NHL Player News

Merzlikins is expected to miss 4-6 months to begin the 2026-27 regular season while recovering from a shoulder injury, per Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

Less than 24 hours after Merzlikins was traded to the Maple Leafs, a timetable for his return to action has been provided. The 32-year-old backstop had an up and down season in 2025-26, where he posted a 14-11-3 record, a 3.39 GAA and an .883 save percentage across 30 regular-season outings. He won't be rushed into action, as the Leafs new goaltender tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz are still expected to handle the majority of reps between the pipes this upcoming season. However, when Merzlikins is ready to return, he's the clear No. 3 option in Toronto's organization and could still see some playing time at the NHL level if he isn't sent down to AHL Toronto.

Marchenko may not be available versus the Canadiens on Tuesday while awaiting a work visa, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports.

With the Leafs' kicking off the season with a back-to-back, it's possible Marchenko is forced to miss the first two games of the year while resolving his work visa. Whenever the 26-year-old winger does link up with the Leafs, he should slot into both a top-six role and a spot on the No. 1 power-play unit.

Perbix, who was waived by the Predators on Sunday, is on the team's Opening Night roster.

Perbix went on unclaimed on the waiver wire, but rather than reporting to AHL Milwaukee, the right-shot blueliner will seemingly be with the Predators for their season opener at home against the Wild on Thursday. There are nine defensemen on Nashville's Opening Night roster, so Perbix will have to earn his ice time in the early going.

Pinchuk will begin the 2026-27 campaign with AHL Milwaukee.

Pinchuk was very close to making the Predators' Opening Night roster, so he might be the first forward to receive a call-up this season. The 24-year-old generated 31 goals, 66 points and a plus-21 rating over 65 regular-season games with KHL Minsk in 2025-26, so he certainly has some offensive upside. Moreover, the Predators elected to start the season with just 12 forwards and nine defensemen on the roster, so if the team gets off to a slow start, it may not be long before Pinchuk makes his NHL debut.

Iorio (lower body) landed on injured reserve Monday, according to PuckPedia.

Per Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Iorio skated Monday in a non-contact jersey, so his injury doesn't appear to be overly serious. The Rangers had to either waive Iorio or place him on IR on Monday in order to be compliant with the 23-man roster limit, but it's currently unclear how long Iorio will be sidelined for.

Sykora (lower body) will begin the 2026-27 regular season on injured reserve, per the NHL Media Site.

Sykora's move to injured reserve was expected, as the Rangers had already announced that he would miss roughly 4-5 months. The 22-year-old winger's absence is a tough loss for New York, who saw him post three goals, four points, 15 shots on net, 20 hits and 10 blocked shots across 11 regular-season outings in his rookie campaign. While he's not expected to return until the second half of the upcoming campaign, Sykora could play a meaningful role for the Rangers once he's healthy.

Moore (lower body) will begin the 2026-27 regular season on injured reserve.

Moore's move to injured reserve was expected, as the team announced that he was expected to miss 2-4 weeks in mid-September. The 24-year-old blueliner had a solid rookie campaign, where he posted four goals, 12 points, 66 shots on net, 42 hits and 80 blocked shots across 67 regular-season games in the 2025-26 season. With the Ducks losing multiple key defensemen over the past calendar year, Moore has the potential to see increased playing time once he's available to return. Tyson Hinds, Nick Jensen and Tristan Luneau will open the upcoming campaign as the team's right-handed defensemen in Moore's absence.

Terry (hip) shifted to non-roster injured reserve Monday.

Terry is slated to miss a large chunk of the season, as it was announced Sept. 19 that the 29-year-old is expected to be out for another 2-3 months. The 2015 fifth-round selection played through his hip issue in the 2026 postseason and ultimately underwent surgery in June. Fantasy managers can now afford stash Terry on injured reserve rather than using an active roster spot on the forward.

Kovacevic (knee) will begin the 2026-27 regular season on the injured non-roster list, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.

Kovacevic was a limited participant across the majority of New Jersey's training camp and didn't appear in a preseason game. The 29-year-old blueliner battled through injuries early in the 2025-26 regular season as well, where he posted eight points, 30 shots on net, 57 hits and 39 blocked shots across 34 games. When he's available to return, he'll likely begin the season as the team's sixth or seventh defenseman, as he and Declan Chisholm are the team's current candidates to claim the right-defenseman role on New Jersey's third pairing.

Bjugstad (pectoral) will begin the 2026-27 regular season on the injured non-roster list, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.

Bjugstad underwent surgery earlier in September to repair the torn left pectoral muscle he suffered while training in the offseason. The 34-year-old forward had a quiet 2025-26 campaign, where he posted six goals, nine points, 77 shots on net, 108 hits and 33 blocked shots across 61 regular-season games between St. Louis and New Jersey. He would've potentially had a similar role with New Jersey if he was healthy for Opening Night. His expected timeline for return is 4-6 months, which places him off the fantasy radar until the second half of the upcoming season.