NHL Player News

Zuccarello (shoulder) will play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Ducks, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

As expected, Zuccarello will be in the lineup just before the 2026-27 campaign opens. He produced 15 goals, 54 points and 122 shots on net in 59 appearances for Minnesota during the 2025-26 regular season. With the Kings this year, he should occupy a top-six role and see time on the first power-play unit.

Dostal will guard the road net in Saturday's preseason finale against the Kings, Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Dostal posted a 30-20-4 record with a 3.10 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 56 regular-season outings in 2025-26. He should get the bulk of the starts for the Ducks again in the 2026-27 campaign.

Crookshank was put on waivers Saturday, PuckPedia reports.

Florida acquired Crookshank in the offseason from New Jersey in a five-player trade that sent Jacob Markstrom to the Panthers. The 26-year-old Crookshank scored a goal in eight regular-season outings with the Devils in 2025-26. However, he spent the majority of his time in the minors and is set to open the season with AHL Charlotte.

Kuemper will patrol the home crease in Saturday's preseason game against the Ducks, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.

Kuemper will look to bounce back after he allowed five goals on 34 shots in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to Utah. While he dealt with injuries down the stretch of the 2025-26 campaign, he had a down year by his standards, posting a 19-14-15 record, a 2.78 GAA and an .891 save percentage across 50 regular-season outings. He'll likely open the season as the Kings' No. 1 option, but will face real competition for playing time against Anton Forsberg.

Perunovich was placed on waivers Saturday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

Perunovich supplied nine goals, 49 points and 54 PIM in 64 regular-season outings with AHL Tucson in 2025-26. Assuming he clears waivers, Perunovich is ticketed to start the 2026-27 campaign with AHL Ontario.

Bjornfot was placed on waivers by the Panters on Saturday.

Bjornfot signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Panthers when free agency opened in July, but he will begin the campaign in the minors. The 25-year-old blueliner posted two goals and four points across 19 regular-season games in the 2025-26 campaign. If he goes unclaimed over the next 24 hours, he will likely open the 2026-27 season with AHL Charlotte.

Ward was moved to the waiver wire Saturday, according to Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.

Ward provided three goals, seven points, 38 shots on net and 38 hits in 36 appearances with the Kings during the 2025-26 regular season. If he goes unclaimed, he could log NHL action for Los Angeles again at some point in the 2026-27 campaign.

Barron was put on waivers Saturday, Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey reports.

Barron registered nine assists, 31 shots on goal, 60 blocked shots and 37 hits in 52 appearances for the Predators during the 2025-26 regular season. Assuming he clears waivers, he will probably begin the 2026-27 campaign with AHL Milwaukee.

Askarov is expected to protect the road net in Saturday's preseason finale against the Golden Knights, Max Miller of NHL.com reports.

Askarov went 21-20-4 with a 3.63 GAA and an .883 save percentage over 47 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. He is poised to enter the 2026-27 campaign as San Jose's No. 1 netminder, but he will likely compete with Alex Nedeljkovic for starts.

Poirier was placed on waivers by the Stars on Saturday, per PuckPedia.

Poirier was the hero in the Stars' preseason outing Wednesday, where he made 24 saves in a 2-0 shutout win over the Wild. The 24-year-old backstop was an effective option for AHL Texas between the pipes last season, where he compiled a 27-19-8 record, a 2.61 GAA and a .912 save percentage across 52 regular-season outings. Given that Poirier was kept on the roster longer than Brandon Halverson, the former will likely be the organization's No. 3 option if either Jake Oettinger or Casey DeSmith are injured. However, Poirier will likely be challenged for playing time in the minors by Halverson, who had a solid showing with AHL Syracuse last season.