NHL Hockey Player News

Hill will start the 2024-25 campaign as the starting netminder for the Golden Knights in their season opener against the Colorado Avalanche. The 28-year-old Hill had a solid 2023-24 season but was sidelined for a large portion due to injuries, posting a 2.71 GAA and .909 SV% in only 35 games (19-12-2). Hill is in his third season with the Golden Knights and will share the crease with newcomer Ilya Samsonov. The Golden Knights enter Wednesday's contest at home with even -105 odds against the Avalanche.

Suter suffered an upper-body injury in a preseason matchup on October 1st and will miss the Canucks' season opener on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Suter provided much-needed depth offense for the Canucks last season, tallying 29 points (14G / 15A), 105 shots, and 54 hits in 67 games.

The Avalanche will turn to Georgiev between the pipes on Wednesday night in their season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights. After posting a stellar 2.53 GAA and .918 SV% in the 2022-23 season, Georgiev fell off significantly last season, posting a pedestrian 3.02 GAA and .897 SV% in 63 games (38-18-5). Though his statistics may be inconsistent, he has impressively collected 38 and 40 wins in the last two seasons respectively, and should be a candidate to secure over 35 wins again this season. The Avalanche enter action on Wednesday with even -105 odds on the road against the Golden Knights.

With Thatcher Demko sidelined for at least the next several weeks, Silovs has been thrust into the Canucks starting role, just as he was in the playoffs. Silovs only has nine regular season games under his belt but gained 10 games of playoff experience (5-5-0) in the Canucks' playoff run, posting a 2.91 GAA and .898 SV%. With a strong performance in the net on Wednesday, Silovs could put himself in a position to handle a heavy workload in the first month of the season. The Canucks enter action as sizeable -203 home favorites against the Calgary Flames.

Lindstrom played for the Canadiens last season before being placed on waivers and being claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. In his first stint with the Canadiens last season, Lindstrom tallied six points (0G / 6A), a +12 plus/minus rating, 40 blocks, and 54 hits in 32 games.

Lavoie was signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension in the offseason, placed on waivers last week, claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights, and ultimately re-claimed by the Oilers. The 24-year-old was Edmonton's 2019 2nd-round pick (38th overall) and has appeared in seven games with the Oilers since making his debut last season. In 66 games with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2023-24, he had 28 goals, 50 points and 64 PIMs in 66 games played.

Middleton didn't play in Minnesota's preseason finale due to injury, but he has been practicing and appears on track to be ready for the season opener. Middleton had career-high highs in goals (7), assists (18), points (25), blocked shots (161), and hits (148) in 80 games last season. He will line up on the second defensive pair alongside Jared Spurgeon.

Boldy didn't play in Minnesota's preseason finale due to a lower-body injury, but he has been practicing and appears on track to be ready for the season opener. Boldy, who had 29 goals and 40 assists last season, is expected to open the season on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson.

Stecher will be a healthy scratch in the season opener for the Oilers, allowing Travis Dermott to make his debut with the team. The 30-year-old Stecher joined the Oilers late last season and tallied two points (0G / 2A), a +4 plus/minus, 10 blocks, and 15 hits in seven games.

Dermott signed with Oilers earlier this week after a successful PTO and will make his debut in their season-opener on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Dermott has 329 games of NHL experience and spent the 2023-24 campaign with the Arizona Coyotes, tallying seven points (2G / 5A), a -14 plus/minus, 64 blocks, and 52 hits. He will line up on the third defensive pair alongside Brett Kulak.

There is no concrete timeline for Lemieux's potential return to the lineup but he will be unavailable to start the season. The bruting 28-year-old forward played 32 games with the Hurricanes last season, tallying five points (3G / 2A), 64 penalty minutes, and 71 hits.

Doughty was hurt in an awkward play in a preseason game on September 25th and is considered month-to-month after it was announced the 34-year-old had successfully undergone surgery to repair a fractured ankle. He has been a staple on the Kings blueline for more than a decade and his impact will be sorely missed. Over the last two seasons, Doughty averaged nearly 26:00 TOI/GP. In 82 games in 2023-24, he had 15 goals, 50 points, 44 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus. Brandt Clarke is expected to take his spot on the Kings' top powerplay to start the season.

The Red Wings enter the 2024-25 campaign without a firm starting netminder. Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon are both in the mix for heavy workloads this season but Husso will get the first opportunity to showcase his talents in their season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The 29-year-old Husso spent most of the 2023-24 campaign battling injuries and was unreliable when called upon, posting a 3.55 GAA and .892 SV% in a limited 19-game sample size (9-5-2).

Chisholm was absent from Minnesota's final practice before their opener on Thursday vs. Columbus due to an illness and looks to be out for the game as well. The 24-year-old defensemen will be fighting to get into the Wild lineup nightly as he attempts to establish himself as an everyday player after three goals, eight points and 18 PIMs in 29 games played in 2023-24.

Saros has not participated in the last two practices for the Predators due to a lower-body injury, resulting in the club calling up Matt Murray from the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). Despite the call-up, Saros' injury does not appear to be overly concerning, and could still be ready for their season opener on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. Saros finished fifth in Vezina-trophy voting last season with a 2.86 GAA and 906 SV% in 64 appearances (35-24-5).

To no one's surprise, the Rangers will turn to Shesterkin, their All-Star netminder, for their season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Shesterkin finished fourth in voting for the Vezina trophy last season with a respectable 2.58 GAA and .912 SV% in 55 games (36-17-2). That said, Shesterkin was other-worldly in the latter portion of the season, allowing three or fewer goals in all but two of his final 20 contests (14-5-1), boasting an outstanding .930 SV% and three shutouts. The Rangers enter action as -140 road favorites against the Penguins.

Sorokin underwent back surgery in the offseason and, despite being ready to play, will serve as the backup to Semyon Varlamov in the Islanders' season opener on Thursday. Last season, after Patrick Roy became head coach of the Islanders, Sorokin's workload decreased dramatically. Sorokin had a poor campaign by his standards, posting a 3.01 GAA and .908 SV%, and will need to improve to his Vezina-caliber numbers of years past if he plans to regain the trust of the coach as one of the premier netminders in the league.

Ilya Sorokin has fully recovered from offseason back surgery but will start the season backing up Varlamov, as he did for much of the stretch run and into the playoffs last season. Varlamov has a report with head coach Patrick Roy from their days with the Colorado Avalanche and could find himself in a position to garner more starts again this season if his play warrants it. The 36-year-old Varlamov is coming off a solid 2023-24 campaign, posting a .260 GAA and .918 SV% in 28 games (14-8-4).

The Penguins will likely turn to Jarry between the pipes in their season opener against the New York Rangers on Wednesday. With Alex Nedeljkovic injured, Jarry should see a heavy workload in the Penguins' crease for the foreseeable future. Jarry went through inconsistent stretches last season, losing the starting role to Nedeljkovic in the latter end, but was mostly serviceable, posting a 2.91 GAA, a .903 SV%, and six shutouts in 51 games (19-25-5). The Penguins enter action as +123 home underdogs against the Rangers.

Juuse Saros had a maintenance day, resulting in Murray being recalled from the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). Murray's call-up was most likely precautionary as Saros isn't expected to miss any time. The 26-year-old Murray spent most of the 2023-24 campaign in the AHL, posting a 3.02 GAA and .896 SV% in 31 games (14-15-2) with the Texas Stars.