NHL Player News

Head coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday that Luukkonen and the Sabres' other goaltenders will likely share the net early in the 2026-27 campaign, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

The Sabres utilized a timeshare in the crease for most of the 2025-26 campaign, and that trend is expected to continue into the 2026-27 season. Luukkonen should share playing time with Alex Lyon, as well as Colten Ellis if he's included on the Opening Night roster. The Sabres and the rest of the NHL have an abbreviated training camp ahead of the regular season, so it isn't particularly surprising that the team will use a timeshare to preserve the long-term health of its goaltenders.

Demko (hip) won't be a full participant in training camp, Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor reports Wednesday.

Demko was sidelined to close out the 2025-26 campaign due to hip surgery, and the Canucks announced last week that he doesn't yet have a timetable for his return. While he isn't expected to be among the main groups to open camp, the netminder will be on the ice in Penticton with his teammates as he continues his recovery process. It remains unclear if Demko will be available for the start of the regular season. Kevin Lankinen, Chris Driedger and Nikita Tolopilo are candidates to see time in net if Demko remains sidelined.

Merzlikins (shoulder) failed his physical, and there's still no timetable for his return, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers on Wednesday.

Merzlikins is recovering from shoulder surgery. While general manager Don Waddell didn't offer a timetable, he did specify that "you're not going to see him in the near future, that's for sure." In other words, it's fair to consider the netminder out indefinitely. Merzlikins had a 14-11-3 record, 3.39 GAA and .883 save percentage over 30 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. After signing with the Blue Jackets on Monday, Cam Talbot is projected to serve as the backup goaltender to Jet Greaves until Merzlikins is available.

Johansson is not expected to serve as the backup for the Lightning this season, with that role going to Dennis Hildeby, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports Wednesday.

According to general manager Julian Brisebois, the team is working with Johansson's agent to find him a better landing spot that would include playing time and could help the Lightning shed his $1.25 million cap hit. The 30-year-old backstop saw action in 25 regular-season games last year, going 11-10-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .884 save percentage.

Hildeby is expected to serve as the Lightning's No. 2 goaltender to begin the 2026-27 campaign, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Tampa Bay acquired Hildeby from the Maple Leafs in early July. He's slated to be Andrei Vasilevskiy's primary backup, as the Lightning seek a trade for Jonas Johansson. Hildeby posted a 5-7-4 record with a 2.85 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 20 regular-season games with Toronto last year.

Vasilevskiy doesn't believe the shortened training camp will impact his readiness for the 2026-27 campaign, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports Wednesday.

The NHL has reduced the number of preseason games each team plays to four to accommodate the increase in regular-season tilts from 82 to 84. The Lightning will naturally lean heavily on Vasilevskiy as they always do when he's healthy, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him reach 60 regular-season starts for the fifth time in his career. He fell just short of that mark in the 2025-26 regular season, posting a 39-15-4 record, 2.31 GAA and .911 save percentage in 58 appearances.

Blackwood arrived at training camp in the best shape of his life, according to head coach Jared Bednar, and will have the chance to earn the starting job, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports Wednesday.

When asked if he planned to rotate his goaltenders again, Bednar told reporters they'd enter the season with a clean slate. The 29-year-old Blackwood played in only 38 regular-season tilts, but he posted a solid 23-10-2 record with a 2.50 GAA and three shutouts. The door appears to be open for Blackwood to earn the No. 1 job back from Scott Wedgewood this year, and in an ideal scenario, Bednar seems to be looking for that result.

Miner is dealing with an undisclosed injury, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports Wednesday.

While the details of Miner's injury are unclear, it could cost him some preseason games. It's reasonable to believe the Avalanche won't push the matter for the sake of training camp, so even a minor injury he might have otherwise played through could keep him limited for now. The 25-year-old netminder is projected to start 2026-27 in the minors. Still, the Avalanche would likely call him up if Scott Wedgewood or Mackenzie Blackwood are unavailable at any stage of the campaign.

Talbot signed a one-year, $950,000 contract with Columbus on Monday, according to PuckPedia.

Talbot could earn another $700,000 if he meets performance bonuses for games played in the 2026-27 campaign. He posted a 12-9-6 record with a 3.19 GAA and an .883 save percentage over 34 regular-season appearances for Detroit in 2025-26. Due to the absence of Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder), Talbot could begin the upcoming campaign as Jet Greaves' backup.

Ingram announced his retirement from professional hockey Friday on his personal Instagram account.

Ingram suited up in 134 regular-season games, going 55-54-18 with a 3.01 GAA and a .901 save percentage over parts of five NHL seasons. He played for Nashville, Arizona, Utah and Edmonton. Ingram also played in nine playoff contests. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Ingram will go back to school to study psychology after battling with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression during his playing career.