NHL Player News

Dobes will defend the road crease in Tuesday's Opening Night Matchup against the Maple Leafs, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Dobes was the top candidate to see Montreal's first reps of the season in net after his successful 2025-26 campaign. Across 43 regular-season games, the 25-year-old goalie put together a 29-10-3 record, a 2.78 GAA and a .901 save percentage before he appeared in 19 postseason outings. Dobes will be matched up against the new-look Maple Leafs, who traded away Matthew Knies and acquired Kirill Marchenko Monday. Dobes is a solid No. 2 option in fantasy ahead of his second full season in the NHL.

Bobrovsky will patrol the home crease in Tuesday's season opener against Montreal, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.

Bobrovsky struggled last season behind an injured Florida team that failed to make the playoffs. After signing a three-year, $21 million contract with Toronto in July, the veteran netminder is an intriguing bounce-back candidate for the 2026-27 campaign.

Vladar (upper body) has been cleared to play in Wednesday's Opening Night contest against the Penguins, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Vladar has been trending towards being available for the Flyers' season opener, and he confirmed that he'll be available for Wednesday's playoff rematch with the Penguins. The 29-year-old backstop had a breakout season in 2025-26, where he posted a 29-14-7 record, a 2.42 GAA and a .906 save percentage across 52 regular-season outings. It remains to be seen whether Vladar or Joseph Woll will get the start Wednesday. However, Vladar dominated against Pittsburgh in the postseason, compiling a 4-2-0 record, a 1.61 GAA and a .937 save percentage, so he could be in for a successful fantasy outing if the Flyers elect to roll with him over Woll.

Head coach Lindy Ruff stated that Lyon (upper body) is expected to miss a couple of days, per Heather Engel of NHL.com.

Lyon suffered the upper-body injury during Thursday's preseason outing against the Red Wings. The 33-year-old netminder had a solid showing in the 2025-26 regular season, where he posted a 20-10-4 record, a 2.77 GAA, a .906 save percentage and three shutouts across 36 outings. He's currently in jeopardy of missing the team's Opening Night contest, where the Sabres appear to be planning for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to start. If Lyon can't suit up for the opener, Colten Ellis will be the backup.

Sorokin will patrol the road crease in Wednesday's opening night matchup against the Maple Leafs, per Andrew Gross of Newsday.

Sorokin was the first goalie off the ice during Tuesday's morning skate, placing him in line to start the Islanders' season opener. The 31-year-old backstop had a lot of highs to look back on from the 2025-26 campaign, where he posted a 29-24-2 record, a 2.68 GAA, a .906 save percentage and seven shutouts across 55 regular-season outings. As he led the league in clean sheets a season ago, Sorokin has the ability to flip a fantasy matchup on its head, making him an elite option in all league formats to begin the upcoming season.

Swayman will defend the home crease in Tuesday's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers, per Jack Studley of Boston Hockey Now.

Swayman will look to carry the momentum he generated in the 2025-26 season into the upcoming campaign, where he'll kick things off against one of Boston's rivals from the Original Six. The 27-year-old backstop excelled in his second full season as the Bruins' lead option between the pipes, compiling a 31-18-4 record, a 2.71 GAA, a .907 save percentage and two shutouts across 55 regular-season appearances. Pitted against a Rangers' offense that struggled a season ago, Swayman is a strong start in all fantasy formats to welcome in the new season.

Merzlikins is expected to miss 4-6 months to begin the 2026-27 regular season while recovering from a shoulder injury, per Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

Less than 24 hours after Merzlikins was traded to the Maple Leafs, a timetable for his return to action has been provided. The 32-year-old backstop had an up and down season in 2025-26, where he posted a 14-11-3 record, a 3.39 GAA and an .883 save percentage across 30 regular-season outings. He won't be rushed into action, as the Leafs new goaltender tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz are still expected to handle the majority of reps between the pipes this upcoming season. However, when Merzlikins is ready to return, he's the clear No. 3 option in Toronto's organization and could still see some playing time at the NHL level if he isn't sent down to AHL Toronto.

Miner cleared waivers and has been reassigned to AHL Colorado.

Miner will report to the Eagles once again in 2026-27 after he cleared waivers Monday. The 25 year-old backstop had a solid AHL season in 2025-26, compiling a 17-8-8 record, a 2.62 GAA and a .904 save percentage across 32 regular-season outings. He's the clear No. 3 backstop in Colorado's organization, making him the top name to watch if either Scott Wedgewood or Mackenzie Blackwood suffers an injury in the upcoming campaign. However, he's currently dealing with an injury of his own, making his status for AHL Colorado's season opener unknown at this time.

Keyser (upper body) was placed on non-roster injured reserve by the Sharks on Monday, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The Sharks announced in mid-September that Keyser was facing a long-term absence due to an upper-body injury, so his placement on non-roster injured reserve isn't particularly surprising. Once he's cleared to return, the 27-year-old will likely report to AHL San Jose.

Merzlikins (shoulder), Kirill Marchenko and Miles Wood were traded to the Maple Leafs from the Blue Jackets on Monday in exchange for Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrae and a second-round pick, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

It's not yet clear when Merzlikins will be ready to make his 2026-27 debut after he underwent shoulder surgery in late August. The 32-year-old is entering the final season of his five-year, $27 million contract, and the Blue Jackets will retain 18 percent of his salary as part of Monday's deal. Merzlikins made 30 regular-season appearances for Columbus last year and went 14-11-3 with a 3.39 GAA and .883 save percentage. Once he's healthy, he'll likely compete for playing time with Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz.