NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 13, 2021

by | Jul 13, 2021 | News, NHL | 20 comments

Highlights from the recent general managers meeting, the Stanley Cup gets damaged during the Lightning’s boat parade, the latest on a possible buyout for Tony DeAngelo and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Tom Gulitti reports league commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly briefed the general managers yesterday on the guidelines for 2021-22 and other issues. Among the highlights:

The league is hoping for an 82-game regular-season schedule in 2021-22 beginning in October and ending in April with fully vaccinated players returning to pre-COVID conditions. It’s also hoped the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs will begin next April and conclude in June.

The league is working on two schedule formats, one of them including possible Olympic participation in 2022, pending the result of ongoing discussions between the NHLPA and the International Olympic Committee.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports resolution on Olympic participation next season must be reached by July 23.

Teams will return to the previous divisional format with each club playing all the others at least twice.

The Arizona Coyotes will move to the Central Division to make room in the Pacific Division for the expansion Seattle Kraken.

The general managers focussed on the officiating standard for the cross-checking penalty. It’s expected to continue during a meeting of the league’s competition committee today. So far, no rule change is planned.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Here’s hoping things can return to normal for next season.

ESPN.COM: The Stanley Cup is heading to Montreal for repairs after the bowl was dented during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s boat parade yesterday celebrating their second straight championship.

New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some folks on social media are chastising the Lightning for damaging the Cup. However, this sort of thing isn’t new. The Cup has a long history of getting banged up during exuberant celebrations by previous winners. The damage could have been accidental.

NEW YORK POST: The Rangers aren’t expected to buy out exiled defenseman Tony DeAngelo until after the July 21 expansion draft.

Speaking of the Rangers, they’ve promoted Gord Murphy as an assistant coach and added Mike Kelly as an assistant. Murphy and Gallant have worked with new Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant in the past.

SPORTSNET: The police investigation into the death of Matiss Kivlenieks death has been submitted to a county prosecutor for review. The 24-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks blast on July 4. The incident is still being treated as an accident and the police have not requested charges be laid.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: An attorney representing a former Blackhawks player who alleges he was sexually assaulted by the club’s former video coach in 2010 is open to the possibility of participating in the club’s review of the accusations. However, it would have to be under the right conditions. They want to know more about the parameters of the investigation and want the opportunity to conduct their own interview of key former and current team executives.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs hired former Carolina Hurricanes assistant coach Dean Chynoweth as an assistant coach.

TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins hired four new scouts and a coach for their minor league affiliate. Brett Hextall, son of Penguins GM Ron Hextall, will work as an integrated development coach. He’ll work with prospects at the AHL level.

CALGARY SUN: The Flames hired Mitch Love as head coach of their AHL affiliate in Stockton. Love spent the past three seasons as the bench boss of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Former Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov’s KHL coaching career has been put on hold after he didn’t submit to doping tests. Markov failed to notify the Russian Anti-Doping Agency of his retirement as a player, meaning he’s still considered an active player. He’d joined HC Vityaz as an assistant coach. Because he didn’t get tested, however, he’s been suspended for a year and a half. “I didn’t know, nobody told me,” said Markov.







20 Comments

  1. Wow, poor Markov. That is brutal! Also, the GMs should be focusing on creating level officiating across the board, the playoffs should be no different than the regular season!

  2. Watched alot of hockey games and heard the commentator say “the ref let him have the first two cross checks and called him on the third one”

    Call it on the first one, clean up the after whistle crap. Anything after the whistle is a penalty. How many times after a whistle, do you see a player get crosschecked, just for standing there or a mere skate by.

    Or here is a novel idea call the rule book as it was intended.

    Calling the game should not be different in the first, second, third or overtime.

    Get rid of the playoff handbook and use the regular season handbook.

    The way the game is called today, it hinders the players who you are trying to use to promote the game.

    They say let them play, let the players decided the game. In reality there letting uncontrolled aggression decide the game and by but calling the rule book you are directly impacting the game.

    Clean it up!

    • That about sums it up, Caper, use the rule book and use it all year long, including playoffs.
      What a concept!
      The Leafs hired a PK specialist. That will really help the power play.

      • I’m surprised the canes let him walk considering the good/great job he’s done for them the past 3 yrs. A good and surprising hire. BC, unfortunately there’s a lot more than a poor pp that needs fixing on this team…

        I’ll bet it was Kuch that dented the cup…couldn’t of been anyone else, right? LOL

    • You mean you think Kucherov should have been permitted to play the Final without a broken rib?

    • I understand the call the game the same way as the regular season argument, but fact is, the game is different in the playoffs because if you played that way all year half the team would be on LTIR and careers would be shortened.
      It is more physical, more intense and emotional, because if you lose your done. It is the best sport to watch of any come playoff time. But I agree it could be even better.

      I know the soccer analogy was used on here as a model, but we just heard plenty of complaining in the recent Euro tourney. Ticky tack call that helped England – “games shouldn’t be decided by the refs!”
      Then England fans complaining Italy wasn’t getting called and pushing it and the refs put their whistles away. The NHL is not alone.

      Caper makes a good point about the after the whistle stuff. If you call it all, it stops. It doesn’t add much other than some minor entertainment value.
      Also a cross check in the back is a cross check in the back. I can’t think of an easier call to make.

      For me it is the obstruction, not the extra physical play. That will speed it up and increase scoring chances and add to the lead changes and drama.

      • This is why the season should be significantly shorter. 2 home in home in division. 1 home and home with rest of conference. One home and home alternating years with other conference.

        52 games spread out more. Less injuries. Games have more weight. Could be called appropriately.

        Before yins get all huffy puffy I know the idea isn’t financially going to work. But it would be great.

    • Let the skill players decide the game. Not the hacks and the fringe players looking to hold onto a salary. Simple s**t.

  3. Brett Hextall? Nothing like a little nepotism when you are looking to hire someone …

    • I agree wholeheartedly with you, Chrisms. Pay the players a bit less so that it works. 82 games is too much wear and tear on the players, let alone so little time with family due to travel. Cap things at 6 mil for 5 years for signings. Would save a lot of trouble re-signing folks too and keeping teams together. I don’t begrudge players making a couple of mil a year, but my starting teaching pay was 11K a year and after 24 years I made maybe 1/2 mil. Let’s at least be sensible.

      • Your starting teacher pay is irrelevant. What is relevant is what kind of dollars a player brings in. If you brought me $10 million and I had to pay you $5 million then that works all day long. Unfortunately teachers can’t do that math.

  4. Officiating consistency in general is needed not crosschecking per se.

    Clearing out the front of the net and fighting for space is part of the game,

    I think head shots are a bigger problem with the league bending over backwards over initial point of contact.

    I don’t think people realize what using the rule book and using it all year long including the playoffs means.

    It means endless trips to the penalty box.

    TML fans remember 1993 as Kerry Fraser missing the highstick on Gilmour by Gretzky.

    I remember Kerry Fraser calling everything in the LA/MTL SCF and the inability to play the game, it was so bad that even penalties to the Kings were being booed.

    The players and the officials know each other, they know who calls what, who embellishes, who complains to get an edge etc etc.

    Bettman and the GMs have full control of what is and isn’t called and the players have full control of what they do on the ice.

    • He didn’t call everything in the Kings/Leafs series. Otherwise we could have had an Original Six final.

      • BCLeafFan,

        Did you catch my response yesterday to your question re Subban/Weber trade?
        It’s still there if you missed it.

    • Worst offender that gets away with everything because he’s a vet is Weber. He’s a cruel dude and nasty. Should have had so many more penalties instead of being allowed to just be a tough bully.

  5. Does a possible discussion of cross checking mean the league may eliminate the situation where a defensive player relentlessly repeatedly cross checks an offensive player without the puck (6 or more times) in front of the net without a cross checking or interference call???

    Maybe someone could explain why there’s never a call in that situation?

  6. 59.2 Minor Penalty – A minor penalty, at the discretion of the Referee based on the severity of the contact, shall be imposed on a player or goalkeeper who “cross-checks” an opponent.

    Do you propose that a player or players should have the right to park themselves and claim the property in front of the goalie?

    Among the myriad of unwritten rules players can fight for the property in front of the net, the players know it, officials know it, equipment manufacturers know it and provide specific padding. It goes on in front of both teams net.
    and both offensive and defensive players.

    • HF30, got it. I think Subban can still play and he’ll help some team this year. Montreal for example.

      • BCLeafFan,

        No thanks, but TML can sign Subban and reunite him with Captain pyjamas 🙂

      • It never fails to amaze me how a fan can mock players that would be his team s best if on it.
        That’s called something, right?