Walman hasn't officially been ruled out for the season opener, but Oilers' head coach Kris Knoblauch said it's unlikely. With Walman injured, Alec Regula may skate with Darnell Nurse in the season opener.

Samuelsson has been sidelined since September 26th, but is ahead of schedule in his recovery. Head coach Lindy Ruff expects Samuelsson to be ready for the Sabres' season opener on October 9th.

Power has been sidelined after he "strained something" during Monday's practice, but head coach expects him to be ready for their season opener on October 9th. Power's availability will be key because the Sabres are already without Michael Kesselring and possibly Mattias Samuelsson on the blueline.

Benson has been skating with other injured players, but has yet to resume practice. Head coach Lindy Ruff expects Benson to return to practice soon, making him questionable to play in their season opener on October 9th.

Kesselring left the Sabres' preseason game on October 1st after aggravating an injury that he'd been dealing with throughout camp. Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff said that Kesselring will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis, effectively ruling him out for the start of the regular season.

Perfetti suffered the ankle injury during the Jets' preseason finale after delivering a hit on Kevin Bahl in the second period. With Perfetti out to open the season, that opens a door in the Jets' top-6 and on the top power-play unit. Nikita Chibrikov is expected to get the first crack on the second-line with Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist, while it will likely be Alex Iafallo on PP1.

San Jose has acquired the contract of Ryan Ellis, and a 2026 6th-round pick from Philadelphia for Carl Grundstrom and Artem Guryev. Ellis is in the 7th year of an eight-year, $50 million contract, but is not eligible to play due to a significant back injury, making this trade a salary dump for Philadelphia. Ellis's last NHL appearance was in the 2021-22 season.

Grzelcyk joined Chicago in training camp on a PTO and has earned himself a one-year, $1 million contract with the Blackhawks just before the start of the regular season. Grzelcyk is entering his 10th NHL season after putting up a goal and 40 points in 82 games with Pittsburgh in 2024-25.

McBain has battled an illness and an injury that have limited his preseason availability, but he will be ready to play in Utah's season opener next week. The 25-year-old McBain was productive from Utah's bottom-six last season, scoring a career-high 27 points (13G / 14A) and tallying 291 hits in 82 contests.

Cooley has been absent for most of the preseason, tending to an undisclosed injury, but will be available to play in Utah's season opener next week. The 20-year-old Cooley is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign, scoring 65 points (25G / 40A) in 75 games. He's slated to center a potentially dynamic top-line for an exciting and young Utah Mammoth club between Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka.

Colorado added some depth to their blueline on Friday, claiming Solovyov off of waivers from the Calgary Flames. The 25-year-old hard-hitting defenseman has four points (0G / 4A) and 26 hits in 15 career games over the past two seasons.