Martin is not expected to play on Thursday but he will travel with the team to Carolina, so he may not be sidelined for too long. With Martin out, Ross Johnston is expected to draw into the lineup.
Varlamov is expected to miss the start of the season but will travel with the team on their lengthy road trip, which is a good sign that he isn’t far. With Varlamov out, Ilya Sorokin should start almost every game with Jakub Skarek as his backup.
Vanecek went 21-10-4 with a 2.69 GAA and .908 SV% in his rookie season with the Capitals. This offseason he was lost in the expansion draft but was re-acquired for a 2023 second-round pick after the Kraken signed Philipp Grubauer. Head coach Peter Laviolette said that Vanceck “separated himself a little bit” in training camp and that’s why he gets the nod on opening night.
Vanecek went 21-10-4 with a 2.69 GAA and .908 SV% in his rookie season with the Capitals. This offseason he was lost in the expansion draft but was re-acquired for a 2023 second-round pick after the Kraken signed Philipp Grubauer. Head coach Peter Laviolette said that Vanceck “separated himself a little bit” in training camp and that’s why he gets the nod on opening night.
DeAngelo's future with the Rangers ended after a reported physical altercation with Alexandar Georgiev in January. He was officially bought out on Saturday and will save the Rangers $4.4M in 2021-22 but cost them $883K in 2022-23.
Duclair signed a one-year deal with the Panthers last year and enjoyed a really nice season, posting 32 points (10G / 22A) in 43 games. It was good enough to earn him a three-year deal and a $1.3M AAV raise to be a member of the Panthers' top-9.
