Welcome to the September 16, 2026 edition of Injury Ward! 

Twice a week, we will be providing injury news and updates throughout the season on all of you favorite fantasy hockey players, as well as, the annoyingly injury prone players you painstakingly roster anyway. With training camps under way and preseason action in full swing, the injury reports have been pouring in, so let's get up to date on the sick, injured, beleaguered, and ailing.

Cale Makar (D) – COL – healthy: Let's start with some good news on the injury front, Cale Makar (lower-body) was seen shedding his non-contact jersey ahead of Tuesday's practice and could participate in one of Colorado's remaining preseason games, per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. A healthy Makar is great for the Avs, great for fantasy managers, and great for the sport of hockey. Draft him in the first round as usual. 

Dan Vladar (G) – PHI – day-to-day: Vladar exited Tuesday night's tilt against the Bruins following a series of awkward events that saw the 29-year-old lose his stick, injure himself, and give up a goal. It appears to be an upper-body injury, but we will have to await further evaluation from the Flyers camp for more updates. 

Filip Gustavsson (G) – MIN – out indefinitely: Joe Smith of the Athletic reports that Gustavsson is looking at a return in early November. Missing the first month of action isn't great news for Gustavsson or the fantasy managers that roster him, but when you add in that, even upon returning, it may take a couple of weeks for the Swedish netminder to regain his form and all the while the young phenom Jesper Wallstedt will be showcasing his talents, it all sums up to a lot of uncertainty for the 28-year-old. Gustavsson is a good goalie on a good team, but 35 starts will be his cap this season. Draft and roster accordingly.  

Brad Marchand (LW) – FLA – week-to-week: The Rat is expected to spend all of October rehabbing, per Rinkside Reporter Katie Engleson of Panthers TV. Marchand managed 54 points in just 52 games last season, so he has the potential to be productive despite missing time, but at 38-years-old the former Bruin may get off to a slow start due to his disrupted training regimen and lack of recent game-speed conditioning. Add in the potential for a third line role and this simply may not be the same Brad Marchand that fantasy managers enjoyed last season.

Alex Ovechkin (LW, RW) – WSH – day-to-day: The Great 8 is dealing with some lower body maintenance and, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, is considered day-to-day. He may miss some practices, he may miss preseason games, but this has the look of a contender giving their 41-year-old veteran time off before the long grind of an 84-game campaign.

Matias Samuelsson (D) – BUF – day-to-day: Samuelsson was forced to leave Tuesday's preseason game versus the Blue Jackets due to an undisclosed injury and will be further evaluated on Wednesday, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News. Samuelsson is a beast in banger leagues, fresh off a season that saw the 26-year-old put up 41 points, 132 hits, 154 blocks, and go plus-41 in 78 games. Expect Buffalo to err on the side of caution during the preseason, but the full extent of the injury remains to be seen. Owen Zellweger also left the game with a concussion.

Benjamin Kindel (C, RW) – PIT – out indefinitely: Kindel left the first period of Monday's preseason tilt against the Sabres and did not return to the bench due to a lower-body injury. The severity of the injury is awaiting further prognosis, but the 19-year-old collected 17 goals and 35 points as a rookie last season and would be a notable absence from the Pens' middle-six if he is forced to miss any regular season action.

Mats Zuccarello (RW) – LAK – out indefinitely: The 39-year-old Zuccarello is dealing with a shoulder injury but is on track to rejoin his team at some point next week, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official website. At this point, all signs point to Zuccarello being ready to rock for the Kings in their opener against the Avalanche on September 30.

Yanni Gourde (C) – TBL – long term injured reserve: Gourde isn't the most notable fantasy contributor, but his absence will open up a roster slot that could benefit a Lightning prospect such as Conor Geekie or Sam O'Reilly. Per Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley, Gourde will be out until December following offseason hip surgery, so the opportunity will be ripe for the plucking for one of these young forwards. Dynasty managers take note.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading! My name is Garrett Finlay and you can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284 and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social where I am often talking goalies and fantasy hockey. I'll be back here providing injury news and updates every Wednesday, so until then – Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!