Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will make his return to the lineup for the first time since March 12.
Matthews, 29, will take the ice for the Leafs’ pre-season opener after undergoing knee surgery last season to repair a Grade 3 MCL tear that ended his 2025-26 campaign early.
The three-time Rocket Richard winner will take part in the Leafs’ split-squad pre-season opener against the Montreal Canadiens in Toronto, and will be joined by new teammates Gavin McKenna, Darren Raddysh, and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Matthews and McKenna highlight the forwards group that also includes John Tavares, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, Jack Roslovic, Bo Groulx, Tinus Luc Koblar, Steven Lorentz, Zack MacEwen, Harry Nansi, and Jacob Quillan.
Raddysh will make his Leafs debut on Saturday night after having his rights traded to Toronto from the Tampa Bay Lightning over the off-season before inking an eight-year, $68 million deal with the team.
The Caldeon native will man the blueline on Saturday with newcomer Emil Andrae, Ben Danford, Jake McCabe, Marshall Rifai, and Chris Tanev - who makes his return after undergoing core muscle surgery to end his 2025-26 season.
The Maple Leafs used these lines during Saturday’s morning skate, according to TSN’s Mark Masters.
Additionally, Raddysh was quarterbacking the first power-play with Matthews, Tavares, Nylander, Roslovic. Andrae was on the point on the second power-play with McKenna, Knies, Groulx, and Koblar.
Montreal Canadiens
Goaltenders Jacob Dobes and Cam Fowler will split the Canadiens’ split-squad pre-season game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Montreal on Saturday while Samuel Montembeault and Kaapo Kahkonen will split their game against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Additionally, newly-signed forward Chris Kreider remains on the top line at the Canadiens’ morning skate ahead of their split-squad pre-season opener on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.
Kreider, who joined the team on a one-year contract after having his deal with the Anaheim Ducks terminated, has kept his spot next to Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on Martin St. Louis’ top line with Group A - the team staying in Montreal for the split-squad pre-season opener.
Oliver Kapanen centered the second line with Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov, while Lane Huston and Alexandre Carrier made up the top pairing on defence.
Group B will heading to Toronto for Saturday night, with Alex Newhook, Jake Evans, and Brett Berard skating on the top line above Zach Bolduc, Korby Dach, and Alex Texier.
Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson are set to handle top pairing duties in Toronto, with David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom rounding out the top four.
New Jersey Devils
Luke Evangelista is skating on the New Jersey Devils’ top power play unit on Saturday morning, according to team reporter Amanda Stein.
Evangelista joined Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Luke Hughes on Sheldon Keefe’s PP1, while Timo Meier, Evan Rodrigues, Anthony Mantha, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Dougie Hamilton made up the second unit.
Evangeslita, 24, was acquired by the Devils on Sept. 1 from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a first and second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Entry Draft.
New Jersey then signed him to a five-year, $36.2 million extension after the deal that carries an average annual value of $7.25 million. The contract will kick in at the start of the 2027-28 campaign.
A native of Oakville, Ont., Evangelista recorded 12 goals and 44 assists for a career-high 56 points last year, his fourth in the NHL.
The former second-round pick in 2020 has 45 goals and 97 assists in 253 games played with the Predators for his career.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are projected to use these lines for their first pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned goaltender Zachary Jovanovski to the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, the team announced Saturday.
Jovanovski, 18, was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
The Tecumseh, Ont. native has made 71 appearances between the pipes for Guelph over the past two seasons.
In 52 games played last year, Jovanovski posted am .890 save percentage to go along with a 3.39 goals-against average in his second OHL season.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets returned forward Alessandro Di Iorio, goaltender Parker Snell, and defenceman Filip Novak to their Canadian Hockey League clubs on Saturday.
All three players were selected in last June’s draft.
Di Iorio, 18, played with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sarnia Sting last season recording 12 goals and 31 points in 45 games. He also represented Team CHL at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, recording a goal.
Snell appeared in 33 games with the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings last season, going 21-9-1 with a .895 save percentage and 2.74 goals-against average.
Novak played for HC Sparta Praha last season in Czechia’s top hockey league. appearing in nine games with the men’s team. He registered 11 goals and 35 points in 28 games with the club’s under-20 squad.
The 18-year-old is set to join the WHL’s Victoria Royals this season.
Additionally, the team released forward Ryan McGuire, and defencemen Callum Croskery, and Rowan Topp from their amateur try-outs on Saturday.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars returned forward Cameron Schmidt to the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants on Saturday.
Schmidt, 19, was drafted 94th overall by the Stars in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The 5-foot-7 winger registered 27 goals and 60 points in 49 games in Vancouver last season. He also put up 40 goals and 78 points in 61 games in 2024-25, prior to being drafted by the Stars.