Morning Briefing - September 23

Published 23 September 2026, 6:55 am ET

TL;DR

WATCH - Buffalo lost two of its projected top four on defence in one night: Mattias Samuelsson (undisclosed) and Olen Zellweger (concussion). Owen Power is the one who gains.
WATCH - Mats Zuccarello was off Los Angeles's first power-play unit in a camp runthrough, which is not what our chart has.
HOLD - Dan Vladar left Tuesday's game in the first period, upper body, no timeline.
HOLD - JJ Peterka drawing praise in Boston's camp. Already rostered in most leagues.

Buffalo loses two of its top four on the blue line

WATCH · BUF · D

Mattias Samuelsson and Olen Zellweger both left Buffalo's 5-1 preseason win and did not return. Samuelsson's injury is undisclosed; Zellweger has a concussion.

Separate the two. An undisclosed injury in preseason is usually days. A concussion has no timeline by definition and clears when it clears, so Zellweger is the one to plan around rather than wait on.

The fantasy consequence is on the other side of the pairings. Samuelsson opened camp alongside Rasmus Dahlin on the first pair and Zellweger alongside Owen Power on the second. With both out, Power and Conor Timmins absorb the minutes. We already project Power to step from 0.36 to 0.43 points a game on a second-pair role; two absences above him are the most plausible route to beating that.

Hold Samuelsson and Zellweger if rostered. Power is the add.

Zuccarello off the Kings' first power-play unit

WATCH · LAK · RW

Mats Zuccarello was not on Los Angeles's first power-play unit in an early camp runthrough. Brandt Clarke was, along with Andre Lee.

This is worth flagging because it disagrees with our own chart, which has Zuccarello arriving on the Kings' first unit after taking 68% of Minnesota's power-play time last season. It was also a predictable crunch: Los Angeles lost Anze Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko from that unit and added Zuccarello and Clarke, with Fiala injured - for two open seats. Somebody is going to be the odd man out.

Two reasons to hold rather than act. Andre Lee's presence could just be a trial as the Kings brass is experimenting significantly to start camp, including trying Adrian Kempe at C in place of Quinton Byfield.

Vladar leaves Tuesday's game

HOLD · PHI · G

Dan Vladar left the first period against Boston with an upper-body injury and did not return. Philadelphia has not given a diagnosis or a timeline.

Hold. A first-period exit with no information attached is not grounds to move a goaltender who is in the mix for starts, and September is the worst time to spend a roster decision on a rumour. If a timeline arrives and it runs into the regular season, revisit then. Joseph Woll will replace his reps if he's out for an extended period.

Peterka drawing praise in Boston's camp

HOLD · BOS · LW

JJ Peterka is getting positive comments from Boston's staff for how he fits the club's structure.

Coaching praise in the first week of camp is the least falsifiable thing a reporter can file, so this changes nothing. What does matter about Peterka is already in the projections: he moves from Utah's second power-play unit to Boston's first, and we have him at 52.3 points. He is rostered in most season-long leagues and is not a wire target.

Stenberg building toward a roster spot

WATCH · SJS · LW

Ivar Stenberg is improving through camp by San Jose's account, with the staff noting the pace is not too much for him. That is a player making a case to break camp, not a player with a role. Dynasty interest; watch the wire once San Jose's roster is set.

Also noted

Mikael Pyyhtiä (CBJ, F) left Buffalo's game with a lower-body injury and did not return. No fantasy relevance outside deep dynasty.

Michael Eyssimont scored twice in Boston's preseason game. A depth forward making a camp impression; note it, nothing more.