NHL Player News

Primeau will get the starting nod at home versus Tampa Bay on Monday and might play the whole game, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Primeau will make his Hurricanes debut after coming over from Montreal, the club he spent the past six seasons with. As a depth option with Montreal last season, Primeau played in a mere 11 regular-season contests, going 2-3-1 with a 4.69 GAA and .836 save percentage. The 26-year-old Primeau will need to really impress in camp if he is going to force his way onto the Opening Night roster.

Montembeault will be between the pipes at home versus the Penguins in Monday's preseason game, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.

Montembeault heads into the 2025-26 campaign once again as the clear No. 1 for the Canadiens, even as the backup situation remains a little murky. In his 62 regular-season appearances last year, the 28-year-old backstop set new personal bests in wins (31), shutouts (four) and GAA (2.82). Looking ahead, Montembeault should once again feature in 60-plus contests, which will give him strong fantasy upside.

Luukkonen (lower body) hasn't practiced yet during training camp, but he has been making progress, Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News reports Saturday.

The Sabres expect to have more information about Luukkonen's availability by Monday, and the team is hopeful that he could return to the ice at some point next week. The 26-year-old netminder posted a 24-24-5 record with two shutouts, a 3.20 GAA and an .887 save percentage across 55 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

Woll (illness) will miss Saturday's practice.

Woll posted a 27-14-1 record with one shutout, a 2.73 GAA and a .909 save percentage across 42 regular-season outings in 2024-25. During the 2025-26 campaign, Woll will compete for starts with Anthony Stolarz.

Varlamov (knee) is skating individually as of Thursday but has no timeline to join the full group at training camp.

Varlamov has been out since he had knee surgery in December, and the Islanders will take a cautious approach with the tail end of his recovery. The Islanders signed David Rittich in the offseason, so they won't need to rush Varlamov back into the backup role behind Ilya Sorokin. More information on Varlamov's status should be available closer to the start of the season if he is able to join his teammates on the ice.

Montembeault (groin) practiced in Group A in Thursday's on-ice session to open the Canadiens' training camp.

Montembeault sustained a groin tear in April that cost him the last two games of the Canadiens' playoff run. The 28-year-old netminder was with the group that didn't scrimmage Thursday, but he should get a look in a game-like situation Friday. Montembeault is projected to be Montreal's No. 1 goalie in 2025-26 and should see ample playing time after making 62 regular-season appearances last year.

Gibson (lower body) practiced Thursday in the Red Wings' first on-ice session, Michael Whitaker of The Hockey News reports.

Gibson was acquired by Detroit from Anaheim back in June. Injuries have been a major theme for Gibson over the last few years, but it's a good sign that he's on the ice and apparently healthy to begin his first training camp with the Red Wings. The 32-year-old will compete with Cam Talbot for starts this year, though Gibson is the favorite to handle a starting role.

Lankinen (undisclosed) participated in Thursday's practice, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic, which suggests that he's healthy going into training camp.

Lankinen left Vancouver's final game of the 2024-25 campaign due to an undisclosed injury. He had a 25-15-10 record, 2.62 GAA and .902 save percentage in 51 appearances with the Canucks last year. Although Lankinen got plenty of work last season, Thatcher Demko will likely get the majority of Vancouver's starts this season as long as he stays healthy.

Brossoit (knee) underwent hip surgery during the offseason and remains out long-term, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Thursday.

Brossoit missed all of the 2024-25 campaign due to a knee injury and is now recovering from a hip procedure that is slated to cost him considerable time this season. It's not yet clear when he'll be in the mix to return to game action, but Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom should handle goaltending duties for the Blackhawks to begin the regular season.

Merzlikins (concussion) is not listed with an injury on the Blue Jackets' training camp roster released Wednesday, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Merzlikins was out for the last five games of the regular season in 2024-25. He's healthy after the offseason, and he'll now turn his attention to competing with Jet Greaves for the No. 1 job during camp. Merzlikins has posted a sub-.900 save percentage in three straight years, so he'll need to make significant improvements to avoid losing playing time.