Hoglander was expected to start the season on Vancouver's third line but will likely need to wait to make his season debut, as he is sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old scored 25 points (8G / 17A) in 72 games last season.

Rifai suffered the injury last night in a preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens. The 27-year-old Rifai will likely spend most of the season with the Marlies (AHL) upon his return, as he did last season when he tallied 13 points (3G / 10A) in 63 games.

Already without Matthew Tkachuk for the first few months of the season, the Panthers suffered another significant loss on Friday with the announcement that Barkov's entire season could be in jeopardy. The 30-year-old Barkov has averaged over a point per game in each of his last five seasons, including 71 points (20G / 51A) in 2024-25.

Tuch suffered a minor injury last week that kept him sidelined for several days, but he will draw into Buffalo's lineup on Saturday. The 29-year-old Tuch had 67 points (36G / 31A) in 82 games last season.

The Canadiens' fifth-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft has battled injuries early in his professional career and will be sidelined again to start the 2025-26 season. The 20-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game and was limited to only 10 contests with the Laval Rocket in 2024-25, scoring five points (2G / 3A).

Panarin returned to practice on Friday in a red jersey but has been cleared for contact. He suffered the injury last week in training camp. Panarin led the Rangers in points yet again last season, after putting up 37 goals and 89 points in 80 games played.

Blomqvist's start to training camp is not going as planned after it was announced that the 23-year-old netminder will be sidelined at least four weeks. The sophomore netminder is expected to compete with Tristan Jarry for Pittsburgh's starting role in 2025-26 after putting up a 4-9-1 record, 3.81 GAA and .885 SV% in 15 games played as a rookie last season.

Stephenson left Seattle's game on Tuesday vs. Calgary due to an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day going forward. The 31-year-old centre is coming off his second consecutive 51-point season after completing his first year in Seattle in 2024-25. He is expected to play a key role up the middle of Seattle's offence this year.

Kakko left Seattle's preseason game on Tuesday with an upper-body injury and is still being evaluated with the expectation he will see a specialist on Friday. The 24-year-old is entering his first full season in Seattle after putting up career highs in points (44) in 2024-25 between New York and Seattle. Kakko is expected to play a pivotal top-six role this season, so if he is forced to miss any time, it will be worrisome for the Kraken.

Luukkonen was announced day-to-day with a lower-body injury last week, but has yet to return to Buffalo's practice to start training camp. Thankfully, the 26-year-old netminder stated in an interview on Thursday that he would be ready for the start of the season. Buffalo had signed Alexandar Georgiev to replace Luukkonen if he was unable to go for the beginning of the 2025-26 season. Luukkonen is expected to start the majority of Sabre games yet again this season after posting a 24-24-5 record, .887 SV% and 3.20 GAA across 55 starts last season.

Barkov left Florida's practice on Thursday with an apparent leg injury and is being further evaluated by the Panthers' training staff. Head Coach Paul Maurice stated that the team should have news on the team's captain by Friday. The 30-year-old is entering his 13th NHL season after finishing 2024-25 above a point-per-game for the 5th straight year with 20 goals and 71 points in 67 games.

Dallas will be without their captain for an extended period after it was announced Thursday that Jamie Benn will undergo surgery for a collapsed lung and will be reevaluated in four weeks. The 36-year-old is entering his 17th NHL season and has only missed two games across the previous four years. In 2024-25, he had 16 goals, 49 points and 70 PIMs in 80 games played.

San Jose has their first significant injury of the 2025-26 season after it was announced Colin White is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old's hopes of cracking the opening night roster were cut short on Monday after he appeared in three games with the Sharks in 2024-25. The 28-year-old is entering his 10th NHL season and 2nd in San Jose.

After one preseason game, John Klingberg is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss the Sharks' upcoming game on Friday. The 32-year-old was signed to a one-year, $4 million contract in the offseason after appearing in 30 games with Edmonton in 2024-25 across the regular season and playoffs.

Sturms' start to his Minnesota tenure is off to a rocky start after it was announced the 30-year-old would be off the ice for four or five days due to a back injury. After winning a cup with Florida in 2024-25, Sturm signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason. He is coming off a seven-goal, 14-point campaign across 62 games with both San Jose and Florida in 2024-25.

Hague was acquired from Vegas in the offseason and then signed to a four-year, $22 million contract by the Predators, but will have to wait to make his debut after it was announced he is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury. Hague was originally paired with Roman Josi to start training camp and will mark a massive loss for the Predators early. The 26-year-old is entering his seventh NHL season after putting up five goals, 12 points and 40 PIMs in 68 games played last season.

Benn missed practice on Tuesday with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day as the Stars begin their preseason schedule. The injury is not expected to be serious, and the 35-year-old is expected to be ready for his 17th career opening night when Dallas starts their season on October 9th in Winnipeg. Benn will look to bounce back from a down season in 2024-25, after he put up 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games played.

Batherson left Ottawa's practice early with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss at least the next two weeks of training camp. The 27-year-old right-winger is entering his eighth season in Ottawa after putting up career highs in points (67) last season across 82 games played. He is expected to play an integral role in Ottawa's offence this season, but it is not a guarantee that he will be ready for Ottawa's season opener.

Benoit has yet to return to Toronto's training camp after it was announced that the defenseman was still potentially dealing with an upper-body injury that lingered from last season. Toronto is hopeful to have its sixth defenseman back before its opening game on October 8th vs Montreal, after he appeared in all but four games in 2024-25, putting up a goal, 10 points, and a +12 plus/minus.