- Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: Hurricanes Eric Staal suffered a 3rd degree sprain of his right MCL back on May 16th at the World Championships. He was on the ice yesterday with teammates and had no issues with the knee.
“It felt good,” he said. “It has been no issue here for a little bit now. It’s good to be back and it felt strong. I feel good.”
- Eric Stephens: Ducks GM Bob Murray said that defenseman Francois Beauchemin (torn ACL) is ahead of schedule after having surgery back in May. They are not ruling out Beauchemin for the season opener, but “he’s too valuable and it’s a long year.”
- George Richards of the Miami Herald: The Panthers are expected to be without Kris Versteeg (knee) and Ed Jovanovski (hip) to start the season. After a couple weeks of training camp, Sean Bergenheim could be ready.
“I was off the ice for like nine months, and that’s the longest break I’ve had since I first put on the skates,” said Bergenheim, who missed the entire 2013 season after having surgery in March.
Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder) and Drew Shore (wrist) had offseason surgery and could be limited at the start of camp.
