Logan Mailloux out at least eight weeks after hand surgery

Logan Mailloux will miss at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his right hand on Saturday and has been placed on the St. Louis Blues’ injured list. The defenceman had been expected to start the season as part of one of the main defensive pairings on the right side; his focus is now on rehabilitation to return to the form he showed during preparations. Tyler Tucker was also placed on the injured list with a lower-body issue and is considered week-to-week. Adam Jiricek returned from Springfield of the AHL, while Justin Barron was claimed from Nashville via waivers; one or both could be in the lineup for the opener against the Dallas Stars on Friday.

As NHL reports, Mathew Barzal is listed as injured/not in the squad for the New York Islanders but has not been ruled out for the opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs and is expected to skate on Wednesday after an aggravation of an existing issue. For the Montreal Canadiens, Oliver Kapanen (lower body) did not skate and is considered day-to-day, while Alex Newhook took his place in practice; coach Martin St. Louis praised Newhook’s flexibility and defensive growth. Nashville signed Tyson Jost to a one-year two-way contract after his professional tryout, while Pittsburgh are determining the extent of Bryan Rust’s injury after an upper-body knock in a preseason game; Ryan Graves remains out indefinitely with problems in both hips, while Blake Lizotte is day-to-day as a fourth-line centre. Justin Brazeau and Ben Kindel are each week-to-week with lower-body injuries.

Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild is being evaluated after a puck hit to the head during a friendly; he was struck by the shot from the point and left the ice temporarily, while coach John Hynes said there would be an update on Tuesday. At the Buffalo Sabres, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left the last preseason game early with a lower-body concern, while Alex Lyon is expected to miss several days with an upper-body injury after a collision in an earlier game.

These updates on injuries and roster moves ahead of the start of the season were published by NHL and will influence lineup decisions for the championship’s opening games.