NHL Player News

Chisholm wasn't on the ice for Wednesday's practice due to an illness, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Chisholm appeared in 29 regular-season games for the Wild last year after they acquired him from Winnipeg. In those outings, the 24-year-old blueliner recorded three goals and five assists, including five power-play points. While he might struggle for regular minutes with the man advantage this year, in part due to the return of Jared Spurgeon, Chisholm should be a regular in the lineup. If he can't play Thursday against the Jackets, Jon Merrill figures to step into a third-pairing role.

Karlsson (upper body) said that he's good to go for Wednesday's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports.

Karlsson dealt with an upper-body injury throughout training camp, but the team had sustained optimism that he'd be available for Opening Night. The 34-year-old confirmed after the Penguins' morning skate that he'll be able to suit up against the Rangers. During his first season in Pittsburgh last year, Karlsson logged 11 goals and 56 points, including 17 on the power play, while averaging 24:16 of ice time.

McAvoy scored an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Panthers.

He banged a rebound past Sergei Bobrovsky midway through the second period, but the Bruins were already in a 5-1 hole at that point. McAvoy added three hits, two shots on goal, one blocked shot and a plus-1 rating to his ledger. The 26-year-old blueliner has averaged about 10 goals, 42 assists and a plus-21 rating over the last three seasons, numbers that should be repeatable in 2024-25 given his secure spot on Boston's top power-play unit.

Matheson worked with head coach Martin St. Louis on a whiteboard following Tuesday's practice, going over situations and how the club's top power-play unit should adapt to those situations, Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports.

Matheson is once again expected to quarterback the Canadiens' top power-play unit and is coming off a career year in 2023-24, during which he finished eighth among defensemen with a career-high 28 power-play points. The Habs need to improve in this area -- Montreal ranked 27th in efficiency last season -- and the club was abysmal during the preseason, going 0-for-30 with the man advantage. The 30-year-old blueliner may eventually look over his shoulder at rookie Lane Hutson, who will quarterback the second power-play unit, but Matheson will be the dominant defenseman on that special-teams group to start the 2024-25 season.

Faulk recorded two assists and two hits in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Kraken.

The Blues scored three times over a span of 1:55 in the second period, and Faulk assisted on the first two goals during that flurry. The 32-year-old defenseman was limited to 30 points, 104 blocked shots and 83 hits over 60 contests in 2023-24 after missing time with various injuries. He's fully healthy to begin 2024-25, and he'll be picking up some of the scoring slack created in the absence of Torey Krug (ankle). Faulk's spot on the top power-play unit could help him get back over the 40-point mark for the fourth time in his career.

Vlasic posted an assist and three blocked shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Utah.

Nick Foligno tipped in a Vlasic shot at 4:48 of the third period to get the Blackhawks within a goal. Vlasic produced 16 points, 148 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating over 76 contests last season, which was solid production for the low-scoring Blackhawks. The 23-year-old blueliner is set to fill a top-four role this season, but he'll have to get more involved on offense to be an option for most fantasy managers.

Jones logged an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Utah.

Jones helped out on a Teuvo Teravainen goal in the second period. The 30-year-old Jones is poised to see significant minutes once again for the Blackhawks, but he's had mixed results over his three years with the team. He's missed the 40-point mark in consecutive seasons, and he also failed to reach double digits in power-play production in 2023-24. The Blackhawks improved their roster this offseason, so there's a chance Jones can do better than his 31-point effort from 67 games last season, but he's likely to remain a tough player to roster in fantasy formats that count plus-minus rating.

Cole supplied an assist, seven blocked shots, two PIM and a plus-2 rating in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Cole's seven blocks were more than double any other player's total in this game. He also chipped in on offense by setting up a Lawson Crouse tally late in the third period. Cole had 11 points, 83 hits, 166 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating over 78 regular-season outings with the Canucks last year. At 35 years old, he's a bit of a journeyman -- Utah is his sixth franchise in the last five seasons -- but he'll offer grit and defensive skill in a bottom-four role. Cole has never finished with a plus-minus worse than minus-4 in his career, and he hasn't been in the negatives in a full campaign since 2018-19.

Kesselring posted an assist, two hits, two blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Kesselring set up the first goal in Utah's NHL history, finding Dylan Guenther for the tally at 4:56 of the first period. As a rookie last year, Kesselring was steady with 21 points, 106 hits, 66 PIM, 59 blocked shots and a plus-11 rating over 65 appearances. He's not guaranteed a spot in Utah's lineup this season, but his playing time should be safe at least until John Marino (upper body) returns.

Durzi logged an assist, three blocked shots and five PIM in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Durzi fought Connor Murphy in the second period and then added a helper on Dylan Guenther's empty-netter in the third. The presence of Mikhail Sergachev, acquired from the Lightning over the offseason, will likely decrease Durzi's power-play role in 2024-25. He will still play top-four minutes at even strength, so his offense shouldn't take too much of a hit. The 25-year-old will also carry decent fantasy value in formats that reward blocked shots and PIM.