NHL Status Report: Barzal could miss season opener for Islanders

Welcome to the NHL Status Report. Training camp is underway and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

New York Islanders

Mathew Barzal could miss the regular-season opener for the Islanders. The center will not be at training camp and is expected to remain off the ice for about two weeks. He aggravated a prior injury that has caused some inflammation. The Islanders open the season at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 30 (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, MSGSN). "It could be a little bit before (two weeks)," Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said Thursday. "Could we say 12 days, 13 days, 10 days? I guess we just said two weeks. He still has a chance for opening night. Is it guaranteed he's there opening night? No, it's not, because we're playing the long game here." Barzal led the Islanders with 72 points (19 goals, 53 assists) in 81 games last season and has led or tied for the team scoring lead in seven of his nine seasons with them.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Max Domi failed his physical and will be out indefinitely, Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka said Wednesday. The forward, who had 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in 80 games last season, had surgery during the offseason for an injury that he dealt with last season. "He's going to address that personally about his injury in the near future," Chayka said. ... Defenseman Chris Tanev has been fully cleared to play after undergoing core muscle surgery during the offseason, Chayka said. "Had a pretty large surgery. He's had amazing recovery and he pushes himself as hard as anybody in the gym and on the ice," Chayka said. "So feel really confident that his injuries are in a good place. He's as healthy as anybody. And obviously he's a big part of the team." Tanev had two assists in 11 games last season and last played Dec. 28.

Carolina Hurricanes

Alexander Nikishin remains unsigned and was not on the ice for the first day of training camp practice Thursday. The 24-year-old restricted free agent was third among Hurricanes defensemen and second among NHL rookie defensemen last season with 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) and averaged 18:11 of ice time in 81 regular-season games, and had one assist in 14:50 of ice time in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Hurricanes win the Cup.

Colorado Avalanche

Cale Makar may not be ready for training camp when the Avalanche have their first on-ice session Thursday. The defenseman is dealing with a lower-body injury. Makar had 79 points (20 goals, 59 assists) and averaged 24:51 of ice time in 75 regular-season games last season, and was a finalist for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL. Makar, who signed an eight-year, $163.2 million contract Aug. 28 that begins next season, missed two games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season because of an upper-body injury. "He's been on the ice. He's just on a little bit of a lighter program than probably most of our guys coming into main camp," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday. "So we'll see how that sort of sorts out. Whether he's ready to go Day 1 of training camp is probably unlikely. Just kind of playing it safe with him and our organization, but at some point in camp he'll be full go. I don't think it's anything to be worried about at this point."

Montreal Canadiens

Kaiden Guhle will be out 4-5 weeks for the Canadiens after having a minor surgery to his adductor muscle during the offseason. The defenseman had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 39 regular-season games with Montreal last season and averaged 19:28 of ice time. He had eight assists in 19 playoff games. "We're going to evaluate throughout camp and we'll make decisions based on what we think, what we see," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said Wednesday about replacing Guhle. "But we have really good problems to have right now. I know 'Guhls' is out, not a great thing, but you know we have a lot of depth and guys that are knocking on the door. So we're going to evaluate and make the best decisions."

Tampa Bay Lightning

Yanni Gourde is expected to be out until December for the Lightning after having offseason hip surgery. The forward had 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 82 games with Tampa Bay last season and one assist in seven playoff games. ... Forward Dominic James broke his hand during offseason training and will be out the first several weeks of the season. He had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 43 games last season and three points (two goals, one assist) in seven playoff games.

Ottawa Senators

Artem Zub and Warren Foegele each are recovering from injuries,  did not skate when training camp opened Thursday and could be out for the start of the season. "They're skating. I always tell you guys that when they're skating, they're close," Senators coach Travis Green said Wednesday. "I would expect both of them to be with the team in the next week to two weeks." Foegele had eight points (six goals, two assists) in 21 games after the forward was acquired by the Senators in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on March 5. Zub had 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) in 81 games last season and the defenseman averaged 20:48 of ice time.

Dallas Stars

Tyler Seguin will be a full participant in training camp but it's unclear when he will be ready to play, general manager Jim Nill said Wednesday. The 34-year-old forward had ACL surgery in December after he was injured during a game against the New York Rangers on Dec. 2. The expected recovery timeline is nine months, and last week Seguin said he wasn't sure if he'd be ready for the season opener against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 2. He had 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 27 games last season. "He's been cleared by his surgeon for contact now so he'll get into more of the contact, see how he feels," Nill said. "... It's really up to him to see how he adapts. Our expectations are he is going to be OK but I want to see when he gets into contact where he is at. We're expecting him to bounce back."

Buffalo Sabres

Forward Jason Zucker is expected to miss the start of the regular season because of a sports hernia, Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday. Zucker had 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 62 games last season. "He's very close to (being ready for) the start of the year. He could miss maybe a couple weeks of the regular season," Kekalainen said. Defenseman Louis Crevier, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in June, underwent offseason shoulder surgery but could be ready for the season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 1. "He looks like he's ready," Kekalainen said. "I think he still needs to talk to the doctor that operated on him, but we think he'll be ready for the start of the regular season. We still don't have a final answer on it."