Corey Perry will miss six to eight weeks after knee surgery, a setback for the Los Angeles Kings as training camp opens and the season against Colorado looms. The 40-year-old winger signed this summer for a 21st NHL season, after a career that included 14 seasons with Anaheim, a 2007 Cup, and five Final appearances. He sits 121st on the all-time scoring list heading into 2025-26, having posted 19 goals and 11 assists for Edmonton last season and 10 goals with four assists in the playoffs. The injury opens opportunites for younger Kings to grab minutes and for the special teams to adjust without Perry early on.

The absence tests the team’s depth and could accelerate line tinkering and increased roles for other veterans as the club navigates the opening stretch until Perry’s return, with Kopitar and the top combinations tasked with steadying the offense while the winger rehabs.

Avalanche power play overhaul is the focal point for 2025-26 as Colorado shifts to a new voice with Hakstol and a training camp packed with both returning stars and fresh options. The unit faces the challenge of reviving volume and quality of chances after a brutal seven-game playoff with Dallas, trusting MacKinnon and Makar while layering in Landeskog, Nichushkin, Olofsson and Burns to diversify looks and unleash two potent setups.

With Burns at the top of the setup and a mix of net-front and bumper options—Landeskog, Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Rantanen and others—the Avs aim for a flexible approach that could resemble PP1 and PP1.5 rather than a single elite unit. Training camp will reveal how the new depth translates to ice time, with a core built to push Colorado back to the top of the NHL power-play charts.