Welcome to the September 20, 2026 edition of the Injury Ward!

Oh happy days! Preseason hockey returned last night, which means we are now only single-digit days away from the start of the regular season!

In addition to all of the amazing content found in the columns of the Dobber Hockey website and socials, be sure to get your hands on the 2026-2027 Dobber Hockey Fantasy Guide, available right now at DobberHockey.

Here are the key injury updates heading into the week:

Cale Makar (D) – COL – day-to-day – Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar spoke with the media on September 19 and provided an update on Makar's upper body injury. He has been participating in drills, wearing a non-contact jersey, and is expected to miss the first couple games of the preseason. He was given the day off today (Saturday), but is expected to return to the ice on Sunday and Monday for team skates. Ideally, the Avs are hopeful he will be ready to participate in special team drills on Tuesday/Wednesday and be good to rejoin the lineup for their second set of preseason games. At the end of the day, it's Cale Makar. You don't need our help with this one. Even if something goes wrong and he misses the first 10 games of the year, he is an absolute must-draft in the first round.

Troy Terry (RW) – ANA – month-to-month – On September 19, CBS Sports posted an update on the status of Terry's recovery from hip surgery heading into the start of the campaign. It looks like he is still on track for a mid-November return, with no major setbacks to report. Beckett Sennecke is expected to fill in on the Ducks' first line and PP1 while Terry is on the shelf, but it feels like a big gamble to let him go undrafted. He sits high on my list of players I would draft now and move to IR after the draft, especially if the Ducks are planning to build on their impressive post-season run. He averaged nearly 12% shooting during the regular season while putting up almost a point per game (57 PTS in 61 GP), as well as posting 11 PTS in 13 GP during the playoffs. 

Dylan Larkin (C) – DET – day-to-day – Larkin sustained an upper-body injury during off-ice training this week, and interim GM Shawn Horcoff announced Wednesday that Larkin would miss the start of camp. He is hopeful the Wings' No.1 center will return to action by Sunday, September 20, but as of Saturday night, there is no definitive confirmation on his timeline to return.

Mathew Barzal (C) – NYI – day-to-day – Word out of Long Island is that Barzal has re-aggravated a previous knee injury and has been dealing with inflammation the last few days. Allegedly, this injury will keep him out at least the next couple weeks, with a tentative return date set for their season opener on September 30. He led the lowly Islanders with 72 PTS last year and is as consistent as they come. If he makes it through your draft without being claimed, he should be strongly considered as a possible post-draft addition.

Elvis Merzlikins (G) – CBJ – out indefinitely – Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell provided an update regarding Merzlikins on September 16. He stated that Columbus' No.1 keeper failed his physical during training camp and said "we're not going to see him here in the near future". This isn't the worst news for Blue Jackets' fans, as Merzlikins went 14-11-3 last year while posting a miserable stat line of 3.40 GAA and .883 SV%. The goaltending tandem of Jet Greaves and newly acquired Cam Talbot will be protecting the cage for the foreseeable future, so if you must have a goalie from Columbus on your squad for whatever reason, you should look to either of these players instead.    

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Injury Ward. My name is Kevin Bissonette, and I will be providing weekly NHL injury coverage, all season long. Please give me a follow on X (@DH_KBissonette), and feel free to reach out with any last-minute questions for your squad or updates from your favorite insiders!

Thanks for taking the time to visit Dobber Hockey, and good luck on your draft this year!