National Hockey League
Around the league
- NHL clubs place 18 more players on waivers as Monday's roster deadline nears
Ten teams put a combined 18 players on waivers Saturday, the second wave in three days as clubs trim to the 23-man limit ahead of Monday's opening-night deadline. Boston waived forwards Lukas Reichel and Alex Steeves; the Islanders put five players on waivers, headlined by winger Pierre Engvall; Calgary, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Los Angeles, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Washington each waived at least one player. Detroit claimed defenseman Andreas Englund from Calgary, and Nashville claimed defenseman William Trudeau from the Rangers. The wave follows Friday's larger cut-down, when outlets reported roughly 50 to 60-plus players placed on waivers league-wide.
- Canucks' Meriläinen waiver claim squeezes Vancouver's crease ahead of the roster deadline
Vancouver's claim of goaltender Leevi Meriläinen off waivers from Ottawa, plus placing forward Filip Chytil on injured reserve, has intensified the Canucks' goaltending competition ahead of Monday's 2 p.m. PT deadline to trim the roster to 23. Nikita Tolopilo now faces a possible assignment to Abbotsford, and Chris Driedger's roster spot is in question depending on how the goaltending numbers shake out. Vancouver is also carrying five injured skaters (Thompson, MacEachern, Thomas, Chytil, Demko) while it finalizes its forward and defense groups; Aatu Räty and Max Sasson appear to have made the forward group, while Braeden Cootes and Jonathan Lekkerimäki are ticketed for more seasoning in Abbotsford.
- Rumour mill: Larkin widens trade list, Marchenko drawing wide interest, Nikishin seeks a trade out of Carolina
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that Red Wings center Dylan Larkin has expanded his list of preferred trade destinations to as many as eight teams, including Dallas, Washington, Colorado and Tampa Bay. Friedman and the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan also reported Columbus winger Kirill Marchenko is drawing interest from Montreal, the Islanders, Toronto, Winnipeg, Boston, Vegas and Seattle, and that Carolina is permitting restricted free agent defenseman Alexander Nikishin's camp to explore a trade following the club's Stanley Cup run. Separately, Friedman reported Detroit prefers a bridge contract for restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson over a long-term deal, and that Florida and pending free agent winger Vladimir Tarasenko are weighing a reunion. All of the above is rumour and trade speculation, not confirmed transactions.
- Sharks name Macklin Celebrini, 20, the youngest captain in franchise history
San Jose named 20-year-old center Macklin Celebrini team captain, making him the youngest captain in Sharks history and the NHL's youngest active captain. The Sharks had gone without a captain since Logan Couture's retirement in April 2025. General manager Mike Grier said Celebrini earned the role through his character and daily work ethic, and Joe Thornton presented Celebrini with his new jersey at the announcement. Celebrini finished fourth in NHL scoring last season with 115 points, signed a five-year, $94 million contract, and captained Canada at the 2026 World Championship. "There's a responsibility that comes with that," Celebrini said of the honor.
- Hurricanes sign goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to two-year, $8.9 million extension
Carolina signed goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to a two-year extension covering the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons, worth a combined $8.9 million and averaging $4.45 million annually. General manager Eric Tulsky called Kochetkov "an incredibly talented goalie whose aggressive style fits our team very well."
- Preseason wrap: Zuccarello shines in Kings debut, Crosby opens scoring, Hughes' hat trick lifts Colorado
Saturday's exhibition slate saw Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 3-1 behind an early Sidney Crosby goal, Carolina blank Nashville 6-0 with Jackson Blake posting a goal and two assists, and Los Angeles beat Anaheim 6-2 as 39-year-old newcomer Mats Zuccarello had a goal and two assists in his Kings debut. Friday's slate had Colorado beat Winnipeg 5-2 on a T.J. Hughes hat trick, and Dallas edge Minnesota 2-1.
- Injury roundup: Luukkonen and Rust banged up in preseason finales; Ovechkin, Seguin trending toward openers
Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left Saturday's preseason game with what coach Lindy Ruff called a lower-body "tweak," and his status for the opener is uncertain; fellow Sabres goalie Alex Lyon is also being evaluated after an upper-body injury from Thursday. Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust left Saturday's game and is still being evaluated, per Pens Inside Scoop. Ottawa's Jake Sanderson was pulled from Saturday's game as a precaution. Elsewhere, Dallas' Tyler Seguin has returned to game action after last December's knee injury, Detroit's Dylan Larkin is practicing but not yet on his regular line, Minnesota's Brock Faber underwent a precautionary evaluation after taking a puck to the head, New Jersey's Seamus Casey is expected to miss time per his coach, Buffalo's Olen Zellweger (concussion) and Mattias Samuelsson (lower-body) are considered day-to-day, and Washington's Alex Ovechkin is expected to be ready for the season opener.
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