NHL Update Oct 5, 2026: Flames Waive Zary; Dickinson Back for Oilers
Good evening, Alberta! It's been a busy 48 hours for our two clubs. The Flames took another lopsided loss in Seattle and shook up the roster on Monday, while the Oilers got a key centre back at practice and named their goalies for the California trip. Here's your Alberta Radio NHL update.
League Roundup
Sunday's slate delivered some drama. Winnipeg won 3-2 in Detroit on the strength of three power-play goals, two from Kyle Connor and one from Cole Perfetti. The Rangers beat Utah 4-2 at Madison Square Garden, with Vladislav Gavrikov, Gabe Perreault, J.T. Miller and Eeli Tolvanen scoring.
In Anaheim, Brad Marchand made his season debut for Florida and forced overtime with an extra-attacker goal at 18:10 of the third. The Ducks still won 3-2 when Mikael Granlund tipped home a Leo Carlsson pass on the power play with 46 seconds left in OT. Cutter Gauthier had two power-play goals and Carlsson had three assists as Anaheim (2-0-0) won its 11th straight home opener. That's worth noting, because the Ducks are the Oilers' next opponent. Florida, meanwhile, is playing without captain Aleksander Barkov, who went on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
In Vancouver, Vegas beat the Canucks 3-2. Marc Gatcomb scored the winner just 34 seconds after Jonathan Lekkerimaki tied it late in the second, and Mitch Marner and Victor Olofsson also scored for the Golden Knights. Paul Cotter scored in his 300th NHL game for Vancouver and has points in all four games so far.
Monday night is a four-game card. As this update went live, Tampa Bay led Philadelphia 2-0 in the second, Ottawa led Boston 2-0 in the first, Winnipeg and Pittsburgh were scoreless, and San Jose at Dallas was about to drop the puck at 6 p.m. MT.
Waiver wire: Along with the Flames' moves below, the Rangers put defenceman Matthew Robertson, an Edmonton native, on waivers Monday. He played 72 games for New York last season but hasn't dressed yet this year.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers (2-0-1) had Sunday off after Saturday's 3-1 win over Seattle and got good news at Monday's practice at the Downtown Community Arena. Jason Dickinson returned and centred the second line between Trent Frederic and Kasperi Kapanen. He missed training camp while recovering from an injury, and head coach Mike Babcock hopes he'll play at some point on the three-game road trip that starts Wednesday.
"The biggest thing is when you miss training camp, everyone else is flying now compared to where they were three weeks ago, and you're in mud, right?" Babcock said. "But he's a good pro, he knows how to play. That's going to help him."
Dickinson said he's ready: "It's been a good few weeks of getting my legs going and getting back up to pace, but I'm ready to get going."
According to Jason Gregor of Daily Faceoff Edmonton, Monday's lines were Podkolzin–McDavid–Draisaitl, Frederic–Dickinson–Kapanen, Jones/Joseph–Michaels–Formenton and Howard–Dach–Samanski.
In goal: Babcock named Devon Levi the starter for Wednesday in Anaheim, with Tristan Jarry getting Saturday's game in San Jose.
Trade watch: The rumours aren't going away. TSN's Darren Dreger said Monday that Edmonton has been talking for weeks with an Eastern Conference team about a young centre with "plenty of upside" and was considered a frontrunner, though he didn't name the player and warned fans not to get "too over the top." That follows Elliotte Friedman's report over the weekend that the Oilers are open to a lateral defence-for-forward swap. Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now suggested a smaller deal could even come before Wednesday. Zach Hyman (upper body) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (IR) remain out.
Calgary Flames
It's been a rough opening week in Calgary. Sunday in Seattle: Kraken 6, Flames 1. Seattle scored three times in the first 7:40. Berkly Catton opened the scoring, Mackie Samoskevich scored his first two goals as a Kraken, and Bobby McMann, Shane Wright and Jordan Eberle also scored. Morgan Frost got Calgary's only goal on the power play in the third, set up by Matvei Gridin and Joel Farabee. The Flames actually outshot Seattle 33-27, but Joey Daccord made 32 saves, and Dustin Wolf allowed six goals on 27 shots.
"I feel like right now we're disconnected," head coach Ryan Huska said. "You get yourself a little bit of momentum, things start going the right way, and one person goes off script right now for us and it seems to end up in the back of our net."
The Flames are 0-3-0 and have been outscored 16-3, including two 6-1 losses to Seattle. On Monday, management responded by putting forward Connor Zary and defenceman Brayden Pachal on waivers. Zary, the 24th overall pick in 2020, has one assist in two games this season and was scratched Saturday in Vancouver. He's in Year 2 of a deal carrying a $3.775-million cap hit. Pachal, 27, hasn't dressed yet this season. Any team can claim them until noon Tuesday. If they clear, both can be assigned to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers, which would open room for call-ups. Jonathan Huberdeau (hip) is still out.
The good news is that Calgary has a few days to regroup before Colorado visits the Saddledome on Thursday.
What's Next
Tonight, 6 p.m. MT: San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars
Tue. Oct. 6, noon MT: Waiver deadline for Connor Zary and Brayden Pachal
Tue. Oct. 6, 7:40 p.m. MT: Vegas Golden Knights at Seattle Kraken
Tue. Oct. 6, 8 p.m. MT: Florida Panthers at Los Angeles Kings
Wed. Oct. 7, 8 p.m. MT: Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks (Levi expected in goal)
Thu. Oct. 8, 7 p.m. MT: Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
Sat. Oct. 10, 2 p.m. MT: Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks (Jarry expected in goal)
Sat. Oct. 10, 8 p.m. MT: Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames
Stay tuned to Alberta Radio for the waiver results Tuesday and full coverage of the Oilers' California trip. Go Oilers, go Flames!
Sources: NHL.com scoreboard and recaps (Flames–Kraken, Panthers–Ducks, Golden Knights–Canucks, Oct. 4), EdmontonOilers.com, TSN, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Oilers Nation, FlamesNation, Daily Faceoff. Monday scores were in progress as of about 6:05 p.m. MT.
