Training Camp Buzz: Matthews skates prior to Maple Leafs practice

Welcome to the 2021-22 NHL training camp buzz. With training camps opening for all 32 teams this week, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews handled the puck on Friday for the first time since the Maple Leafs center had wrist surgery on Aug. 13.
Matthews, who missed four games last season because of the injury, skated by himself prior to the main sessions and went through a series of puck handling drills.
Coach Sheldon Keefe said there is no timeline for when Matthews will join the main group at camp.
"It's all just going to depend on how he progresses," Keefe said. "Today, he took another step. Each day I think he is going to feel better and get more done and it will just be a matter of how that progresses. There is no exact day or anything that we are targeting at this point."
Keefe said Matthews, who led the NHL with 41 goals in 52 games last season, remains on track to return in time for Toronto's regular-season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 13.
"We are very confident it is going to be before the opening of the regular season and of course, if we can get him into some exhibition games, that would be even better," Keefe said. -- Dave McCarthy

Florida Panthers

Joe Thornton did not practice because of a minor strain and is day to day for the Panthers, coach Joel Quenneville said.
The 42-year-old center took part in the first day of camp on Thursday, skating on a line with Mason Marchment and Anthony Duclair.
Thornton signed a one-year contract on Aug. 13.
"We'll see if he skates tomorrow," Quenneville said.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Radim Zohorna was used in center Evgeni Malkin's usual position at Penguins training camp.
The forward skated with left wing Jason Zucker and right wing Kasperi Kapanen, Malkin's linemates from late last season, on the second line. Malkin will be out for the first two months of the regular season after having knee surgery. "I don't know if he's played center before, but he's doing a good job out there," Kapanen said of Zohorna. "He can move. He's a big guy (6-foot-6, 220 pounds), but he also loves passing the puck. He makes great plays."
First-line center Sidney Crosby is expected to miss at least the first week of the season after having wrist surgery Sept. 8. Crosby has skated on his own before each of the first two days of training camp.
Jeff Carter would likely take Crosby's place on the first line, possibly with Jake Guentzel at left wing and Bryan Rust to the right. Teddy Blueger, normally on the fourth line, is an option for the second line. -- Wes Crosby

Philadelphia Flyers

Oskar Lindblom remains cancer-free after his latest scans, Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said.
Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, on Dec. 10, 2019. The forward finished his treatments July 2, 2020, and returned to play for the Flyers against the New York Islanders in Games 6 and 7 of second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Last season, Lindblom scored 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 50 games and won the Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. -- Adam Kimelman

Washington Capitals

Michal Kempny isn't sure if he will play in the preseason opener against the Boston Bruins on Sunday but the Capitals defenseman would welcome the chance after not playing in the NHL last season because of injuries.
"I'm here 100 percent, I'm healthy, I feel good on the ice and I can't wait to play the preseason games," Kempny said Friday. "I did everything I could this summer to be in this spot."
Kempny completed his recovery from offseason surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon and was playing his second game of a conditioning assignment with Hershey in the American Hockey League on May 8 when one of the workers clearing the ice during a stoppage fell into his knee. Kempny sustained a Grade 2 sprain of his MCL.
"I believe that everything bad is behind me and I'm just trying to focus on what's now and enjoying every day here," Kempny said.
The Capitals open the regular season against the New York Rangers on Oct. 13. -- Tom Gulitti