NHL Player News

Jones was placed on waivers by the Mammoth for the purpose of assignment to AHL Tucson on Friday.

Jones joined the Mammoth on a two-year, two-way contract during the offseason and will head to the minors to begin the regular season as long as he clears waivers. He made 60 regular-season appearances with AHL Rochester last year and logged 10 goals and 52 assists.

Roy was placed on waivers by the Mammoth on Friday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Tucson.

After signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Mammoth in late June, Roy is on track to begin the regular season in the minors if he clears waivers. He made 57 regular-season appearances for AHL Laval last year and racked up 23 goals, 22 assists and 32 PIM.

Tanev was placed on waivers by the Mammoth on Friday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Tucson.

Tanev appeared in 56 regular-season games with the Mammoth last year and recorded no goals, three assists, 155 hits, 50 PIM and 34 blocked shots while averaging 9:22 of ice time. The 34-year-old has plenty of NHL experience but is slated to begin the 2026-27 regular season in the minors if he clears waivers.

Blackwood will get the starting nod at home versus Winnipeg on Friday, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.

Blackwood appears to have the inside track for the No. 1 job in Colorado, though he will likely have to split the workload with Scott Wedgewood. With the 29-year-old Blackwood getting the nod Friday, it will likely be Wedgewood who starts versus Utah on the road Saturday.

Kochetkov signed a two-year, $7.9 million contract extension with the Hurricanes on Friday.

Kochetkov was limited to nine regular-season appearances during the 2025-26 campaign due to a hip injury, but he was effective when on the ice, going 6-2-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .899 save percentage. He's back to full health ahead of the 2026-27 regular season and will remain under contract with the Hurricanes through the 2028-29 campaign, but he'll likely begin the upcoming season as Brandon Bussi's backup after Bussi went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .894 save percentage across 39 regular-season appearances last year.

Mackey will be placed on waivers by the Blackhawks on Friday, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports.

Mackey signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Blackhawks during the offseason, and he'll begin the 2026-27 campaign in the minors if he clears waivers. He recorded five goals, 13 assists and 87 PIM across 62 regular-season appearances with AHL Hartford last year.

Sorokin is slated to start Saturday's preseason finale at home against the Devils, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Semyon Varlamov will draw the home start against the Rangers on Friday, while Sorokin will defend the home crease during the Islanders' final preseason matchup in the second half of the back-to-back set. Sorokin started Tuesday's road preseason game against the Rangers and allowed three goals on nine shots while playing approximately half the game. He's expected to play the full game Saturday and appears to be in line to serve as the Islanders' No. 1 netminder to begin the regular season.

Poitras (lower body) isn't on the roster for Friday's preseason finale against the Capitals, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI reports.

Poitras is considered day-to-day due to a lower-body injury that he sustained during Tuesday's practice session, and he'll be held out for the team's final preseason game. The 22-year-old was ultimately limited to just one preseason appearance due to his injury, and it's not yet clear whether the lower-body issue will impact his availability for Tuesday's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers.

Kuefler (undisclosed) will be in the lineup against the Rangers on Friday.

Kuefler remains a long shot to secure a spot in the Islanders' Opening Night lineup, but the fact that he has made it this far into training camp is certainly a good sign. Last year, the 24-year-old winger produced 10 goals and 15 assists in 67 regular-season games

Gibson was placed on waivers by the Capitals for the purpose of reassignment to AHL Hershey on Friday.

Gibson hasn't yet made his NHL debut, and he's slated to begin the regular season in the minors if he clears waivers. He made 23 regular-season appearances with Hershey last year and went 9-9-5 with a 2.94 GAA and .903 save percentage.