NHL Player News

Ottawa put five players on waivers Thursday, including Shepard, per James Mirtle of The Athletic.

Cameron Crotty, Wyatt Bongiovanni, Xavier Bourgault and Garrett Pilon were also waived by Ottawa. None of those players were expected to make Ottawa's Opening Night roster, and all of them are projected to spend most, if not all, of 2025-26 in the minors. The 29-year-old Shepard had a 2.80 GAA and an .891 save percentage in 39 regular-season appearances with AHL Hershey in 2024-25.

Ingram was designated for waivers by the Mammoth on Thursday.

After entering the Player Assistance Program last year, Ingram was cleared to resume playing but didn't report to Utah's training camp as the team worked to get him a fresh start. It seems the club wasn't able to find a trade partner, instead designating Ingram for waivers. If he goes unclaimed, look for the 28-year-old Canadian to start the year in the minors in the hope of revitalizing his career.

Vanecek will guard the road goal in Vegas on Thursday, Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports reports.

Vanecek is slated to play the entire game. The 29-year-old netminder is playing for his fifth NHL team in the last five years as he has tended net for Washington, New Jersey, San Jose and Florida prior to the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Vanecek was 5-14-4 with a 3.62 GAA and an .884 save percentage across 25 regular-season appearances for the Sharks and Panthers in 2024-25. He currently has the inside track to backup Karel Vejmelka in the Utah crease this season.

Wallstedt will patrol the home crease versus Dallas on Thursday and play two periods, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Wallstedt is attempting to garner the backup goaltender position in Minnesota, behind first-stringer Filip Gustavsson. Wallstedt was considered the Wild's goaltender of the future heading into last season, but poor play in the 2024-25 campaign in which he was 0-2-0 while allowing eight goals on only 51 shots with Minnesota and a 9-14-4 mark with AHL Iowa, really hurt his value. Wallstedt will battle Cal Petersen for backup duty with the Wild heading into the regular season.

Head coach Rod Brind'Amour said Thursday that Kochetkov is dealing with a minor injury, Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer reports.

While the exact nature of Kochetkov's injury isn't yet clear, it seems unlikely that the issue will force him to miss too much time, and he should tentatively be considered day-to-day. Kochetkov went 27-16-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .897 save percentage over 47 regular-season appearances last year, and assuming he's healthy for the start of the 2025-26 campaign, he should split playing time with Frederik Andersen.

Luukkonen (lower body) is expecting to be ready for Opening Night against the Rangers on Oct. 9, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports Thursday.

Luukkonen practiced for the first time during training camp Thursday, but look for the team to ease him back into action -- if the netminder plays in a preseason game at all. The Sabres have four more opportunities for Luukkonen to face some rubber before the season opener. In the meantime, Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev figure to continue battling for the No. 2 spot in Buffalo.

Vladar is slated to start Thursday's preseason game on the road against the Capitals, Charlie O'Connor of PHLY Sports reports.

While the 28-year-old will draw the start Thursday, head coach Rick Tocchet said that Vladar will only play the first period against Washington. The Flyers have been cautious with their top netminders during the preseason, but Vladar and Samuel Ersson are expected to play in full exhibition games next week.

Montembeault will defend the home crease in preseason action Thursday versus Toronto, Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette reports.

Montembeault drew the start in Monday's preseason opener against the Penguins, and he'll defend the crease again Thursday. Montembeault is slated to return as the Canadiens' No. 1 goaltender this season after posting a 31-24-7 record with a 2.82 GAA and a .901 save percentage across 62 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

Luukkonen (lower body) returned to practice Thursday, per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Luukkonen will partake in his first practice session in training camp. The 26-year-old starting netminder was 24-24-5 with a 3.20 GAA and an .887 save percentage across 55 regular-season contests in 2024-25. Luukkonen will be challenged for the top spot, as the Sabres signed Alexandar Georgiev and Alex Lyon to compete with Luukkonen and Devon Levi between the pipes.

Vasilevskiy (undisclosed) has not skated since Friday, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.

Vasilevskiy is hoping to return to practice on the weekend, according to head coach Jon Cooper. "Basically he's just going through some treatments and stuff. It's player management so he'll be out probably a few days, latest hopefully a week and, then, he'll be back in there," Cooper said last Saturday. Vasilevskiy is still expected to get the Opening Night start at home versus Ottawa on Oct. 9.