NHL Buzz: Pearson signs contract with Golden Knights

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Vegas Golden Knights

Tanner Pearson signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Golden Knights on Friday.

The 32-year-old, who was on a professional tryout contract, has three points (two goals, one assist) in four preseason games with the Golden Knights.

"It's nice to be sticking around," Pearson said after practice Friday. "It's a great feeling, honestly. ... It was a long summer not knowing what was going to happen here, so I'm pretty happy."

Pearson had 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 54 games for the Montreal Canadiens last season.

Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round (No. 30) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Pearson has 285 points (138 goals, 147 assists) in 644 regular-season games for the Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings and 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 51 playoff games.

Pearson won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014.

The Golden Knights play their final preseason game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and open the regular-season against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Bryan Rust is day to day with a lower-body injury.

The forward was held off the ice Friday for a third consecutive day. Rust's absence the previous two days was labeled as maintenance.

Rust, normally first-line right wing with center Sidney Crosby, was tied with Erik Karlsson for third on the Penguins last season with 56 points (28 goals, 28 assists) in 62 games.

Karlsson, day to day with an upper-body injury, practiced Friday for a second straight day.

The defenseman took no contact during a morning skate, rotating on the third defense pair and working on the top power play with Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, Kris Letang and Crosby. Rust would be part of that unit when healthy.

Before Thursday, Karlsson had not practiced since training camp opened Sept. 18.

"We're trying to get him reps in certain situations," coach Mike Sullivan said on Friday. "When you miss a guy of that stature throughout virtually the whole training camp, it makes it hard because we're trying to integrate these guys into different aspects of the game. He's obviously a big part of it."

Sullivan said on Tuesday he was confident Karlsson could play when the Penguins open the regular season at home against the New York Rangers on Oct. 9.

Karlsson would likely have to progress to taking contact before playing in a game. The Penguins have three scheduled full practices before the opener.

Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is week to week because of a lower-body injury after leaving in the first period of a 5-1 preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.

Nedeljkovic, the expected backup to Tristan Jarry, started the final 13 games for the Penguins last season. He signed a two-year, $5 million contract on June 20 to stay in Pittsburgh. -- Wes Crosby

San Jose Sharks

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov was sent to San Jose of the American Hockey League on Friday after being out all of training camp because of a lower-body injury.

"That was the right step for him," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "He'll go down there and practice and take it day by day. When he's ready to get into game action, I'm sure they'll put him in."

Acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23, the 22-year-old has three games of NHL experience over the past two seasons with Nashville, with a 1-1-0 record, 2.58 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

The Sharks will open the season against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, with Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood as their two goalies.

"We'll focus on those guys," Warsofsky said of Vanecek and Blackwood. "If the time comes [for Askarov], it comes.

"He's behind, right? He didn't practice with us throughout training camp. ... It's good to get him down there and get going with full practices. Then, when he gets in a game, he's in a game." -- Max Miller

Toronto Maple Leafs

Calle Jarnkrok, Nicholas Robertson and Jake McCabe each did not practice on Friday and are considered day to day.

Jarnkrok, a forward who is out with a lower body injury, played 14:42 in the Maple Leafs 2-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. He had missed the prior week of training camp with a lower body injury before returning to full practice on Wednesday.

Robertson, a forward who is out with an upper-body injury, scored twice in 21:12 against the Red Wings and has five goals in the preseason.

"Very pleased (with what I've seen from him at camp)," Toronto coach Craig Berube said Friday. "Not even the goals so much, obviously that's huge. He's a goal scorer and he's finishing which is great but it's the work ethic, the details l, the defense. Last night is a typical example, he's the low guy coming back in our zone, knocks a guy off the puck l, makes a play and then advances up the ice and gets a goal. Those are the types of things that impress me."

McCabe, a defenseman who is out with an upper-body injury, practiced on Thursday but was not scheduled to and did not play against the Red Wings.

Toronto plays its final preseason game against the Detroit Red Wins on Saturday and begins the regular season ad the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. -- Dave McCarthy

Anaheim Ducks

Beckett Sennecke was returned to Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League on Friday, two days after the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft made his preseason debut for Anaheim.

The 18-year-old forward missed rookie camp and the first four preseason games after sustaining a foot fracture during offseason training.

Sennecke had four hits and three giveaways in 15:34 of ice time in a 5-2 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday at Honda Center. He played on a line with Mason McTavish and Robby Fabbri.

"For me, it felt pretty fast out there," Sennecke said. "Guys are a lot bigger, stronger, obviously, but I kind of held my own."

Ducks coach Greg Cronin said he was impressed with Sennecke's confidence and vision on the ice.

"You can see the plays he made, a lot of them didn't connect, but you can see what he's looking at," Cronin said. "He's an elite thinker, like he's a step ahead of everybody. There are guys that are first-pass players, like he's a second-pass player, like he's already made the first pass in his head and he's looking to go where the second pass is going to be. You can see it in the way he moves the puck and how he uses his body."

Sennecke had 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) in 63 games with Oshawa last season. -- Dan Arritt