NHL Player News

Head coach Todd McLellan said Friday that Bernard-Docker is considered day-to-day due to an upper-body injury, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports.

Bernard-Docker has appeared in two of the Red Wings' first three exhibition games ahead of the regular season, but he's dealing with an injury ahead of Saturday's preseason finale. It seems likely that he'll be held out for Saturday's exhibition against Columbus, and it's not yet clear whether he'll be available for the team's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers on Oct. 2. The 26-year-old made 63 regualr-season appearances during his first year with the Red Wings in the 2025-26 campaign, and he recorded a goal, four assists, 87 blocked shots, 66 this and 25 PIM while averaging 14:49 of ice time.

Head coach Lindy Ruff that Zellweger (concussion) felt good after skating Friday and will likely be ready for Thursday's Opening Night matchup against Columbus, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

Zellweger sustained a concussion during Tuesday's preseason game against the Blue Jackets and entered the concussion protocol a day later. While he's slated to miss Saturday's preseason finale against Pittsburgh, the 23-year-old is making encouraging progress ahead of Opening Night. He made 76 regular-season appearances with the Ducks last year and generated seven goals, 15 assists, 85 blocked shots, 34 PIM and 33 hits while averaging 16:59 of ice time.

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.

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.

MacDonald was placed on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to AHL Hershey on Friday.

MacDonald signed a one-year, two-way contract with Washington during the offseason, and he'll begin the regular season in the minors if he clears waivers. The 33-year-old hasn't made a regular-season appearance in the NHL since the 2023-24 campaign, and he recorded four goals, eight assists and two PIM across 17 regular-season appearances with AHL Colorado last year.

Grzelcyk signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Sabres on Friday.

Grzelcyk missed the end of the 2025-26 regular season due to an upper-body injury, and he became an unrestricted free agent during the offseason. He should be healthy ahead of the 2026-27 campaign and will land a contract with the Sabres just under a week before the team's Opening Night matchup against the Blue Jackets on Thursday. The 32-year-old blueliner recorded no goals, 12 assists, 54 blocked shots, 32 PIM and 28 hits while averaging 16:58 of ice time across 69 regular-season appearances with the Blackhawks last year.

Theodore logged three assists, two shots on goal, two blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Thursday's 5-4 preseason overtime win over the Mammoth.

Theodore enters the season as the top blueliner for Vegas, though not by much with the likes of Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin around. Theodore should at least get first dibs on the top power-play unit, assuming the Golden Knights don't roll out a five-forward group. Theodore is coming off his worst campaign in years -- he was limited to 39 points in 70 regular-season outings, falling short of the 40-point mark for the first time since 2018-19.

Sandin-Pellikka scored a power-play goal and blocked two shots in Thursday's 3-2 preseason overtime win over the Sabres.

The fact that Sandin-Pellikka is getting power-play reps with a decent number of NHL players in the lineup is a good sign. He appears to have the edge to open the season with the Red Wings. The defenseman spent most of 2025-26 in the NHL as well, earning 21 points over 68 appearances, including seven power-play points. He'll have deep-league appeal in fantasy if he retains his role with the man advantage into the regular season.

Casey sustained an apparent knee injury Thursday versus the Rangers, and he will miss some time pending further evaluation, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Casey battled injuries in the AHL last year, and he didn't play after January, ending 2025-26 with 19 points in 29 appearances for Utica. He was going to have a tough time making the NHL roster to begin with, and this injury won't help. If it lingers into the regular season, Casey will likely start the year on non-roster injured reserve.

Grans exited Thursday's preseason game against Boston due to a lower-body injury.

Grans had three goals and 14 points in 61 regular-season appearances with AHL Lehigh Valley in 2025-26. Health permitting, The 24-year-old will probably be sent to the minors before the start of the season.