Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder) was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. The Columbus Blue Jackets included Merzlikins in a six-player trade centered around Kirill Marchenko and Matthews Knies. The Latvian netminder spent seven years in Columbus, suiting up for nearly 300 regular-season games. His future going forward is murky. Due to a shoulder injury, it's unclear when Merzlikins will be available for selection, and he's in the final season of his five-year, $27 million contract. The Maple Leafs have Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz ahead of Merzlikins on the depth chart.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired right wing Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a six-player deal. The Russian forward has been hoping for a change of scenery and finally got his move. After trading for Marchenko, the Maple Leafs signed him to a six-year, $72.5 million extension. Marchenko could have become a restricted free agent after the 2026-27 season. Last season, he narrowly missed a second consecutive 30-goal season. He has the potential to become a point-per-game player in Toronto as Auston Matthews' running mate on the first line.

Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor (lower body) is day-to-day, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reports. He sustained a lower-body injury in training camp, leaving O'Connor questionable for opening night. The Avalanche begin the action on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. O'Connor has been a regular 20-point scorer for Colorado, but he played only 13 games in 2025-26 after hip surgery. Left wing Zachary L'Heureux (lower body) is also day-to-day heading into opening week, so Colorado could be missing two fourth-line grinders on Wednesday.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro (upper body) will miss the first month of the regular season, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. On Sunday, Portzline reported that Fabbro is expected to be unavailable for "a month or more." A week ago, Fabbro suffered an upper-body injury in a preseason game, and the team placed him on Injured Reserve Friday. Regarding Columbus' defense, Damon Severson's (shoulder) availability at the start of the season is also in question. As such, the Blue Jackets are trying to sign Carson Soucy to a standard contract after he spent training camp with the team on a tryout deal.