NHL Player News

Talbot will defend the road net in Tuesday's game against Buffalo and patrol the home crease in Thursday's matchup versus Pittsburgh, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

Talbot posted a 12-9-6 record with a 3.19 GAA and an .883 save percentage over 34 appearances for Detroit in the 2025-26 regular season. Talbot will likely be Jet Greaves' backup to begin the 2026-27 campaign due to the absence of Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder).

Greaves will get the starting nod on the road versus the Red Wings on Saturday, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

Greaves posted 16 saves without allowing a goal over two periods in Monday's preseason opener against Detroit. The 25-year-old netminder will get a bit of rest before a final tune-up in the last game of the exhibition slate. Greaves is projected to be the Blue Jackets' starter this year.

Markstrom will protect the road goal in Tuesday's preseason game versus the Hurricanes, Rob Darragh of the Panthers' official site reports.

Markstrom started Sunday and earned a win over the Hurricanes, stopping 21 of 24 shots. As a veteran player limited to two games of preseason action, this will presumably be Markstrom's last appearance until the regular season, which opens with another matchup against Carolina on Sept. 29.

Levi will patrol the road crease in Tuesday's preseason contest against the Jets.

Levi will make his Oilers debut Tuesday after he was acquired via trade in July. The 24-year-old backstop had a solid season with AHL Rochester in 2025-26, where he compiled a 23-20-9 record, a 2.83 GAA, a .904 save percentage and three shutouts across 52 regular-season appearances. He'll use Tuesday's preseason contest as an audition for the lead netminder role ahead of the 2026-27 season, as Frederik Andersen (undsiclosed) is set to miss the remainder of training camp.

Wallstedt will defend the road net against Dallas on Wednesday and patrol the home crease against the Stars on Friday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Wallstedt will get the nod for the Wild in the team's final two preseason games to help him prepare for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. He went 18-9-6 with four shutouts, a 2.61 GAA and a .915 save percentage across 35 NHL appearances during the 2025-26 regular season.

Tikkanen was placed on waivers Tuesday, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic.

Assuming he clears waivers, Tikkanen will report to AHL Hamilton. He posted a 17-9-1 record with a 2.65 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 29 appearances for AHL Bridgeport during the 2025-26 regular season.

Halverson was placed on waivers by the Stars on Tuesday, per James Mirtle of The Athletic.

Halverson signed a one-year deal with Dallas in the offseason. The 30-year-old netminder has been an effective backstop in the AHL each of the past two seasons, where he has earned at least 22 wins each year with the Syracuse Crunch. If he isn't claimed over the next 24 hours and clears waivers, he will likely be the No. 3 goaltending option in Dallas while playing with AHL Texas.

Askarov is expected to patrol the home crease in Tuesday's preseason game against Vegas, according to Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Askarov posted a 21-20-4 record with a 3.63 GAA and an .883 save percentage over 47 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. He should get most of the starts for the Sharks again in the 2026-27 campaign, but he could face competition from Alex Nedeljkovic, Eric Comrie or Ilya Samsonov if he doesn't improve.

Hofer halted 17 of 18 shots on net in Monday's 2-1 preseason loss to the Stars.

Hofer anchored the Blues for the first 40 minutes of the contest before Georgii Romanov allowed the go-ahead goal in the third period. The 26-year-old Hofer is coming off a season where he claimed the role of top netminder in St. Louis by posting a 24-13-5 record, a 2.61 GAA and a .909 save percentage across 46 regular-season outings. If Hofer continues to look sharp in the early stages of the 2026-27 campaign, he could be in line for his first year north of 50 regular-season appearances.

DeSmith turned aside 30 of 31 shots on net in Monday's 2-1 preseason win over the Blues.

DeSmith has picked up where he left off in 2025-26, when he posted a 15-8-6 record, a 2.43 GAA and a .907 save percentage across 30 regular-season outings. He's poised to be one of the league's best backups again in 2026-27 and is an underrated goaltending option to pair in a tandem with Jake Oettinger in deep fantasy leagues.