The Pittsburgh Penguins have two preseason games remaining before opening the regular season next Tuesday against the New York Rangers, and both are against the Buffalo Sabres.

They will host the Sabres on Wednesday before going to Buffalo on Friday for what will probably be the "dress rehearsal" game. The Penguins released their roster for Wednesday's game, and it's similar to the rosters they've used for other preseason games. 

2025 first-round pick Benjamin Kindel is set to play in his fifth preseason game after he was the best player on the ice against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. He opened the scoring in the first period after starting the breakout in the defensive zone before showcasing his release when he cut to the middle of the offensive zone. He continues to look more comfortable in each game he plays in. 

Ville Koivunen, Avery Hayes, Tristan Broz, Filip Hallander, Owen Pickering, and Harrison Brunicke are also on the roster and are battling for opening-night roster spots. Forward Noel Acciari, who has been injured during training camp and most of the preseason, is on the roster, too. 

Here's the full roster: 

Forwards

• Filip Hallander
• Robby Fabbri
• Joona Koppanen
• Sam Poulin
• Tristan Broz
• Ville Koivunen
• Danton Heinen
• Blake Lizotte
• Rafael Harvey-Pinard
• Philip Tomasino
• Noel Acciari
• Ben Kindel
• Avery Hayes

Defensemen

• Jack St. Ivany
• Ryan Shea
• Matt Dumba
• Ryan Graves
• Owen Pickering
• Harrison Brunicke
• Philip Kemp

Goaltenders

• Arturs Silovs
• Filip Larsson

The Penguins will have a morning skate in Cranberry on Wednesday before hosting the Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Fans in the Pittsburgh area can watch the game on SportsNet Pittsburgh+ or listen to it on 105.9 'The X.'

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The NHL saw several players hit the waiver wire on Sep. 30. While none were current Chicago Blackhawks players, a few former ones have been placed on waivers. This is because Isaak Phillips, Matthew Highmore, and Josiah Slavin have all been placed on waivers by their current clubs. 

Phillips was traded by the Blackhawks during this past season to the Winnipeg Jets. Following the trade, he posted three goals, eight points, and a minus-11 rating in 39 AHL games with the Manitoba Moose. 

Phillips played in 56 games over four seasons with the Blackhawks, recording two goals, 12 points, and 31 penalty minutes. 

Highmore was placed on waivers by the New York Islanders and signed with them this past off-season. He played in 73 games over three seasons with the Blackhawks in 2017-18, 2019-20, and 2020-21, where he recorded four goals, 10 points, 69 hits, and a minus-10 rating.

As for Slavin, he has been placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blackhawks' 2018 seventh-round pick played in 15 games for Chicago during the 2021-22 season, where he recorded one assist. He has solely played at the AHL level since. 

The Chicago Blackhawks set their roster for their preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, early in the day. It didn't include Kevin Korchinski, as he practiced with the healthy "non-game group" alongside Nolan Allan, Sam Lafferty, Louis Crevier, Lukas Reichel, and Landon Slaggert. 

Korchinski was in a four-man battle for the final roster spot on the blue line. Well, that was until Tuesday, as he was sent down to the Rockford IceHogs. He will head to the AHL to join their camp and continue his development. 

Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on Xroster update🔔 we have assigned Kevin Korchinski to the @goicehogs. 📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/Td8AnFif2n

It is a bit surprising that this decision came as early as it did, with two more preseason games to go after this one against the Red Wings. Kyle Davidson, Jeff Blashill, and the decision makers clearly see more value in Korchinski playing more AHL games. 

With this move, the Blackhawks roster now sits at 29 players, including 16 forwards, 10 defensemen, and 3 goaltenders. 

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There’s a lot to unpack regarding the New York Rangers’ decision to send Brennan Othmann down to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. 

It feels as if Othmann has been knocking at the door to make the Rangers’ roster for a couple of years now. 

Last year, Othmann was one of the Rangers’ last roster cuts, as he was close to making the Rangers’ opening-night roster. 

After getting a 22-game audition with the Rangers during the 2024-25 campaign, he came to rookie camp this year with the hopes of earning a permanent NHL spot. 

Upon speaking to Othmann for the first time since April, he emphasized that he’s in a better mental space and was feeling much more confident after a full offseason training with other NHL players. 

Othmann’s newfound confidence and mentality unfortunately, did not translate to his play on the ice. 

The 2021 first-round pick struggled to make a strong impression through training camp and four preseason games. 

It wasn’t that Othmann performed at an unfathomable level, but it was more about what he didn’t do and the little things he needs to fix before taking the jump as a regular NHL player.

Mike Sullivan feels there are a couple of small aspects on the ice that Othmann still needs to unlock in order to earn a spot with the Rangers. 

“We've had a number of discussions around what that pathway might look like for him to carve a role on the New York Rangers,” Sullivan said. “A lot of the discussion we had just talked about conscientious play, attention to detail, defensively, away from the puck, playing within structure, having some predictability and reliability and dependability around his game. 

“I think if he can add more detail around those things, essentially that’s what it boils down to. It’s attention to detail in all zones, in particular on the defensive side of the puck. Those are the conversations I’ve had with Otter over the past little while.”

Over the course of training camp, Otthmann began falling behind players on the depth chart he was directly competing with for a roster spot, including Gabe Perreault and Brett Berard. 

It was quickly becoming evident that the 22-year-old forward would get sent down to Hartford, and those assumptions ultimately became a reality, even sooner than many people originally anticipated. 

Brennan Othmann Sent Down To Hartford Wolf Pack Brennan Othmann has been sent down to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, as he will not make the New York Rangers’ opening-night roster. 

Despite being set down, Sullivan made clear that there’s still a pathway for Otthmann to work his way back up. 

“I said to Otter, ‘just because this decision was made today doesn't mean that there is finality to it and that the opportunity no longer exists, it very much exists and will continue to exist,’ and we will continue to work with Otter.” said Sullivan. 

What is next for Otthmann?

Now he’ll likely play a top-line role for the Wolf Pack, where he’ll be put in a position to thrive and showcase his skills. 

It isn’t necessarily what he may have wanted, but starting the season in the AHL could be positive for his overall development. 

Only time will tell what the future holds for Otthmann, but he has a chip on his shoulder going into the 2025-26 campaign to show the Rangers brass what he is truly capable of.

In an announcement that former Golden Knight Max Pacioretty was joining the University of Michigan ice hockey program as special assistant to the head coach, it also signaled the end to a 17-year career in the NHL.

"After 17 seasons in the NHL, I'm excited to begin this next chapter with Michigan Hockey," Pacioretty said in a press release on the Michigan athletics website. "I'm so thankful for the teammates, coaches and fans who have been a part of my journey."

After 17 seasons, Max Pacioretty is hanging up the skates.

Best of luck in retirement! pic.twitter.com/vv5pFfutKZ

— NHL (@NHL) September 30, 2025

The 36-year-old, who played at Michigan as a freshman before turning pro, went on to say that while hockey has given so much to him, he's looking forward to an opportunity to develop the next generation of players.

"Michigan has a tradition of producing elite talent, and I can't wait to share what I've learned to help these guys grow on and off the ice," said Pacioretty, who played in Vegas for four seasons. "Just as important, this next step allows me to be closer to my family and spend more time with my kids.

"I'm going to be coaching my four boys in youth hockey, and that's something I'll really cherish as a dad."

Pacioretty played in 939 games during his career, including 224 with the Golden Knights.

After playing the first 10 years of his career in Montreal, Pacioretty arrived in Vegas before the franchise's second year in the league (2018-19). He was named to an All-Star in 2020.

In four seasons, Pacioretty registered 194 points (97 goals, 97 assists). In 36 playoff games for the Golden Knights, he had 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists).

Pacioretty played the 2022-23 season with the Carolina Hurricanes and the 2023-24 season with the Washington Capitals. He played his final season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, last year.

Through their long, dark rebuilding days, the Ottawa Senators cycled through a lot of players, often trying to fill holes with journeyman options. Some of those names hit the waiver wire this week, available to anyone, and seeing their names now will, in some of the cases, remind Sens fans of how far their team has come.

Eight former Ottawa Senators were placed on waivers in the last few days. They are forwards Roby Jarventie (Edmonton Oilers), Matthew Highmore (NY Islanders), Clarke Bishop (Calgary Flames), Scott Sabourin (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jake Lucchini (Nashville Predators) and Shane Bowers (San Jose Sharks), along with defenseman Josh Brown (Edmonton), and goalie Marcus Hogberg (Islanders).

Jarventie, Sabourin, and Brown cleared on Sunday, and Lucchini on Monday. Sabourin was recalled by Tampa on Tuesday. The others were placed on waivers on Tuesday.

Three of the names in the group of eight were once seen as potentially an important part of the Senators' future.

Roby Jarventie (33rd overall, 2022 NHL Draft)

It's hard to complain much about the Sens' lucrative 2020 Draft. The Sens had just scooped up Tim Stutzle (3rd), Jake Sanderson (5th), and Ridly Greig (28). But five picks after Greig, they whiffed on Jarventie. They did regroup and get Tyler Kleven (44) and Leevi Merilainen (71) so they get nothing but accolades for that draft. But Sens fans still can't get over how they passed on Stutzle's buddy, J.J. Peterka (picture me using a whiny voice here), who went with the pick right after Jarventie.

Shane Bowers (38th overall, 2017 NHL Draft)

Bowers never actually played for the Sens, but he was their first-round pick in 2017. He was also a 2017-18 Boston University linemate of their 2018 first-round pick, Brady Tkachuk. The Senators were wise to move Bowers while his stock was fairly high. Five months after they drafted him, they packaged him up and sent him to Colorado in the deal for Matt Duchene.

Marcus Hogberg (78th overall, 2013 NHL Draft)

In 2019-20, Craig Anderson's final season with the Senators, his main backup was Marcus Hogberg, prompting some very brief 'goalie of the future' discussions. But it became clear pretty quickly that he wasn't the heir apparent. So the Sens went out and acquired (deep breath) the injury-prone Matt Murray. Filip Gustavsson, also acquired from Pittsburgh several years earlier, arrived in Ottawa that season to overtake Hogberg as well, so it wasn't long before Hogberg went back to Europe. Hogberg returned to North America last season and got a chance after the Islanders ran into injury trouble. He won just 2 of 11 games in his return. 

Life moves pretty fast in the NHL. One day you're a top prospect, the next you're on waivers. And with hundreds of new young prospects jumping onto the league's radar every year, no matter how good you once were, teams don't have time to wait around for you to figure things out.

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