NHL Player News

Weegar scored a power-play goal on five shots, blocked five shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime win over the Canucks.

Directly off a faceoff win, Weegar wired home a long-range shot to tie the game at 4-4. The 30-year-old defenseman had the best year of his career in 2023-24, netting 20 goals with 32 assists, 208 shots on net, 194 hits and 200 blocked shots in 82 games. While it'll be tough for him to replicate his 9.6 shooting percentage from last season, Weegar should continue to be a key contributor for the Flames in a top-pairing role, in addition to his work on the first power-play unit.

Andersson scored a goal on three shots, added an assist and blocked six shots in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime win over the Canucks.

Andersson tallied in the second period and helped out on Connor Zary's game-winning goal in overtime. After producing just 39 points in 78 regular-season games in 2023-24, Andersson enters this season in line for a smaller role, particularly in regard to his power-play usage. He's slipped behind MacKenzie Weegar as the Flames' top blueliner, but Andersson can still push for the 40-point mark while adding hearty totals in shots on goal and blocked shots.

Pionk produced an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Oilers.

Pionk helped out on Mason Appleton's tally in the first period. A consistent all-around defenseman, Pionk has finished between 32 and 34 points in each of the last four years. Last season, he also had 220 hits and 118 blocked shots. The 29-year-old is expected to feature on the second pairing and second power-play unit, giving him modest upside for deeper fantasy formats that play a lot of categories.

Morrissey logged two assists, three blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Oilers.

Morrissey set up goals by Rasmus Kupari and Kyle Connor in the second period, with the latter's tally coming on the power play. While Morrissey isn't among the elite tier of defensemen in the NHL, he's not far behind them after producing point totals of 76 and 69 in his last two seasons. He's also blocked 100-plus shots in six of the last eight years. The 29-year-old should continue to be an elite source of offense, power-play production and blocks while playing heavy minutes for the Jets in 2024-25.

Samberg scored a goal and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Oilers.

Samberg has already matched his goal total from last season after scoring 4:37 into the second period of the opening contest in 2024-25. The defenseman is slated to fill a top-four role, stepping up into the spot vacated by the offseason departure of Brenden Dillon. Samberg had 18 points, 77 shots on net, 111 blocked shots, 65 hits and a plus-16 rating in 78 regular-season appearances in 2023-24, but a larger role could lead to him earning his first 20-point campaign this year.

McCabe (upper body) will be in the lineup versus the Canadiens on Wednesday, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

McCabe missed the Maple Leafs' preseason finale, but that was deemed precautionary. He'll return to his usual second-pairing role for Opening Night. McCabe had a career-high 28 points in 73 regular-season appearances last year, but the bulk of his fantasy value lies in his ability to generate hits and blocked shots at a high rate.

Lindstrom signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens on Wednesday. He was subsequently waived for the purpose of a loan to AHL Laval.

Lindstrom made 46 appearances in the NHL between Montreal and Anaheim last year and logged three goals and 10 points while averaging 15:24 of ice time. He'll likely split time between the AHL and NHL clubs this year.

Middleton (bruise) will be available for Thursday's Opening Night matchup against the Blue Jackets, Jessi Pierce of NHL.com reports.

Middleton dealt with a bruise last in training camp, but he returned to practice Monday and will be able to suit up for the regular-season opener. The 28-year-old logged seven goals, 25 points, 161 blocked shots and 147 hits while averaging 19:49 of ice time over 80 appearances for Minnesota last year.

Balinskis recorded an assist and two PIM in Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Bruins.

Balinskis was in the Opening Night lineup over Nate Schmidt. There may be room for both players Thursday versus the Senators after Adam Boqvist (face) left Tuesday's game. Balinskis had three points, 22 shots on net, 33 hits and 15 blocked shots in 26 regular-season games as a rookie in 2023-24, but he didn't appear in any of the Panthers' playoff games on their march to a Stanley Cup championship. Balinskis could get more playing time this year, but he has a long way to go to be an option for fantasy managers.

Doughty (ankle) was moved to long-term injured reserve Wednesday.

The decision to put Doughty on LTIR shouldn't come as a surprise considering he is currently month-to-month following ankle surgery. Without the veteran on the blue line, Jordan Spence could be tasked with a significantly bigger role this year, including running the No. 1 power-play unit. Whenever Doughty does return, however, he should immediately reclaim that spot with the man advantage.