The 2026-27 NHL regular season kicks off on Tuesday night. There’s excitement all over the league for the start of a new year, but there are a lot of loose ends all over the NHL still — even with rosters finalized to open the new campaign.
There are unsigned restricted free agents still wanting a deal, there are players who have requested trades still (kind of) wearing the sweater of their (soon to be former?) employers. And there are injuries causing issues for teams with lofty aspirations.
Let’s take a quick lap around the NHL to catch up on some of the news and notes from around the league before the games begin.
Faber Out Indefinitely
Incredibly scary news out of Minnesota on Tuesday morning: Wild defenseman Brock Faber is out indefinitely with a skull fracture. He was placed on IR in concussion protocol before rosters were set on Monday, but this news is awful. He was hit in the head by a shot late in the preseason. Hoping he can recover fully. Faber’s one of the better young defensemen in the NHL.
Big news: Wild top-pair defenseman Brock Faber sustained a fractured skull and underwent surgery. No timetable yet, Bill Guerin says
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) September 29, 2026NHL Blockbuster Details
An interesting nugget from Elliotte Friedman on Tuesday morning in the wake of the blockbuster trade between the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets on Monday afternoon:
The delay in completing the Marchenko trade was due to NHL “tagging rules.” Essentially, you can’t have more salary committed for future seasons than the cap allows, so Toronto was not allowed to extend the winger without clearing space beyond this year. I suspect that’s why Emil Andrae was included, as he has $1.55 million owed in 2027-28.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor HellebuyckNext NHL Blockbuster?
Friedman also wrote about a couple players who are not with their respective teams right now: Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck and Carolina RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin. Friedman has reported St. Louis and Nashville have both expressed strong interest in Nikishin, but a deal with the Jets could have been done by now — if Nikishin was willing to sign a deal in Winnipeg.
Right now, Carolina is the most motivated pursuer. If Nikishin wanted to sign in Winnipeg, Hellebuyck would already be in Wolfpack country. There are now some teams with permission to speak to Nikishin (who just changed agents), and the suspicion is it’s because the Hurricanes want to see if there’s a three-way available. I mentioned on Monday’s pod that Nikishin is believed to be looking for a $9 million AAV over five years. I had a few sources reach out to say they think that could be lower in the right situation.
NHL Miscellany
The Detroit Red Wings are still trying to get a deal done with an RFA defenseman of their own, Simon Edvinsson. They’re also still sorting thru their options with former captain Dylan Larkin, who is starting the season injured. Interim GM Shawn Horcoff was dropped into a tough situation and is still trying to get that done. Friedman mentioned Ryan O’Reilly‘s name continues to come up as a potential trade target for teams calling Nashville. He’s entering the final year of his contract. Finally, a couple interesting notes from this story from James Mirtle using Sportico’s most recent NHL franchise valuations:According to Sportico’s annual team valuation rankings released Tuesday morning, the average NHL franchise is now worth an estimated $2.43 billion. That is up 16 percent from last season and more than 140 percent from 2022, when the average team value was pegged at $1.01 billion. …
… [Sportico] reported Monday that the Islanders were set to sell roughly 15 percent of the franchise to minority partners at a $3 billion valuation, a premium beyond the $2.7 billion in Sportico’s latest rankings. Eight other NHL franchises are currently listed with a valuation of more than $3 billion, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers leading the way at $4.8 billion and $4.15 billion, respectively.
For those wondering, Sportico ranked the Blackhawks sixth in the league in franchise value at $3.24B — an annual increase of 18 percent. The Hawks came in behind the Leafs, Rangers, Canadiens, Kings and Bruins.NHL team values keep soaring, average franchise now worth $2.43 billion t.co/tXySy0bR0n
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) September 29, 2026Hence then, the article about around the nhl scary faber update hellebuyck detroit disarray more was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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