Laferriere is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and his status for their season opener is up in the air. If Laferriere doesn't play on Tuesday, expect Joel Armia to move up the lineup to skate with Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala.

Girard missed almost all of the preseason, but made his debut in Colorado's finale on Saturday. This is a good sign that Girard will be available for their season opener, but Colorado also waived two defensemen on Sunday, furthering the belief that Girard is good-to-go for Tuesday.

Vlasic had his preseason cut short due to a lower-body injury, and his status for the season opener is up in the air. The Blackhawks are expected to take eight defensemen to Florida, and Ethan Del Mastro is expected to take his spot in the lineup if he's unable to go.

Janmark is expected to start the season on injured reserve, making room on the roster for couple of newcomers to make their Oilers debut on opening night. Depending how players like Ike Howard, David Tomasek, Matthew Savoie, and Noah Philp start the season, Janmark could have a difficult time cracking the Oilers lineup this season.

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.

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.

Kotkaniemi is inching closer to a return but still has not been cleared for contact. The 25-year-old Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, scored 33 points (12G / 21A) in 78 games last season. It's unclear when he will return to full-contact drills at practice.

The Panthers, already battling several key injuries, received promising news on Friday, announcing that Lundell is day-to-day and his upper-body injury will not keep him out of the lineup long-term. With Aleksander Barkov (knee) out for most, if not all of the season, Lundell is slated for an increased role and uptick in ice time in the 2025-26 season. The 24-year-old Lundell had a career-high 45 points (17G / 28A) in 79 games last season.

Kesselring's regular-season debut with the Buffalo Sabres will be delayed after exiting Thursday's preseason game with an undisclosed injury and announcing he was out week-to-week on Friday. The 25-year-old is coming off a solid season with Utah, scoring 29 points (7G / 22A) and averaging 17:41 in 82 games.

Luukkonen had already missed the majority of pre-season due to a lower-body injury, which will likely keep him sidelined into the beginning of the regular season. If the 26-year-old is forced to miss any time, a combination of Alexandar Georgiev and Devon Levi will be expected to handle the crease in Buffalo.

Laughton was limited to only four points (2G / 2A) in 20 games with the Maple Leafs after being acquired before last season's trade deadline. The Maple Leafs will hope that an offseason helps the 31-year-old acclimate to the team's style, allowing him to return to the production he had in his previous two full seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, when he scored 82 points (31G / 51A) in 160 games. That said, his season debut with the Maple Leafs will have to wait as he will likely be unavailable when they hit the ice next week.

Ritchie was acquired before last season's trade deadline as part of a deal that sent Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche. The 20-year-old Ritchie has not yet made his regular-season debut with the Islanders and will likely have to wait a while longer, as he will likely not be ready for their season opener next week.