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss. The Maple Leafs claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers from Carolina on Monday for some additional depth between the pipes.

Blackwood (lower body) will not make the trip for Tuesday's season opener against the Kings, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.

Blackwood was expected to enter the season as the No. 1 option for the Avalanche, but instead, he will have to watch Scott Wedgewood take the Opening Night start. In his 56 regular-season games for the Sharks and Avs last year, the 28-year-old Blackwood went 28-21-6 with a .912 save percentage and 2.55 GAA. Once given the all-clear, Blackwood figures to see the bulk of the goalie starts this season.