NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 1, 2023
Anze Kopitar has a four-goal performance as the Kings reportedly ship Jonathan Quick to the Blue Jackets, the Wild acquire Gustav Nyquist, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar scored four goals as his club overcame a 5-3 deficit to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 6-5. Adrian Kempe scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Kings improved to 34-20-8 to sit in second place in the Pacific Division with 76 points. Josh Morrissey scored two goals and collected two assists and Kevin Stenlund also tallied twice as the Jets (35-24-2) hold the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 72 points.
Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar (NHL Images).
The Boston Bruins picked up their eighth straight win by nipping the Calgary Flames 4-3 on an overtime goal by Charlie McAvoy. Linus Ullmark kicked out 54 shots while Dmitry Orlov scored twice and collected an assist for the 47-8-5 Bruins as they opened a 13-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the overall standings with 99 points. The Flames sank to 27-21-13 with 67 points to sit five back of the Jets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bruins forward Nick Foligno left the game with a leg injury in the second period following a questionable hit by Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
Third-period goals by Sidney Crosby, Jason Zucker and Bryan Rust carried the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators for their third straight win. The Penguins (30-21-9) hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 69 points while the Predators dropped to 29-23-6 and sit seven points back of the Jets in the Western Conference.
A 39-save performance by Filip Gustavsson gave the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders with Frederick Gaudreau tallying the winner in the shootout. Ryan Reaves scored in regulation for the Wild as they improved to 34-21-6 to move into second place in the Central Division with 74 points. Josh Bailey tallied for the Islanders (31-25-8) as they hold the first Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 70 points.
The Seattle Kraken snapped a three-game losing skid by dropping the St. Louis Blues by a score of 5-3. Morgan Geekie scored twice and Martin Jones made 22 saves for his first win since Jan. 25 as the Kraken (33-21-6) hold third place in the Pacific Division with 72 points. Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich each had a goal and an assist as the Blues fell to 26-29-5.
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots in a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Eric Staal had a goal and an assist as the Panthers (30-26-6) sit three points behind the Penguins in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Brayden Point replied for the 37-19-4 Lightning as they sit in third place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points.
The Ottawa Senators kept their playoff hopes alive by thumping the Detroit Red Wings 6-1. Austin Watson scored two goals and Tim Stutzle had a goal and two assists as the Senators improved to 30-26-4 (64 points) to sit five points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Dominik Kubalik scored for the Red Wings as they fell to 28-24-8 (64 points). Wings defenseman Filip Hronek left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Eric Robinson netted his first career NHL hat trick in a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 38 shots for the 20-35-6 Blue Jackets, who sat out goalie Joonas Korpisalo from this game for “trade-related reasons”. Jack Quinn had a goal and an assist for the 31-24-4 Sabres as they sit three points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Their home record has dropped to 12-16-2 on the season.
The Montreal Canadiens got a 38-save performance from Jake Allen to defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-1. Christian Dvorak had a goal and an assist for the 26-30-4 Canadiens while the Sharks sank to 18-31-12.
Arizona Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz scored for the fourth straight game in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Schmaltz and Clayton Keller each finished with two points for the 21-30-9 Coyotes. Andreas Athanasiou tallied for the 21-34-5 Blackhawks. The Coyotes held center Nick Bjugstad from this game for “trade-related reasons”.
HEADLINES
DAILY FACEOFF: The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly traded goaltender Jonathan Quick and a 2023 first-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goalie Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
**UPDATE: TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the Blue Jackets will receive a conditional first-round pick in 2023 and a third-round pick in 2024 as part of the return along with Quick. The condition on the first-rounder is based on the unlikely possibility of the Kings missing the playoffs this season.**
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The report suggests there could be more pieces involved in this trade but the centerpiece of this deal is the Kings moving on from Quick while bringing in Korpisalo and Gavrikov.
Quick was the Kings’ long-time starter who backstopped them to the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. However, the pending free agent struggled this season which prompted this move to shore up their goaltending depth. Korpisalo has put solid numbers since December behind a porous Blue Jackets defense.
The Kings were in the market for a left-side defenseman and reportedly had an interest in the Arizona Coyotes’ Jakob Chychrun. The two clubs were said to have discussed a trade but those talks evidently fell through, forcing them to turn to Gavrikov. He lacks Chychrun’s offensive skills but plays a responsible defensive game.
As for the Blue Jackets, they get a first-round pick in this year’s draft and likely more assets to put toward rebuilding their roster. Quick, who was said to be unhappy about moving to one of the worst teams in the league, faces an uncertain future given his free-agent status on July 1 and the decline in his performance this season.
TSN: The Minnesota Wild acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2023 fifth-rounder.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nyquist remains sidelined by a shoulder injury but is expected to return to action before the playoffs. He’s an experience two-way forward with 53 points last season. His production declined this season but the Wild are gambling that he’ll regain his form in Minnesota.
NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: The San Jose Sharks acquired the rights of prospect defenseman Henry Thrun from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick. The Sharks have until Aug. 15 to sign Thrun to an entry-level contract or he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings signed defenseman Jake Walman to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $3.4 million. He was slated to become a UFA on July 1.
WASHINGTON HOCKEY NOW: The Capitals signed defenseman Nick Jensen to a three-year deal worth an AAV of $4.05 million.
NEW YORK POST: Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller receive a three-game suspension for spitting on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty on Sunday.
TSN: Dallas Stars defenseman Colin Miller was fined $5,000.00 for elbowing Vancouver Canucks center Nils Aman. Canucks defenseman Christian Wolanin was fined over $2,000.00 for slashing Stars forward Ty Dellandrea.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Anaheim Ducks claimed defenseman Scott Harrington off waivers from the New Jersey Devils. Harrington was acquired by the Devils along with Timo Meier on Sunday.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins placed forward Brock McGinn and defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers.
TSN: The NHL sent a memo to teams yesterday indicating they will be closely scrutinizing trades involving injured players who are acquired with the intent of keeping them on long-term injury reserve until the playoffs. The league isn’t banning such moves outright but wishes to ensure such moves don’t circumvent the salary cap.
Program … program … get your program here … can’t tell who’s who without a program …
I can just see the talking heads wondering what the Hell they’re going to be able to talk about on Friday.
(I really thought Korpisalo was headed to Ottawa and Talbot to the Leafs …. oh well, back to the drawing board)
Oh, and did anyone else see Watson – the guy who can’t skate and offers nothing – score that short-handed goal on the pk and add another beauty in the 6-1 route of Detroit? Looked like he can move OK to me.
Was at the game George & was pulling for Watson to get one more. The Wings came out strong but folded once the Sens went up 3-1. Stutzle is going to be a star in this league. A few months ago I would not have said that , he has natured a lot this season.
Fergy22, with 28g 35a 63 pts in 56gp I’d say he’s already there.
The way things are shaping up, IF (and I stress IF) Ottawa can ruin Kane’s debut with the NYR tomorrow in NY, I can see Dorion standing pat on Friday.
However, should the Rangers rise to the occasion and bury the Senators, then reality will hit home and there will be movement on Friday – and Watson could be one of them, along with Holden and maybe Talbot. Hamonic and Brassard will likely be re-signed.
Was also at the game. And entertaining tilt. Larkin’s comments after were a pretty dejected sounding collection of word noises.
Watson’s goals, while nice, were some lucky were no indication of his skating skills. Or lack there of. But he’s a tough nut I’ll give him that. Larkin (and his fresh new contract)better keep his head up – Brady has a long memory. He’ll want his pound of flesh.
Dark G, a big, long-legged guy like Watson (6′ 4″ 205 lbs) tends to look like he’s laboring and slow. I remember some Toronto observers making the same comments about big Frank Mahovlich – until you noticed smaller players on the other team trying to keep pace with their legs going a mile-a-minute.
Watson looked great. Claude just keeps blowing my mind. Tim is a superstar. Sogaard just won rookie of the month…
I know we are no blowing into the playoffs like everyone hoped, but wow there are so many positives with the Sens right now!!
One thing they need to cut down on though are needless penalties – retaliation types, etc., – doing that against Detroot is one thing … but if they do that in NY tomorrow they’ll get burned.
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Agree re Sogaard – if nothing else, the invaluable experience he’s getting now now will only improve his confidence and make him better heading into next season’s training camp. And Mandolese won’t be far behind.
Stay the course , the new line combos have been effective. Zaitsev moving on and the current D mix seems to be working out fine. Hamonic is under appreciated , I would try to re-sign him for at least one more season.
I am liking what Gauthier brings as well, he was a nice addition.
I am surprised there weren’t more teams in on Korpisalo .
My view Columbus only got a 3 rd round pick for him …
Sleepy GM’s , 1 for example – Dorion
Well, now, hold on there Ken – no one was sleeping … the WHOLE deal was Jonathan Quick PLUS a 1st round pick to the Blue Jackets for Korpisalo AND Gavrikov.
But George –
Quick ????
Leafs might as well of climbed in and traded Matt Murray and their 1st round pick , from Washington … plus a prospect ?
Shipped Gavrikov off to another team !
Ottawa is crying for a shutdown defenseman , Pittsburgh , whomever !!!
Who, exactly, says they’re “crying” for a shutdown D?
In their past 14 games they’ve gone 10-3-1 – a .750 % pace – scoring 56 goals while giving up 36 – a 2.57gaa.
Seems to me their D is doing the job. Would he add one more “shutdown”-type D if a good one with term became available at a reasonable price? Of course – who wouldn’t.
As for that Quick deal, the goal was clearly Gavrikov as far as L.A. was concerned, and if Columbus wanted that 1st round pick they’d also have to take Quick … and give up Korpisalo as well.
I would be shocked if OTT traded any assets for a pending UFA.
They will either stand pat or sell.
Still have a few days to go, but we may have to listen to Chychrun rumors for another off season.
Edmonton is pretty pumped about Ekholm, and he is pumped to get here. They paid plenty to get him, but best shut down guy available.
Good point Ray. Now that LA is no longer looking at Chychrun, where does he go? Ottawa, would the oilers still be in, or who else need him have the room or assets to match the asking price?
Or they could lower their ask Ron.
Oilers won’t make another big play on the blue line, they got their D man. OTT is a maybe as they could use another D, but the ask is too high and they can be patient. Rumor in these parts is that the Oil weren’t that high on Chychrun anyway and were never going to pay the ask.
Perhaps other GM’s feel the same way. Chychrun has handled this well so far and kept his mouth shut, but tough to do your job when you are constantly in limbo. Must be getting old.
When you cancel out the two veteran goalies on expiring contracts it’s a 1st and a 3rd for Gavrikov. Steep price, if only Edmundson hadn’t been hurt. He’d already be gone for a 1st and more. I guess there’s always next year.
It’s not really a cancel as I’m sure la sees korp as an upgrade.
I’m missing all the fun
I’m down in Biloxi (since last weekend) for emergency business ….
Go figure…no hockey news here
13 asset trade (record) in Timo deal…. Wow
Leafs replace a third of their skaters
Kane finally (worst kept secret) becomes a Blueshirt
Oil get there top D guy
Kings pull off a deal to get Korp and Gav; get Jackets to take Quick…. and that only costs 1st and 3rd (at least that is what TSNhas)…..wow
Complete Eastern arms race on…. Is there anything left for Friday???
Canes still not made their move(s)…. We’ll JP….LOL
Oh…. And Hextall sits pat…. Losing out on Korp, Neidereiter, Schenn…. all he could have matched or done a better offer
And if what I’m reading (minimal I can find)….he’s now in on Boeser…hunh ? A top 6 winger…. Pens don’t need?????
No talk re 3C replacement; D depth upgrade; back-up fix
Last trades…. 16/7 last year…. Flipping Marino and Matheson for Petry and Poehling (can’t count Smith because Sully won’t play him)…. That was a negative move
Watch him give up tons O’ futures and young rosters…. To get Boeser… who then ends up super underperforming; AND Pens miss playoffs
He could have got Niederreiter (with term) for a 2nd in ‘24; and Schenn for a 3rd (‘23)….what the….
Glad to see the 3 wins in a row
Hey Pengy,
We All thought you had gone to St Louis to Convince your guy Colton Parayko to come to the Pen’s….😂
stay warm
Looks like chychrum is running out of spots to go pretty soon it’s just Ottawa lol George that two step is coming
Heh – ONLY if Armstrong comes down 3 steps from his lofty demands – no way Dorion gives up 2 1sts plus a top prospect plus a good skater from his roster.
It looks more and more like Chychrun – if he’s hopeful of getting out of Dodge – will have to wait until the summer – maybe draft day.
St Louis makes sense for Chyc too. IF (big IF) they move out one of their 30 something dmen to a contender as they all have various NTC
Man on TV…
Your Bang on its Ottawa this afternoon Confirmed…👍
Gavrikov might be a better fit for the Kings than Chychrun anyway. Kings d-men are all more offensively inclined, Gavrikov is the true defensive dman they needed
I know I said it earlier, but I have to say it again. I haven’t been this happy after an Oilers trade since K Lowe acquired Pronger! 😀
Ya, kinda exactly what they needed KevJam. Plus 3 more years after this one which is kinda big, hence the cost.
On another note, I heard on TSN radio that today is end the stigma on chinstraps day. So if anyone out there has one, or had one in the past, I just want to say it is OK, and if you want to talk about it you can call in.
Give Holland credit for getting Ekholm. However his stubborness cost him on his deal of JP.
JP would’ve brought a much bigger return if he traded him a year ago.
Probably could have got a 2nd for him Caper?
Problem was he was cheap last year at TDL so moving him would have cost more $ against cap as you had to replace him. Then he struggled down the stretch to hurt is off season value, but still would have got the 1 year deal he got in the off season from an arbitrator as his #’s justified it. Then he struggled this year.
Move on, hope JP does well in CAR, seems like a good landing spot for him. Their whole team kinda does what he is good at. Pressure all over the ice, skate skate skate, defend defend defend, win battles, shoot and crash the net.
Get a skills coach JP and learn to deal with pucks in tight spaces and in the blue. Heck, McDavid has a skills coach.
Ray that’s all well and good.
When JP sat out demanding a trade; Holland wouldn’t budge and wanted to sent a message.
When Debrusk wanted out of Boston, a flip between the two was suggested and most said Boston would have to give more.
At one point JP value was alot higher but Holland stood he ground and now Holland may have learned from his own message.
Not sure BOS would have ever flipped DeBrusk for JP Caper. That would have surprised me.
Word around here is best teams were offering was a 2nd rd pick at the time, which has less than a 20% shot of even getting a JP who has already played 300 games. Which is why they kept him.
The thing that forced the move was the $3M cap hit, if he was at $1.2 or so, he is still here IMO. If he plays OK in CAR and he likes it, my guess is he signs a 1 year extension for about that amount.
Caper,
There were a lot of people that were saying the Oilers would have to add a sweetener to trade JP. So considering Holland didn’t have to add a sweetener and got a prospect that might not play an NHL game was a win plus cap space, I think he did well.
After JP came back from Europe he changed his whole attitude and had a great season. There was no need to proceed with a trade. It wasn’t until mid-way through last season that he started to struggle again and trade talks started to come up again. I don’t blame Holland for the JP situation. The Oilers aren’t weaker after trading JP away. I do wish him well and that he finds success with the Hurricanes.
Ullmark won the game for the Bruins last night after what was the worst Bruin game all year. They were completely outplayed in every aspect except in net and still managed to win. If there were any doubts about who the best goaltender is in the league, they should have been put to rest after last night…
Lars Eller just traded…the Caps are confusing me. I guess they are gonna add Chychrun?
Yeah, to Colorado for a 2nd round pick. He won’t give them a ton of offense … but he is a decent skater/checker and will help on the pk, while logging 4th line minutes.
▶️ Re;Oilers next Trade
I’m Hoping the Oilers do an Deal with Chicago to get 24 yr old RW Taylor Raddish
He was Connor line mate back in Eire Otter days
or
To get both these guys C Max Domi for there 3rd line
Trade Yamo & a 2nd going the other way…..⁉️