NHL Player News

Blackwood has not taken shots during the Avalanche's informal skates and appears to be bothered by a lower-body injury, Brennan Vogt of Hockey Mountain High reports Friday.

The Avalanche haven't revealed any information, but an update may come next week when training camp officially opens. Blackwood being hurt would be a serious dent in the team's goaltending depth, but if it's a minor issue, he has plenty of time to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Luukkonen reported to training camp with an undisclosed injury, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reports Friday.

A league source stated that Luukkonen came to camp with a "tweak." The Sabres are not sure as to the severity of the injury, and there is no timetable for a return. Buffalo inked Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year contract Thursday, in case Luukkonen is not ready for the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Luukkonen was 24-24-5 with a pair of shutouts, a 3.20 GAA and an .887 save percentage across 55 regular-season appearances for the Sabres in 2024-25.

Georgiev signed a one-year, $825,000 contract with the Sabres on Thursday.

Georgiev's contract is cheap enough to make it possible to bury his cap hit in the minors if he doesn't perform well enough to make the NHL roster. He'll compete with Alex Lyon and Devon Levi for the backup role during training camp, though this signing seems to indicate the Sabres don't expect Levi to begin in the NHL this year. Georgiev had terrible numbers between Colorado and San Jose last year, with a 15-26-4 record with a 3.71 GAA and an .875 save percentage over 49 regular-season appearances.

Hart, who was acquitted of sexual assault charges in the Hockey Canada trial, is eligible to play in the NHL beginning Dec. 1, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports Thursday.

Per Johnston, contracts can be registered with the NHL on Oct. 15, and the five players can begin conditioning with a team Nov. 15 and appear in a game Dec. 1. Thus far, Hart's former team, the Flyers, hasn't commented on whether they will pursue a deal for the goaltender, but several teams were reportedly monitoring the situation in regard to when Hart would be eligible to play again.

Bibeau signed a professional tryout agreement with the Stars on Wednesday, per PuckPedia.

Bibeau had a 2.60 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 35 regular-season appearances with Kouvola of the Finnish league in 2024-25. He's not expected to make Dallas' Opening Night roster, but he might earn a two-way contract and start the season in the minors.

Mandolese agreed to terms on a professional tryout agreement with Montreal, NHL Insider Frank Seravalli reports Wednesday.

Mandolese hasn't played in the NHL since the 2022-23 campaign, in which he posted a 1-2-0 record and 3.30 GAA in three appearances for the Senators. Last year, with AHL Colorado, the 25-year-old backstop went 11-6-0 with a .903 save percentage in 19 minor-league outings. Mandolese likely faces an uphill battle to supplant Kaapo Kahkonen or Jakub Dobes as the No. 2 for the Habs.

Wolf agreed to terms on a seven-year, $52.5 million contract with Calgary on Tuesday.

Wolf will play the upcoming campaign on his previous deal that carries a meager $850,000 cap hit before his extension kicks in ahead of the 2026-27 season. The young backstop was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as one of the league's top rookies last year but lost out to blueliner Lane Hutson. The 24-year-old Wolf went 29-16-8 with a 2.64 GAA, .910 save percentage and three shutouts in 59 regular-season appearances last season. Heading into 2025-26, Wolf is a lock to be the No. 1 option in Calgary and should be capable of challenging for the 30-win threshold.

Stezka signed a three-year contract with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga on June 18.

Stezka made his NHL debut in the 2024-25 campaign, stopping 20 of the 23 shots he faced in a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Feb. 23. The 28-year-old Czech native posted a 9-12-5 record with a 3.07 GAA and an .899 save percentage across 26 regular-season appearances for AHL Coachella Valley in 2024-25.

Romanov signed a professional tryout agreement with the Devils on Friday.

Romanov earned no NHL interest during free agency, so he will attempt to earn himself a contract while on a tryout in New Jersey. He saw limited action with the Sharks over the last two years, going 0-6-0 with 28 goals allowed on 249 shots over 10 appearances. With three goalies already on NHL contracts, Romanov doesn't have a good chance of seeing NHL action with the Devils in 2025-26.

Price's (knee) contract and a 2026 fifth-round pick were traded to the Sharks from the Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Gannon Laroque on Friday.

Price has been dealing with a knee issue since 2022, and he said in September of 2023 that he doesn't intend to play hockey again, so Friday's move will simply save the Canadiens some cap space. The 38-year-old will likely remain on long-term injured reserve until his contract expires in 2026.