NHL Player News

Patera was placed on waivers by the Bruins on Friday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence.

Patera joined the Bruins on a one-year, two-way contract during the offseason and will head to the minors to begin the regular season, assuming he clears waivers. He made 30 regular-season appearances with AHL Abbotsford last year and went 12-14-4 with a 2.63 GAA and .910 save percentage.

Villalta was placed on waivers by Buffalo on Friday.

Villalta posted a 3.10 GAA and an .895 save percentage in 33 regular-season appearances with AHL Tucson in 2025-26. While he's likely to get plenty of work with AHL Rochester if he clears waivers, he's behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon (upper body) and Colten Ellis for Buffalo's organizational goaltending depth chart.

Comrie was designated for waivers by the Sharks on Friday.

Comrie went 12-11-1 with a 3.13 GAA and .890 save percentage in 25 regular-season contests for Winnipeg last year. With Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic on the roster, not to mention Ilya Samsonov, the goalie room proved too crowded for Comrie to secure a spot on the roster.

Shesterkin will defend the road crease during Friday's preseason game against the Islanders, Andrew Crane of the New York Post reports.

Shesterkin drew the home start against the Islanders during Tuesday's preseason matchup and turned aside 18 of 20 shots while playing the first two periods. He's slated to play the full game during Friday's rematch to close out the preseason as he prepares to serve as the Rangers' top netminder to begin the 2026-27 campaign.

Delia was released from his professional tryout agreement with the Penguins on Friday.

Delia was only going to make the Opening Night roster if there was an injury among the organization's top three backstops. It wouldn't be surprising to see Delia sign a minor-league deal with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he can't land an NHL deal elsewhere.

Blackwood will get the starting nod at home versus Winnipeg on Friday, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.

Blackwood appears to have the inside track for the No. 1 job in Colorado, though he will likely have to split the workload with Scott Wedgewood. With the 29-year-old Blackwood getting the nod Friday, it will likely be Wedgewood who starts versus Utah on the road Saturday.

Kochetkov signed a two-year, $7.9 million contract extension with the Hurricanes on Friday.

Kochetkov was limited to nine regular-season appearances during the 2025-26 campaign due to a hip injury, but he was effective when on the ice, going 6-2-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .899 save percentage. He's back to full health ahead of the 2026-27 regular season and will remain under contract with the Hurricanes through the 2028-29 campaign, but he'll likely begin the upcoming season as Brandon Bussi's backup after Bussi went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .894 save percentage across 39 regular-season appearances last year.

Sorokin is slated to start Saturday's preseason finale at home against the Devils, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Semyon Varlamov will draw the home start against the Rangers on Friday, while Sorokin will defend the home crease during the Islanders' final preseason matchup in the second half of the back-to-back set. Sorokin started Tuesday's road preseason game against the Rangers and allowed three goals on nine shots while playing approximately half the game. He's expected to play the full game Saturday and appears to be in line to serve as the Islanders' No. 1 netminder to begin the regular season.

Gibson was placed on waivers by the Capitals for the purpose of reassignment to AHL Hershey on Friday.

Gibson hasn't yet made his NHL debut, and he's slated to begin the regular season in the minors if he clears waivers. He made 23 regular-season appearances with Hershey last year and went 9-9-5 with a 2.94 GAA and .903 save percentage.

Vanecek will not be in the lineup for Friday's preseason clash with the Rangers, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Despite earlier reports indicating that Vanecek would start Friday, it seems the Islanders will utilize Semyon Varlamov in the crease while Joshua Kotai serves as the No. 2 option. Barring any setbacks, it seems likely that Varlamov will take the backup role to open the season, which would leave Vanecek headed for waivers or the minors.