NHL Injury Roundup: Latest On Larkin, Barzal Domi, Demko, And More

With NHL training camps opening up this week, coaches, general managers and players from around the league gathered at their respective facilities to provide updates ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Some of those updates include which players won't be available due to injury, however short or long their absences may be.

Missing training camp can drastically impact the outlook of a player's season. Trying to catch up to NHL game speed after a lengthy off-season without easing into it is like trying to jump on a moving train, and that's without considering any injuries that may hinder that process any further.

Let's break down some of the key injuries that we learned about around the league this week.

Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcoff had some disappointing news to deliver in his first week on the job.

According to Horcoff, former captain Dylan Larkin suffered an upper-body injury during training this week and will not be participating in on-ice activities at the start of camp.

Along with the announcement of Larkin's captaincy being stripped earlier this month, the 30-year-old centerman issued a public statement indicating that he would be present at training camp with his teammates despite his public trade request back in June.

No further timeline on his return was provided.

The New York Islanders released a statement on Wednesday with a pivotal update on one of the team's most important forwards, Mathew Barzal.

"Mathew Barzal will not skate the next two weeks due to aggravation of a prior injury that has caused some inflammation," the team wrote. "He is actively working to get back to full health. There is nobody more committed than Mathew to getting his body to the level where he thrives on the ice. 

"We expect him to continue getting healthy and back in the lineup as soon as possible."

The Islanders' first game of the regular season is exactly two weeks away from the time of this news, with his status uncertain.

GM John Chayka provided a trio of updates for the Maple Leafs at his media day press conference Wednesday involving forward Max Domi along with defensemen Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly.

Domi failed a physical and will be out indefinitely. In late May, the team announced he had surgery to deal with an injury that hindered him throughout the 2025-26 season. The Maple Leafs added at that time that he had complications arise from the procedure that would keep him off the ice indefinitely.

Chayka also noted that Rielly entered camp with a viral condition that will take more time to recover than the team anticipated, but he is expected to be ready for opening night of the Maple Leafs' regular season.

As for some positive news, Tanev has been given the green light by the team's medical staff to begin on-ice practices. The 36-year-old played just 11 games last season and had core muscle surgery in March.

The Canadiens have had a busy month of September after landing Chris Kreider, and extending head coach Martin St. Louis along with new contracts for Alex Newhook, Zachary Bolduc, and Arber Xhekaj.

However, the Canadiens were dealt a big blow after the team announced on Wednesday that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will be out approximately for four to five weeks after undergoing minor surgery on his adductor muscle.

Guhle has missed over 115 games across his four-year NHL career due to injury. He was held out of 39 games in the 2025-26 season alone due to a partially torn adductor muscle.

The Senators will be without two key depth pieces when they take the ice for the first time as a team on Thursday.

Head coach Travis Green announced to reporters on Wednesday that he expects both Zub and Foegele "to be with the team in the next week to two weeks." Green added that both players are skating, but won't be participating when camp opens.

Zub is still recovering from a lower-body injury that kept him out of the final three games of the Senators' first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Foegele's injury remains undisclosed. The 30-year-old was acquired by the Senators from the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the 2025-26 trade deadline.

The Canucks are set to be without their starting goaltender for the start of training camp. GM Ryan Johnson revealed to reporters on Wednesday that the 30-year-old netminder is still recovering from the season-ending hip surgery he underwent in late January.

This is the latest instance in a long list of injuries for Demko, who has suited up for the Canucks just 43 times over the last two seasons. In 2025-26 he played just 20 games, putting together an 8-10-1 record with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage.

Demko is just about to enter the first season of a three-year, $25.5-million extension ($8.5 million AAV) with the Canucks that he signed on July 1, 2025. 

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell had a lot to talk about during his media day conference ahead of the 2025-26 season.

One major injury update between the pipes came with Elvis Merzlikins failing his physical. This was largely suspected as the 32-year-old underwent shoulder surgery on Aug. 20 and is still in recovery.

Earlier this week, the Blue Jackets signed goaltender Cam Talbot to a one-year deal and will likely serve as a backup to Jet Greaves, who just signed a new contract of his own earlier this summer.

As for Merzlikins' recovery timeline, Waddell said the team is "not going to see him here in the near future."

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