NHL Player News

Berard was shifted to waivers Sunday for the purpose of being sent to AHL Laval.

Berard signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens in July. In the 2025-26 regular season, he didn't earn a point in 13 NHL outings with the Rangers.

O'Brien (lower body) was placed on injured reserve on Sunday.

O'Brien was held out of Seattle's lineup for their preseason contest Thursday. The 19-year-old center was exceptional with OHL Brantford in 2025-26, where he compiled 28 goals and 93 points across 53 regular-season games. Once O'Brien is ready to go, the Kraken will have to decide whether they want to try him out with their current roster, or push off his NHL debut by potentially optioning him to AHL Coachella Valley.

Samoskevich (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Sunday.

Samoskevich is day-to-day, but he will miss the beginning of the 2026-27 campaign. Once he's healthy, he will likely occupy a top-six role and see time on the power play.

Barron was claimed off waivers by the Blues, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

After the Predators waived Barron on Saturday, the Blues took advantage of the opportunity of acquiring him as a depth blueliner for the organization. The 24-year-old blueliner primarily played in the NHL during the 2025-26 campaign, where he compiled nine assists, 31 shots on net, 37 hits and 60 blocked shots across 52 regular-season outings. He'll head to the active roster before potentially being optioned to AHL Springfield.

Poirier was claimed off waivers by New Jersey on Sunday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

With Dallas releasing Poirier on Saturday, New Jersey took notice and scooped him up to add to their organization depth. However, the team also opted to make room for him on the active roster by placing David Rittich on waivers. Because of this, the 24-year-old Poirier has a chance to open the season on New Jersey's Opening Night roster if Rittich is claimed off waivers by a different organization and if they favor the young netminder over Nico Daws. Poirier posted strong numbers with AHL Texas in 2025-26, where he compiled a 27-19-8 record, a 2.61 GAA and a .912 save percentage across 52 regular-season outings.

Copley was assigned to AHL Cleveland on Sunday.

Copley successfully cleared waivers Thursday before staying with the team for a little longer. However, he is poised to begin the 2026-27 campaign in the minors.

Jokiharju was placed on waivers by the Bruins on Sunday, Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe.

Jokiharju was on the fringe of making Boston's Opening Night roster after the team signed right-shot defensemen Will Borgen and Connor Clifton in the offseason. The 27-year-old Jokiharju played in half of Boston's regular-season games during 2025-26, where he posted two goals, 15 points, 40 shots on net and 37 blocked shots. If he goes unclaimed over the next 24 hours, he will likely start the season playing big minutes for AHL Providence. However, he could easily return to Boston if the team runs into injury trouble within the defensive core.

Blankenburg signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with Toronto on Sunday, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports.

Blankenburg attended training camp with the Maple Leafs on a professional tryout agreement. He impressed enough to earn a standard contract for the 2026-27 season. Blankenburg registered 16 assists, 24 points, 72 shots on net, 59 blocked shots and 55 hits in 61 regular-season appearances with Nashville and Colorado in 2025-26.

Poitras (lower body) was placed on injured reserve by the Bruins on Sunday, per Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe.

Poitras suffered his lower-body injury during Tuesday's practice session and was kept out of the Bruins' preseason finale Friday. The 22-year-old center saw limited action at the NHL level last season, where he posted a goal and eight shots on net across three regular-season appearances. When he's healthy enough to return from IR, the Bruins will have to make a decision on whether he will factor into the NHL lineup or to start his 2026-27 campaign with AHL Providence, where he posted 44 points in 69 regular-season games a year ago.

Jarvis (shoulder) was placed on the injured non-roster list Sunday.

Jarvis was initially pegged to miss about 4-6 months after having shoulder surgery in June. However, he believes he could return ahead of schedule after taking to the ice during training camp. Jarvis amassed 32 goals, 66 points, 224 shots on net and 81 hits in 71 games for the Hurricanes during the 2025-26 regular season.