NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 14, 2022
The Hurricanes plan to start the season without Max Pacioretty, Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov sidelined for six months, making the case for Logan Thompson to replace Golden Knights starter Robin Lehner, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell won’t make any immediate moves to replace Max Pacioretty. Recently acquired in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights, the 33-year-old winger is sidelined for six months after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon during training.
Carolina Hurricanes winger Max Pacioretty (NHL Images).
Waddell admitted it’s an unexpected setback but believes the Hurricanes have sufficient depth to offset Pacioretty’s absence until his return later in the upcoming season. The winger is expected to be placed on long-term injury reserve.
The Hurricanes GM said he’s received calls from clubs looking to dump salary. He didn’t rule out such a move if it made sense for his team but he also pointed out that they will need that space when Pacioretty returns.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There was some speculation that Waddell might attempt to buy out Jake Gardiner but he indicated that’s not going to happen. The blueliner missed 2021-22 recovering from hip surgery but he’s resumed training in hope of playing this coming season.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of players suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon, Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov will be sidelined for approximately six months after undergoing surgery on Aug. 10.
The 24-year-old defenseman was the Sharks’ rookie of the year in 2020-21 by earning a top-four spot alongside Erik Karlsson. However, he missed all of last season to groin injuries and a post-surgery infection.
DAILY FACEOFF: Mike McKenna makes the case for Logan Thompson to fill in for Vegas Golden Knights starter Robin Lehner, who is out for the coming season due to hip surgery.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lehner’s injury prompted speculation that the Golden Knights would attempt to find a short-term replacement via trade or free agency. However, the pickings are slim in both markets. Potential trade partners could also squeeze them to part with a promising young asset as part of the return. My guess is they’ll start the season with Thompson as their starter and see how things unfold.
VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of the Golden Knights, they signed depth forward Jake Leschyshyn and Paul Cotter to three-year contracts. Leschyshyn’s deal is a one-way contract worth an annual average value of $766K while Cotter’s is a two-way deal in the first year and one-way in the second year earning $775K at the NHL level.
NEW YORK POST: Islanders prospect Aatu Raty is hoping to earn a roster spot with the parent club this season. He spent most of last season in Finland and briefly played for the Isles AHL affiliate.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The 19-year-old forward is among the leading scorers at the ongoing 2022 World Junior Championship in Alberta.
I believe Max P’s career is over! Get busy Sweeney, you ain’t done nothing yet! Lots of work to be done.
Does anybody go to Yard barker quiz of the day
1. Can you name the 19 players that played for the Maple Leafs from 1961-64
Today I only scored 10/19 .
I guess I can blame it on, before my time ,
Bower was the 1 goalie , I guessed Sawchuk as the second , I was wrong ..
Any Stanley Cup memories in Toronto are a blurr to me …
I wonder WHY?
The Bruins being dominate 70’s , I can remember , but they were robbed of Cups against Philadelphia and Montreal
Ken
Bruins of early 70s got screwed with the WHL. Stealing key players like Sanderson and Cheevers as well
Yeah but look at them now, the hawks couldn’t beat a team from Amica Balmoral. After Kane & Toews leave they’ll most likely be cellar dwellers from now Til the end of the decade.Bobby Hull’s hair weave could probably pop the in a goal against them.
Loved the Blackhawks knocking them out in 71. So much fun watching them whine, especially Cherry!
wow! I was born in 61, so I’m sure I’m gonna miss a few, but he goes: Frank Mahovolich, Dave Keon, George Armstrong, Bob Pulford, Red Kelly, Bob Baun, Johnny Bower, Don Simmons, Tim Horton, Bob Niven, Dick Duff, Allan Stanley, Eddie Shack, Ron Stewart, Billy Harris, Carl Brewer, Larry Hillman……Al Arbor? I named 18 guys, How’d I do?
I’m sure Rick will find a way to blame Sweeney for that too!
MB – U R Absolutely Corrrect!
Ya…. Cheevers did leave for 4-5 years after 72 and than come back ,it’s too bad , would of made a difference for sure ..
Sanderson, WHA messed him up with his personal life , TURK was awesome in Boston
Any fond memories of the WHA , I can mainly remember Bobby Hull and his dominance with the Winnipeg Jets , 51, 52 , 77 goal campaigns
Seeing Gordie Howe playing alongside his sons Marty and Mark
I doubt we’ll ever see anything like that again in pro sports.
I’m tired of RWMs daily whining about Sweeney. He’s almost enough to cause me to quit coming to this blog. If he actually commented on something Lyle wrote/posted and had some intelligence, okay. But it’s the same whiny bs every day.
Do what most others here do, Paul: Ignore him. Focus instead on what you have to say about the daily topics or weigh in on my comments. Interact with other posters who don’t share RWM’s obsession with all things Sweeney.
PB
RWM is harmless. He should just quote the same post everyday save himself from writing more gibberish. But Lyle is correct try to ignore best you can
I came to grips with it a few weeks back – and even apologized for my acid remarks – it is what it is and he’s as entitled to say what he thinks (within reason and in a hockey context) as anyone.
I simply regard it the same way I do some of Pengy’s more lengthy, convoluted “it’ll never happen” trade scenarios. With a grain of salt.
Yeah, Lyle. That is certainly one approach.
However, you frequently try and re-direct conversation here to the topics of the day. I recall no day in which Sweeny has been a topic of yours.
I recall some poster from a few years ago who regularly insulted others here, and a few of us started to complain to you about him. By accident or design, he disappeared.
The other day someone was called a schmuck by Murray. Other days he insults peoples’ military service.
This is your site Lyle. One can ignore graffiti, but municipalities ban it because it lowers the tone irrespective of the option to ignore it ….
I think the graffiti analogy was a nice try. But graffiti is also property damage. Not sure Ricky would rise to that level.
I haven’t figured out which is worse yet. The troll that baits people or the people that take the bait.
@George
YES, Gordon Howe along with his 2 sons were more eventful actually than my admiration of Bobby Hull
Carolina is deep at forward and will be fine during the regular season. Drury should make the team and get more meaningful minutes.
Carolina can’t keep losing the type of players that thrive in playoff hockey. Waddell will need to do a better job fine-tuning the team for the playoffs at the trade deadline.
Im very concerned about Carolina’s future after this season. Staal, Fast , Andersen, Raanta are all free agents. Pesce, Skjei, Teravainen and Aho will enter the final season of their contracts. If Aho won’t extend his contract next summer they almost have to trade him because they can’t afford to lose him without any return.
It’s interesting that there is not single defenseman on Carolina’s roster that was drafted by Waddell or Francis. The defense continues to be anchored by Slavin and Pesce who were drafted by Rutherford. Hopefully Scott Morrow will change that.
GP, I’m curious to see how they handle the roster with Pacioretty out long term and the possible return of Jake Gardiner.
Right now they sit $1,116,911 over the cap with 20 signed – 11F, 7D 2G. Should Gardiner be ready to go when the season starts, his cap hit will increase that to $5,166,911 and now with 21 signed, including 8D.
And if, as you surmise, Drury becomes the 12th F, his $925,000 ELC ups that to $6,091,911 over the cap with 22 signed.
Pacioretty’s $7 mil on LTIR will cover that for most of the season – but they will be limited to what they can do to offset minor injuries that may cause players to miss a game or two or three since they’d still be perilously close to the limit.
Do you see a another deal brewing to provide some margin?
I’m not sure about Carolina. I don’t think Patches makes up for the loss of Trochek and Niederreiter. I also thought the Canes needed more offense out of their D to improve. Instead, they swapped out Burns for Tony D’A. That might be a slight improvement, but I thought they needed to add more D’men that generate offense. I think they are weaker today than they were at the end of the season.
Waddell is playing with fire by not buying Gardiner out after hip and back surgery in the same year will likely be out of the NHL this year and not being the best skater even in his prime . I’m not sure what Donny thinks about his value, but Gardiner not being bought out is baffling while needing every cent of his $4m contract and Patches LTIR to get a viable forward to replace Patches scoring in the top six…Maybe he’s using his old Thrasher’s tactics that will surely get a “come to Jesus meeting with Dundon”.
My understanding of the buy-out is that you can’t do it if the player is on LTIR – where he remains until it’s decided that he can return to full practices and therefore come off LTIR.
He doesn’t want additional cap stressors beyond this year.
Waddell and Dundon have made a number of questionable moves in the past couple of years and the present issues weren’t unforeseen
The KK fiasco is coming back to bite them not just with Neiderreiter and Trocheck but also with an unhappy Necas who at least signed.
Wait for Seth Jarvis.