A.J. Greer gave Anaheim a little reason to breathe easier on the eve of the season opener.
The Ducks winger was back in practice Wednesday in a full-contact jersey, according to Patrick Present of The Hockey News, after an upper-body injury had put his status for Friday’s opener in doubt. Getting through contact work is a meaningful step for the 29-year-old, who is coming off the best season of his career and is expected to have a major role with his new club right away.
Greer’s breakout came with Florida last season, when he piled up 17 goals and 203 hits in 78 games. Anaheim went out and got him this summer in a swap of pending unrestricted free agents, sending Radko Gudas the other way, then locked Greer in on a four-year, $17MM deal rather than let him reach the open market. That contract added to the club’s salary cap uncertainty later in the summer, but it also signaled exactly how the Ducks view him: as a player who should step in and deliver something close to those numbers on a regular basis.
In Colorado, the Avalanche are still waiting on a pair of injured forwards.
Head coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday, including to Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now, that Logan O’Connor and Zachary L’Heureux are both moving in the right direction in their recoveries, but neither is ready to return yet. For tonight’s season opener against the Los Angeles Kings, Colorado will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Bednar saying they’ll “see what the next game brings.”
L’Heureux, 23, arrived in an offseason trade and has not yet played a regular-season game for the Avalanche. O’Connor, 30, has been with Colorado for more than a decade, dating back to his college days with the Denver Pioneers.
He has built a dependable career as a speedy bottom-six winger, but he missed most of 2025-26 because of a hip injury. Both players are dealing with lower-body injuries.
The Vancouver Canucks also made a roster move Wednesday, announcing that forward Ryan McAllister has been released from his AHL PTO with the Abbotsford Canucks.
McAllister, 24, will now have to look for another landing spot for the 2026-27 season. An undrafted player, he briefly made noise as a prospect after a strong lone college season at Western Michigan University, where he put up 13 goals and 49 points in 39 games in 2022-23. That performance made him one of the top NCAA free agents that year and earned him an entry-level deal with Florida.
McAllister showed flashes in the pros, including 15 points in 16 AHL games in 2024-25, but he wasn’t able to stay healthy or consistent enough to build toward an NHL call-up. His entry-level contract expired over the summer, leaving him to search for his next chance in pro hockey.
In Other News...
Ducks Blue Line Suddenly Has An Opening Night Battle To Watch
The Ducks roster took another turn just before the season opener, with several moves reshaping both the forward group and the blue line. Roger McQueen and Cruz Lucius were sent to AHL San Diego, while defensemen Tristan Luneau, Travis Mitchell and Noah Warren were brought back up from the Gulls as Anaheim adjusted its opening-night mix and LTIR situation.
The blue line shuffle is the part worth watching most closely, because the Ducks now have more competition for those spots than they did a day ago. With Drew Helleson unavailable and the club making room elsewhere on the roster, the door is open for one of the recalled defensemen to claim a real early-season role while Anaheim waits for the lineup to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Just Made A Huge Tristan Luneau Bet
The Ducks have made a clear long-term statement on Tristan Luneau, locking up the young defenseman before he has even established himself as a regular in the NHL. Anaheim recalled him for its season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights, a reminder that the organization still sees plenty of upside in a player who spent most of last season with the San Diego Gulls.
Luneau has only 14 NHL games on his rsum, which makes the commitment notable even by the leagues standards for prospect patience. The extension gives Anaheim a lot of runway to see whether his early promise can turn into a top-four fixture, and it shows how strongly the Ducks believe in what he can become once his game catches up to the contract. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Just Made A Massive Tristan Luneau Bet
The Ducks have made their belief in Tristan Luneau impossible to miss, locking up the young defenseman on a long-term extension before he has had much NHL runway at all. Anaheim moved quickly to secure one of its most intriguing blue-line pieces, signaling that it sees real upside in a player whose pro sample is still just a handful of games.
It is an aggressive bet on projection, and one that says plenty about how the organization views its future on defense. The deal gives Luneau security and the Ducks certainty, but it also puts a spotlight on just how much faith they are placing in a player they want to build around before the season even begins. [Read more 🡒]