Welcome to the NHL Buzz. With the regular season set to begin Tuesday, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Florida Panthers
Spencer Knight was sent to Charlotte of the American Hockey League when the Panthers trimmed their training camp roster Friday.
Florida coach Paul Maurice said the move was made to get Knight more playing time. The 22-year-old goalie last played an NHL game Feb. 18. He entered the NHL/NHL Players' Association Player Assistance Program on Feb. 24.
"This was something we looked at from the start (of training camp)," Maurice said. "He's made great progress in his program. He feels good, he looked fantastic in training camp. But we need to put him in kind of a No. 1 position, a No. 1 role, and then run his program and work on what he's been working on. But he's been good."
Knight was 1-2-0 with a 2.43 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in three preseason games.
His departure means Anthony Stolarz will back up Sergei Bobrovsky to start the season.
"We've got two guys in here that can stop pucks and play," Maurice said. " ... It's what's best for Spencer Knight right now and is also what's best for the Florida Panthers long-term. [Knight] looked good in camp and we want to keep that going."
Florida also placed forwards Grigori Denisenko, William Lockwood and Alexander True, and defenseman Matt Kiersted on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL.
The Panthers play their preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Winnipeg Jets
Ville Heinola will be out 8-12 weeks for the Jets because of an ankle injury.
The defenseman was injured when he collided with Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom in the first period of a 3-0 preseason loss Thursday.
"He has a fracture around his ankle so the next step, we're not 100 percent sure yet, probably will be determined later today or tomorrow morning," Jets coach Rick Bowness said Friday. "But as I said last night, he's out for a while. ... You're looking at ... eight weeks, 8-10, 12 weeks. Who knows? But it's a fracture, so you've got to look at a minimum of eight weeks."
Heinola had one assist and averaged 13:16 of ice time in 10 regular-season games last season.
"He worked hard all summer to mentally and physically to get ready for training camp," Bowness said. "And he's going have to do it again. ... We're going to send him home (to Finland). There's no sense in sitting around here for that long of time. So that first couple of weeks it's better to be surrounded by his family and then when we need him to come back ... then we'll get him back."
The Jets open the regular season at the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SNW).
Minnesota Wild
Jared Spurgeon will be out week to week because of an upper-body injury.
The defenseman was injured in a 3-2 preseason shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. He did not return for the third period after he was hit by Reese Johnson late in the second.
"You can't really replace a guy like him, but fortunately the organization has seven good defensemen," Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton said Friday. "Even more down in Iowa (of the AHL) that are going to be able to help us out."
Spurgeon had 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 79 regular-season games last season.
Minnesota begins the regular season against Florida on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; BSFL, BSN, BSWI).
Vegas Golden Knights
Zach Whitecloud will be out week to week after having surgery for an upper-body injury Thursday.
The defenseman was injured in the first period of a 3-2 preseason loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Sept. 25. Whitecloud played 3:46 before leaving.
Whitecloud had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 59 regular-season games and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Golden Knights win the Cup last season.
Vegas opens the regular season against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).
Edmonton Oilers
Mattias Ekholm said he is hopeful to play in the season opener at the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SN1, SNO, SNE, SNP), although it has taken longer to recover from a hip injury than anticipated.
Ekholm skated with the Oilers for the first time in training camp Friday, taking part in the morning skate prior to their game against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place, the final preseason game for each team.
"Anything can happen, it's been way slower than I thought," the defenseman said. "I thought I would be full-on a couple of weeks ago and I haven't been, so we're being cognizant about it. I can't give you a definite answer right now, but I do feel good, so I'm hopeful."
Ekholm said he sustained the injury during offseason workouts and that it was bothering him coming into training camp.
"I've had one training program for 12 years and then you come to a new team, and you have new trainers and new staff that implements new stuff, and I think this was more of an accident whatever happened," he said. "I don't think I was trying to do too much; it was just a flukey thing that happened, and it's been lingering a little bit."
Ekholm was in his 12th season with the Nashville Predators when he was traded to Edmonton on Feb. 28.
The Oilers are not rushing him back until he is healthy.
"He's had a bunch of good days in a row, so it's a real positive and it's trending in the right direction," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said Friday. "There is a lot of things that go into it; first and foremost, you have to listen to the player and how the player is feeling, then he works in conjunction with the medical staff, and the strength and conditioning staff in his return to play protocol." -- Derek Van Diest
New York Islanders
Kyle Palmieri made his preseason debut in a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
The forward had only skated twice with the Islanders since suffering an offseason injury. He said earlier this week that even if he didn't play a preseason game, he was still optimistic about being ready for the Islanders' regular-season opener against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 14 (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, MSG-B).
Palmieri had two shots on goal in 14:12 of ice time.
"I liked him," New York coach Lane Lambert said after the game. "It was his first game, but he looked like a power forward tonight. He used his body, drove pucks to the net. I liked his game."
Palmieri had 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in 55 regular-season games last season. -- Stefen Rosner
