NHL Player News

Head coach Mike Sullivan indicated Wednesday that Garand and Joonas Korpisalo will compete for the Rangers' backup goaltending job during training camp, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.

Igor Shesterkin enters the 2026-27 campaign as the Rangers' No. 1 option in the crease, but Garand and Korpisalo will have a chance to compete for the No. 2 role. Both Garand and Korpisalo drew praise from Sullivan during Wednesday's press availability, with the bench boss emphasizing Garand's overall growth and development last season. Garand got his first taste of action in the NHL late last year, and he went 2-0-1 with a 1.62 GAA and .948 save percentage across three regular-season appearances with the Rangers.

Ellis could be part of a timeshare in the crease early in the 2026-27 campaign if he makes the Opening Night roster, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports Wednesday.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday that the Sabres' goaltenders will likely share the net to begin the 2026-27 campaign. While Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon will likely see the most playing time in the crease this year, Ellis could benefit from a timeshare if he breaks camp with the Sabres. Across 16 appearances with the NHL club last year, Ellis went 8-4-2 with a 2.90 GAA and .903 save percentage.

Although Lyon is projected to start 2026-27 as Buffalo's No. 2 goaltender, he should play more than a typical understudy, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 on Wednesday.

Buffalo plans to split the goaltending duties rather than have firm starter and backup roles. Lyon posted a 20-10-4 record, a 2.77 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 36 regular-season appearances with Buffalo last year. It wouldn't be surprising to see him get a similar workload in 2026-27 while sharing the net primarily with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and occasionally with Colten Ellis.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday that Luukkonen and the Sabres' other goaltenders will likely share the net early in the 2026-27 campaign, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

The Sabres utilized a timeshare in the crease for most of the 2025-26 campaign, and that trend is expected to continue into the 2026-27 season. Luukkonen should share playing time with Alex Lyon, as well as Colten Ellis if he's included on the Opening Night roster. The Sabres and the rest of the NHL have an abbreviated training camp ahead of the regular season, so it isn't particularly surprising that the team will use a timeshare to preserve the long-term health of its goaltenders.

Demko (hip) won't be a full participant in training camp, Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor reports Wednesday.

Demko was sidelined to close out the 2025-26 campaign due to hip surgery, and the Canucks announced last week that he doesn't yet have a timetable for his return. While he isn't expected to be among the main groups to open camp, the netminder will be on the ice in Penticton with his teammates as he continues his recovery process. It remains unclear if Demko will be available for the start of the regular season. Kevin Lankinen, Chris Driedger and Nikita Tolopilo are candidates to see time in net if Demko remains sidelined.

Merzlikins (shoulder) failed his physical, and there's still no timetable for his return, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers on Wednesday.

Merzlikins is recovering from shoulder surgery. While general manager Don Waddell didn't offer a timetable, he did specify that "you're not going to see him in the near future, that's for sure." In other words, it's fair to consider the netminder out indefinitely. Merzlikins had a 14-11-3 record, 3.39 GAA and .883 save percentage over 30 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. After signing with the Blue Jackets on Monday, Cam Talbot is projected to serve as the backup goaltender to Jet Greaves until Merzlikins is available.

Johansson is not expected to serve as the backup for the Lightning this season, with that role going to Dennis Hildeby, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports Wednesday.

According to general manager Julian Brisebois, the team is working with Johansson's agent to find him a better landing spot that would include playing time and could help the Lightning shed his $1.25 million cap hit. The 30-year-old backstop saw action in 25 regular-season games last year, going 11-10-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .884 save percentage.

Hildeby is expected to serve as the Lightning's No. 2 goaltender to begin the 2026-27 campaign, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Tampa Bay acquired Hildeby from the Maple Leafs in early July. He's slated to be Andrei Vasilevskiy's primary backup, as the Lightning seek a trade for Jonas Johansson. Hildeby posted a 5-7-4 record with a 2.85 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 20 regular-season games with Toronto last year.

Vasilevskiy doesn't believe the shortened training camp will impact his readiness for the 2026-27 campaign, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports Wednesday.

The NHL has reduced the number of preseason games each team plays to four to accommodate the increase in regular-season tilts from 82 to 84. The Lightning will naturally lean heavily on Vasilevskiy as they always do when he's healthy, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him reach 60 regular-season starts for the fifth time in his career. He fell just short of that mark in the 2025-26 regular season, posting a 39-15-4 record, 2.31 GAA and .911 save percentage in 58 appearances.

Blackwood arrived at training camp in the best shape of his life, according to head coach Jared Bednar, and will have the chance to earn the starting job, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports Wednesday.

When asked if he planned to rotate his goaltenders again, Bednar told reporters they'd enter the season with a clean slate. The 29-year-old Blackwood played in only 38 regular-season tilts, but he posted a solid 23-10-2 record with a 2.50 GAA and three shutouts. The door appears to be open for Blackwood to earn the No. 1 job back from Scott Wedgewood this year, and in an ideal scenario, Bednar seems to be looking for that result.