Ducks’ Ryan Strome to miss start of 2025-26 with upper-body injury

An important veteran presence will be absent for the first few days of the 2025-26 campaign.

On Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks announced that forward Ryan Strome is going to miss the first couple of games of the regular season due to an upper-body injury. The team noted that Strome will miss the team’s season-opening road trip.

That means Strome will miss the Ducks’ matchups against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, as well as when the team faces off against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. It’s unknown if he’ll be ready to return to action for Anaheim’s home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins next Tuesday.

The Ducks didn’t specify when or where Strome suffered the ailment.

Strome is one of the leaders on a team that’s hopeful for improvement this year. After finishing near the bottom of the Pacific Division for the last several years, Anaheim looks like they have the tools to at least threaten a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, with young players like Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson coming into their own.

Strome has been relatively healthy over the past few years. He played all 82 games during the 2024-25 and 2022-23 campaigns, missing just three games in 2023-24. Along with his name consistently being in the lineup, he has found a way to be a steady scorer on a rather mediocre team, scoring 41 points in each of his first three seasons in Anaheim.

Last season, the Mississauga native led the Ducks with 31 assists, finishing seventh on the team in scoring.

Across 12 NHL seasons, Strome has appeared in 864 regular-season games, scoring 166 goals and 314 assists for 480 points. He’s also registered 19 points in 37 postseason contests.