NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 8, 2022

by | Sep 8, 2022 | News, NHL | 11 comments

The Canadiens will place Carey Price on LTIR after announcing the signing of Kirby Dach, the Senators ink Tim Stutzle to an eight-year extension, Disney and Turner announce their 2022-23 NHL schedules and more in today’s Morning Coffee Headlines.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens will garner salary cap relief for the coming season by placing Carey Price on long-term injury reserve. The 35-year-old goaltender has four years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $10.5 million.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (NHL Images).

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said he’d have more news about Price after the netminder meets with team doctors prior to training camp later this month. He continues to be plagued by a nagging knee injury that shows no sign of improvement.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hughes signaled last month that he would likely place Price on LTIR. I wouldn’t be surprised if the long-time Canadiens starter has played his final NHL game.

The Canadiens can exceed the $82.5 million salary cap by 10 percent during the offseason but must be cap compliant when the season starts next month. Putting Price on LTIR now means they can exceed the cap by the equivalent of his $10.5 million AAV. Cap Friendly shows them at $10.24 million. It also allowed them to sign Kirby Dach to a new contract.

Hughes also indicated that forward Paul Byron might also start the season on LTIR as he returns from hip surgery. There are also questions over whether Sean Monahan (hip surgery) and Jonathan Drouin (wrist) will be ready to start the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Monahan and Drouin probably won’t be sidelined for much longer as they seem close to being cleared to play. It sounds like Byron could require more time.

MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: The Canadiens also announced they reached an agreement with Kirby Dach on a four-year, $13.5 million contract. The 21-year-old center was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in July and was the Habs’ final remaining free agent of the summer.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dach’s average annual value is just over $3.36 million. It’s a reasonable amount that could benefit the Canadiens’ cap payroll if he can play up to expectations.

The third-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Dach is looking forward to a fresh start in Montreal after struggling through injuries and inconsistent play during his brief tenure with the Blackhawks. He could start the season as their third-line center or shift to right wing depending on Monahan’s status.

OTTAWA SUN: The Senators announced they’d signed Tim Stutzle to an eight-year, $66.8 million contract extension. Stutzle, 20, is in the final season of his entry-level contract. His annual cap hit starting in 2023-24 will be $8.35 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: We shouldn’t be shocked by this signing. Senators GM Pierre Dorion had already locked up young core players such as Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot so it’s fitting that he followed suit with Stutzle.

The third-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Stutzle has the makings of a superstar. He followed up a promising rookie performance of 29 points in 53 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season with a 22-goal, 58-point effort in 79 games in 2021-22.

Stutzle, Tkachuk, Norris, Chabot and Batherson are all 25-or-younger. Locking up that core on long-term deals should provide roster stability as Dorion continues to build around them. Those expensive contracts could become bargains over the long term if they play up to their potential.

NHL.COM: Disney and Turner Sports announced their 2022-23 NHL broadcast schedules. ESPN will open the season on Oct. 11 with a doubleheader featuring the New York Rangers hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning before the Vegas Golden Knights meet the Kings in Los Angeles. TNT will host the 2023 NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 in Boston at Fenway Park between the Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

ESPN.COM: The Arizona Coyotes expect to sell out every home game this season at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena. They indicated their season-ticket sales have surpassed what they were making in their former arena in Glendale.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Coyotes had better sell out every home game at the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena. Failure to do so would be the latest embarrassment for a franchise that has had more than its share of them.

NHL.COM: The Edmonton Oilers announced the establishment of its Hall of Fame yesterday. It may include former players, coaches, trainers, staff, executives “or any other person whose role or service in the organization since its founding in 1972 is recognized as extraordinary.”

DAILY FACEOFF: Speaking of the Oilers, they signed former Vancouver Canucks forward Justin Bailey to a professional tryout offer.







11 Comments

  1. Carey Price has, unfortunately, indeed played his final NHL game. It’s pretty certain that he won’t play this season as he would need significant knee surgery to ever come back. Assuming he chooses to do so, a year from now he’d by 36 years old coming off major surgery and having played 5 games in 2 years. And playing a position which puts a lot of stress on the lower body. It’s way too much to expect that he could come back. In this situation, he probably wouldn’t want to go through surgery either.

    • Agreed about Price’s last game being already played. I think he will have surgery, if only to live the rest of his life to the fullest. It does mean rehab and thinking maybe he comes back for next year blah blah blah..bt in the end, every sees his career in the NHL is doe as a player.

  2. The Senators continue to mend fences that had been crushed during Melnyk’s time by appointing
    Chris Phillips as VP Of Business Operations, and Chris Neil as VP of Business & Community Development – both of which had eroded during Melnyk’s days.

    Apparently there is no development in the move to bring Daniel Alfredsson back in some role because he wants something closer to the actual team operation and, presumably, those jobs are filled and functioning to Dorion’s satisfaction.

  3. The minute Price took the year off I knew that was it. Rask same thing although Price was a far better goalie.

    Order of finish in At Div
    1) Florida
    2) Tampa
    3) Toronto
    4) Ottawa most improved team in the nhl

    Most inactive gm & the winner is……………………
    Sweeney

    • Rick, Price was not a “far” better goalie than Rask.
      You could make a compelling argument, looking at their actual results, that suggest Rask had a better career. Price was a great tender, but Rask was too.

      GAA – Rask better
      SV% – Rask better
      quality start % – Rask better
      Adjusted GAA (shot quality etc taken into account) – Rask is better.

      Playoffs #’s – Rask’s are better.

      Vezina trophy’s – 1 each

      Also if you could get back to posting first thing in the AM – Mountain Time – would be appreciated.

      I enjoy my morning Sweeney grievance with my morning coffee!

      • Ray, stats don’t tell the entire story , Rask just never had it aka Thomas and if he had a better team Price would ranked even higher as well.
        #1)Rask always choked in the playoffs Philly, Chicago, St. Louis
        #2 he always had pesky little problems like a tummy ache & headache the day after chugging brew and wings at “ Sweet Cheeks,” not be been able to play 1 of the most important games of season, also missing most of the season for some reason or another
        he didn’t have the chutzpah in the playoffs. That is what separates the stars from the also rans.
        #3 in some way or another he always threw his teammates under the bus. It was never his fault.
        Rask was a great regular season goalie and that’s where it ends. ( will not respond to you know who, why bother?

      • I’m kinda with you, Ray, but the quality of the team in front of each goalie has to play a factor as well.
        Price did an awful lot, with some not so great teams. Boston teams were mostly near the top.
        Either way, it was an absolute pleasure watching both men play and compete on the ice, and be present in their respective communities.

    • We doing predictions.

      My atlantic

      Florida (no reason they should decline in the standings. Maybe get less points over all but should win the division. Though perhaps Tkachuk and Barkov wont’ mesh well together. Time will tell.)
      Ottawa (there time to fly and if they’re gonna gain ground in the atlantic why not shoot for the moon. Maybe I’m biased being a sens fan…..or just hopeful. haha)
      Toronto (Goal tending will allow the other atlantic teams to snatch away wins.)
      Tampa (so much hockey over the last couple of years adds up. It wasn’t like they finished as division leaders last year. Solid but no longer the best. Well until it comes playoff time)
      Boston (Aging roster…injury woes)
      Buffalo (Seems they have some promise in those young players. Do they click does Dahlin establish himself as the elite defender I believe him to be. It is Buffalo who routinely disappoints. )
      Detroit (until they prove they can play D, I will reserve predicting them to rise in the standings. Though they could easily be flipped wiht ottawa in this prediction)
      Montreal (I will give the credit for the intentional fire sale and tank and say they are doing it well. Basement here they come.)

      • I think Ottawa has to prove that they can play D too. I actually think Detroit will have the better D this year, and may well beat out Ottawa for 4th place. I do agree that Boston is the most likely to fall in the standings, but Florida, Tampa, and Toronto are all weaker today than they were at the end of the season.

    • Ottawa improved forward lines, but no improvement at D or G. Don’t see them making playoffs. Expect them to finish behind Detroit.

      • I improvement at G? Well that is an odd opinion. Simply removing Murray and going forsberg and Gus would of been an improvement but they then went and added a stable veteran in Talbot. I get it. It’s not sexy but no improvement?

        As far as the D goes. Do you guys know who Sanderson is? Besides unlike detroit Ottawa’s forward did back check. Just go research the detroit vs Ottawa games last season and you can see the deference in defensive coverage. Sure stutzle struggle but being 19 he was physically week and has grown more as 20 year olds do at that age and had much much better line mates this year.

        Ottawa D will be much better simply because the forward group is much better and will allow the D to play D.