NHL Thread Because There Isn't An NHL Thread

The Toronto Maple Leafs ruled out center Auston Matthews for the first three games of the regular season as he continues to work his way back from offseason wrist surgery, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Toronto will also be without winger Ilya Mikheyev for approximately eight weeks due to a broken thumb. He suffered the ailment in Saturday's preseason finale.

Here's a look at Toronto's projected forward lines for opening night following the injury announcements:



Meanwhile, Nick Ritchie joined the top power play in Matthews' absence, assuming the net-front role. John Tavares shifted to Matthews' vacant spot on the right flank.


Toronto's first three games come Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, followed by a home-and-home with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and Saturday.
 
The Seattle Kraken named Mark Giordano their first captain in franchise history on Monday.

Seattle selected Giordano from the Calgary Flames in July's expansion draft. The 38-year-old wore the "C" for the Flames over the last eight seasons.

Giordano is by far the oldest and most experienced member of the Kraken. Forwards Jordan Eberle and Marcus Johansson, both 31, are the next-oldest players. Giordano leads Seattle with 15 NHL seasons under his belt.


The aforementioned duo is tied for second-most on the club with 11 seasons apiece.

Giordano is entering the final campaign of a six-year contract he signed with the Flames in August 2015. The pending unrestricted free agent's pact carries a $6.75-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

The Toronto-born blue-liner spent all 15 of his previous seasons with Flames. He ranks second on Calgary's all-time list with 949 games played, fifth with 366 assists, and eighth with 509 points.
 
That’s good to hear - assuming I can still watch all of the AT&T games out of market on ESPN+ at $7/mo it’s cheaper than $200+ a season on nhl.tv too.

They’ve really done a spectacularly lousy job communicating what actually appears where.

Part of me feels like it’s going to be ESPN’s coverage under the CI moniker.
 
😷😬

One day before the Seattle Kraken's first-ever NHL regular-season game, they have a handful of players on the COVID-19 list.

Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol confirmed Joonas Donskoi, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann, and Jamie Oleksiak have joined Calle Jarnkrok in COVID-19 protocol, according to the Seattle Times' Marisa Ingemi.

The team originally put Jarnkrok in the protocol on Friday. Adding a player to the list doesn't necessarily mean he's tested positive.


Before the preseason, Seattle's general manager Ron Francis said the entire roster was fully vaccinated. Vaccinated players who test positive must get initial confirmation plus two additional tests, and they can rejoin the team if both subsequent tests come back negative.

The Kraken also have two other players dealing with injuries. Colin Blackwell is out indefinitely, and Yanni Gourde is day-to-day. The club claimed Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier Monday.

Seattle will begin its inaugural NHL campaign with a five-game road trip, beginning Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken will host the Vancouver Canucks in their first home opener on Oct. 23.
 
😷😬

One day before the Seattle Kraken's first-ever NHL regular-season game, they have a handful of players on the COVID-19 list.

Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol confirmed Joonas Donskoi, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann, and Jamie Oleksiak have joined Calle Jarnkrok in COVID-19 protocol, according to the Seattle Times' Marisa Ingemi.

The team originally put Jarnkrok in the protocol on Friday. Adding a player to the list doesn't necessarily mean he's tested positive.


Before the preseason, Seattle's general manager Ron Francis said the entire roster was fully vaccinated. Vaccinated players who test positive must get initial confirmation plus two additional tests, and they can rejoin the team if both subsequent tests come back negative.

The Kraken also have two other players dealing with injuries. Colin Blackwell is out indefinitely, and Yanni Gourde is day-to-day. The club claimed Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier Monday.

Seattle will begin its inaugural NHL campaign with a five-game road trip, beginning Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken will host the Vancouver Canucks in their first home opener on Oct. 23.
 
Four NHL players were claimed off waivers on Monday, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

PLAYEROLD TEAMNEW TEAM
Alex Barre-Boulet (F)LightningKraken
Adam Brooks (F)Maple LeafsCanadiens
Patrick Brown (F)Golden KnightsFlyers
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (F)SabresCapitals
Many expected Barre-Boulet to make the Lightning after the club lost multiple key forwards in the offseason. The undrafted product out of Montmagny, Quebec, has been highly productive in the AHL, racking up 136 points in 144 games over the last three seasons. The 24-year-old has only played 15 NHL contests, but he could get a longer look with the Kraken.

The Maple Leafs lose Brooks to the rival Canadiens. The 2016 fourth-round pick has tallied four goals and four assists in 18 career NHL games. He failed to crack Toronto's roster despite the club missing Auston Matthews and Ilya Mikheyev to begin the season.


Brown has served as a reliable depth forward for the Golden Knights over the last couple of seasons, skating in more playoff games (14) than regular-season contests (5).

Jonsson-Fjallby's stay in Buffalo was short-lived. The Sabres claimed him off waivers from the Capitals on Oct. 4, only for Washington to re-claim him Monday. He's been assigned to the AHL's Hershey Bears.
 
🤕

Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter is sidelined for the foreseeable future as he deals with the effects of long-term COVID-19 symptoms, general manager Jim Benning announced Monday.

"He's experiencing some of the symptoms from COVID," Benning said. "I guess they call it being a long-hauler. He still has some issues that he's working through with that.

"He's going to be out for a while. He's not going to be back anytime soon."


The Canucks had a major COVID-19 outbreak derail their 2020-21 season. Vancouver had to postpone several of its contests, and Sutter was one of 21 players to test positive.

The 32-year-old has been with the Canucks for the past six campaigns, registering 12 points in 43 games last season. Sutter signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract to stick with Vancouver this past summer.
 
So for me, both games tomorrow will be on ESPN. I don’t have + but I’d imagine it will be shown there as well. I’m assuming that will apply to everyone in the States. I won’t speculate for the rest of the world.
For US viewers here’s the opening day presser with key times/channels/lineups/programming:

 
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