NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 14, 2022
The Blues sign Jordan Kyrou to an eight-year contract extension, the Stars re-sign general manager Jim Nill, an update on Tom Wilson and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
STLTODAY.COM: The St. Louis Blues yesterday signed Jordan Kyrou to an eight-year, $65 million contract extension. The average annual value is $8.125 million. Kyrou is a 24-year-old right wing who is in the second season of his two-year deal with an AAV of $2.8 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kyrou followed up a promising 35-point performance in 56 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season with 75 points in 74 games. His contract extension is similar to the one signed by teammate Robert Thomas in July.
It’s clear that Blues management sees those two as important long-term members of their roster core. Given how salaries for top players continue to rise, their identical AAVs could look like bargains in a few years if they continue to maintain or exceed last season’s point-per-game average.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars inked general manager Jim Nill to a contract extension that keeps him signed through 2023-24. He indicated the length of the deal was his idea. “Let’s do two years and let’s see where things are at after two years and just go from there,” he said, indicating he remains hopeful of staying in the role beyond ’23-’24.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nill, 64, is entering his 10th season as the Stars GM. Over the past nine seasons, they’ve reached the playoffs five times with the highlight being their run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
THE ATHLETIC: Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson is believed to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery on his left knee. The club is hopeful he’ll return to action sometime in early December.
NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe underwent cervical spine surgery and is expected to miss 10-12 weeks. His timeline to return is sometime in late November.
NEWSDAY’s Andrew Gross took to Twitter on Tuesday to report New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield and forward Cal Clutterbuck are expected to be ready for training camp next week. Both players missed the end of last season with injuries.
TSN: Chris Tanev is expected to be ready for the start of Calgary Flames’ training camp on Sept. 22. The 32-year-old defenseman underwent offseason surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder suffered during the 2022 playoffs against the Dalla Stars.
The New Jersey Devils signed Thomas Hickey to a professional tryout offer. The 33-year-old defenseman spent the past nine seasons with the New York Islanders.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Seattle Kraken signed Daniel Sprong to a PTO. He split last season between the Washington Capitals and the Kraken.
THE SEATTLE TIMES: Speaking of the Kraken, they promoted analytics director Alexandra Mandrycky to assistant general manager. She’s the first woman to hold that title while specializing primarily in analytics.
NHL.COM: Former NHL goaltender Scott Darling is trying his hand at standup comedy. He played five seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-15 to 2018-19, winning a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2015.
Let’s hope Darling’s stand-up is funnier than the time the Canes thought he could be a #1 goalie.
Early 8mil contracts this summer for rising young forwards.
I’m guessing the teams handing out these early big contracts to young players are probably because they believe as the cap increases, (unless another pandemic strikes) it would be cheaper in the long run than offering a bridge. It also shows that the team believes in the player and sees them as a core part of the team and is either on or already surpassed (their) projected goals for the player.
Not every GM will make the right call, but not a bad gamble, especially if the player is trending upwards.
@Ron
I can understand that but look how paying the Toronto 3 kids early handicapped that team from being a complete team.
ds, I think that is why the first part of Ron’s post addressed the cap, as that is what handicapped the Leafs.
IMO the Leafs overpaid Marner by a couple $M, but Matthews an Willie seem about right, you could argue Willie is good value.
Say you what you want about the Tavares decision, I wouldn’t have but I get it.
What handicapped the Leafs was the pandemic and the flat cap it caused. No way to predict that (other than Bill G and that was eventually)
Add another $6M – $7M to the cap and how would they look? How would some of the deals signed over the last 2 years by other teams looked?
The Ottawa Senators signed Tyler Motte to a one year deal. I didn’t really know much about him but the reaction from Rangers fans tells me this is a huge win.
Interesting signing. As the Ottawa Sun reports, he played mostly LW in Vancouver, and it’s reported that fans of Canucks were hoping to see him return to the team, as he has speed and is noted for being a tenacious checker and excellent on the PK.
If Ridley Greig, another smothering checker, makes the team out of camp, and Parker sticks around, there is going to be a glut of LWs behind the two main ones – Tkachuk and DeBrincat – with Motte, Greig, Parker and, IF he’s signed, Formenton.
Good to see the competition, At $1.35 mil for 1 year, this is a decent signing.
Perhaps they are just planning to send Greig to the minors George? That’s what most good teams do.
A little AHL time never hurt anybody, usually helps. If he forces himself onto the team by the New Year, good problem.
oh George I am already hearing people rumbling about Formenton being traded…the most recent random one Facebook comment was wishing him to be traded to Calgary for Weegar…
Ray … ordinarily I’d agree when it comes to rookies … but all the talk from people in the Senators organization who have been following his progress closely – as well as some journalists who say he was Canada’s best player by FAR at the recent junior tournament before suffering an injury (he’s since recovered) – think he could play his way onto the roster.
And if, as theSaint mentioned above, there is truth to the Formenton trade rumblings, his path to making the team becomes easier.
Stay tuned. Dorion continues to perk.
So the Sabres will regret Thompson’s contract, but the Blues got steals with Thomas and Kyrou? You’re a clown. It’s mind-boggling how you have a job writing about hockey.
(And calling you a writer is being generous, you’re a blogger.)
First, I didn’t say the Sabres “will” regret Thompson’s contract. I said they “could” regret it. I noted that last season’s surprising breakout performance (68 points) made his new hefty contract a big gamble after he managed just 35 points over the previous four seasons. I’m also not the only one who shares that assessment as I linked to TSN’s Travis Yost’s evaluation of Thompson’s contract. I also suggested this contract could pay off for the Sabres with Thompson still in his prime playing years.
Thomas had a total of 87 points over his three previous seasons (including a promising 42 points in 2019-20) before his 77-point performance last season. Kyrou had 35 points in 55 games in 2020-21 before last season’s 75 points in 77 games.
In other words, their contracts were less of a gamble than Thompson’s because they had a better body of work before last season. They had already shown the potential so their performances last season weren’t as surprising as Thompson’s. As I pointed out, those deals could become bargains for the Blues if those two can build upon their 2021-22 performances. You’re the one saying the Blues “got steals” with Thomas and Kyrou.
Calling me a blogger is no insult. It’s how I got my start and I’m proud of that. It’s why I’ve been making a full-time living at this for 17 years. Cheers!
Tyler, there is no reason to be that nasty….yours are not the type of comments that I expect on this site, and I disapprove of your attitude. Although I don’t always agree with Lyles opinions, he runs the most respected and best blog in the business, one that I look forward to reading every morning. And most of the comments I find are thoughtful and respectful, yours excluded.