NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 9, 2023
Wild extend points streak by downing the Jets, Tony DeAngelo receives a two-game suspension, an update on the sale of the Senators and Hall-of-Famer Henri Richard suffered from CTE. Details and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Minnesota Wild extended their points streak to 11 games (9-0-2) by doubling up the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Marc-Andre Fleury made 46 saves and Marcus Foligno had a goal and an assist as the Wild (37-21-7) held second place in the Central Division with 81 points. Nino Niederreiter and Logan Stanley replied for the Jets (36-26-3) as they’ve won only twice in their last 10 games and sit in the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 75 points.
Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a costly win for the Wild as Kirill Kaprizov left the game midway through the third period after Stanley fell on him. There was no postgame update on his condition. Speaking of the Wild, forward Ryan Hartman was fined $4,594.59 for slashing Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson on Tuesday.
The Jets, meanwhile, played without center Pierre-Luc Dubois due to an upper-body injury. It’s hoped he’ll rejoin the club at some point during its three-game road trip.
Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller scored twice, including the winner in overtime, in a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Elias Pettersson collected two assists as the Canucks improved to 27-32-5 on the season. Lukas Dostal made 31 saves for the Ducks as they dropped to 21-35-9.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Speaking of the Canucks, they recently re-signed defenseman Guillaume Brisebois to a two-year contract extension.
The Detroit Red Wings snapped a six-game losing skid by nipping the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Lucas Raymond and Dominik Kubalik tallied third-period goals as the Wings (29-26-9) rallied for the win. Taylor Raddysh tallied twice for the 22-37-5 Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri left the game in the first period following an inadvertent knee-on-knee collision with Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson. No word postgame regarding his condition.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo received a two-game suspension for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning winger Corey Perry on Tuesday.
San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn was fined $25,000.00 for comments that demeaned officials resulting in a game misconduct last Saturday.
OTTAWA SUN: Sources reveal the league received at least three bids for the Senators and possibly a fourth. There could be more as league commissioner Gary Bettman recently said as many as 15 groups were given permission to examine the franchise’s finances.
The Remington Group (a Toronto-based real estate development corporation), billionaire Michael Andlauer (part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens and sole owner of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs), and the Kimel Family (one of Southern Ontario’s biggest real-estate developers) are believed to have made bids for the franchise.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Whoever wins the bidding and purchases the Senators do so with the understanding that the franchise will not be relocated to another city. The club is currently working on a plan that would bring about the construction of a new arena close to downtown Ottawa.
Speaking of the Senators, goaltender Cam Talbot has been sidelined for three weeks with a “mid-body injury.”
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill missed practice yesterday with a lower-body injury.
NHL.COM: The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov on an emergency basis after backup Antti Raanta left Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an injury.
DAILY FACEOFF: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly denied the league has any plans afoot to expand to 34 teams. His comments come following cryptic tweets by ESPN’s John Buccigross and Kevin Weekes last week showing images of Houston and Atlanta.
“Expansion isn’t our priority right now,” wrote Daly. However, he didn’t rule out the league listening to groups who have interest, including Atlanta and Houston.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I wouldn’t rule out further NHL expansion but I have my doubts they can make it work in Atlanta again. They tried it twice and both times the franchises struggled to draw fans.
TVA SPORTS: A study of the brain of the late Hall-of-Famer Henri Richard revealed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Richard died in 2020 after suffering from cognitive impairment during the last years of his life. The condition is caused by blows to the head.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly rejected the link regarding blows to the head and CTE. This report will likely do little to change his mind.
Well, any chance that Cam Talbot would be offered a reduced contract as a UFA went out the window with this latest “mid-body” injury (probably read “groin”). He may as well stay home for the balance of the season.
For better or for worse, the Senators now ride out the rest of this season with two rookies in net.
Re; Senators, Injury prone goaltender Cam Talbot
Sidelined Again for three weeks with a “mid-body injury… This guy need’s to be Jettisoned out and Retire…
Same thing happend in Edmonton Always inJured.😳
Its Now Time for PD & the Sen’s to look for a Starter in Net…❓🤔
and to keep developing Both there young 22 yr old’s Kevin Mandolese & Mads Søgaard who are both 2-3 years away in development from the NHL
I would say Mads has shown he is MUCH closer to the NHL than Mando. You don’t win rookie of the month without some solid consistency. I would still prefer a veteran back up/tandem for him though. It might be a Anton/Mads tandem though.
Mando will be in Belleville for a couple more years for sure.
I agree there, the Saint. Regardless of what transpires from this point on, Sogaard will be one of the pair starting next season. IF – and that’s a huge IF – Forsberg can bounce back from a double ACL, it’ll be he and Sogaard. If the indications for Forsberg are bleak, then the acquisition of a goalie will Goal # 1 (no pun intended).
I have to admit, that loss to Chicago – and thei schedule for the next couple of weeks – has filled me with doubts about this season’s chances.
Not so much the loss – as I indicated in those two posts showing the standings as of December 31, 2022 – and the records from January 1 to date – Chicago changed from a dead last team playing at a .258 pace over their first 36 games, to one now playing at a .540 pace since January 1. So the loss there wasn’t the critical issue – it was the 5-0 hammering. The Hawks have improved, yes, but not to that degree. That was a total team meltdown.
Well see how much longer Bettman can continue to deny reality. If he’s really considering another team for Atlanta, he must have CTE. Would be a joke.
Howard, here’s a graphic showing attendance at the Thrasher’s games – not great, perhaps, but infinitely better than playing in front of 5,500 in a converted barn in Phoenix.
https://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=4682
My personal belief is forget Atlanta and Phoenix. Houston, KC, Cleveland or another Florida (Orlando? Jacksonville?) based team makes much more sense.
I believe poor ownership was the mitigating factor in both previous failures.
There’s real harm in giving it another whirl. Huge population. I’m more interested in growing the game. There has to be some amazing untapped talent in such a huge body of people. Or maybe I’m just a wishful thinker.
Sigh. There’s NO real harm.
According to a 2022 “Forbes” ranking of NHL teams by revenue, the Coyotes, though last in the league on revenue ($127 M), made only $10 M less than the Panthers, $22 M less than the Jets, and $30 M less than the Senators. If Coyotes management could put together a real hockey team, one worthy of fan interest, could income from the area’s huge potential TV audience make up the monetary difference?
Hi George
That’s 4,600 not 5,500 in the barn…. Per hockey-reference.com…. They have sold exactly 4,600 for every one of their home games this year
Max attendance at barn…. 4 years (min)…, 164 home games…,, 754,400
The top NHL attendance franchises (Habs, Canes, Wings; Bolts; Leafs; ‘Nucks; Caps, Bruins; Stars) will reach that this year alone;
Wild has an outside shot of that figure by end of year
The next lowest attendance team (Sharks) will reach Yotes 4 year max (754,400) by this Christmas (22/23 season plus 1/4 of next season)
Unbelievable
Francis
Re the $127 M…. even though that was for 21/22 season …. Someone is seriously cooking the books
Now this year….,(22/23) ….
Per The Athletic …. In 21/22…. Yotes had the lowest FCI (average cost for 4 fans [set up as a “fam” of 4] to attend a game)… @$314.70
So that’s ~ $79 per (note that is not all HRR as it includes transportation to/from and parking (not always at arena where they do get a cut) and foes include concession gross cost to consumer (and Yotes only get a fraction of that rev)
Taking all of that $79…. Doing a 41 game sell out at the barn…. Just shy of $15 M
They (Yotes) had talked about doubling avg ticket costs this year…, setting aside the $79 is more than just tickets…, lets just give them the benefit of the doubt and put the average of $160….. now that’s $30 M in gate/concession/parking revenues
Where is the rest of this “inflated” revenue figures coming from ? Are they selling 100,000 Clayton Keller jersies , each at $300 a pop (extra $30 M)????
The math just doesn’t work out
Move it to Houston….. HUGE increase in HRR
Fingers crossed for Fabric. He’s already had 3 knee surgeries in his career.
If the NHL puts another team in Atlanta, the entire province of Quebec will riot
Bettman is a lawyer. He’ll never admit to a connection between CTE and blows to the head. But then again, I don’t think most fans care about that anyway otherwise there’d be a huge outcry to ban fighting. I can’t imagine we would ever see that happen
Don’t know if they would riot but Quebec city has a beautiful brand new Arena and they have a history of filling up the Coliseum with passionate fans back in the time (Comming from a Habs fan that had a real dislike for the Nordiques).
Just speculating here, just asking myself the question. Is there more than financial reasons that would make Bettman ignore new Canadian teams, is he relying solely on publicity revenues or is he trying to put teams where they could surround the Arenas with all types of alternative revenue sources like Casinos and stuff ? Does Canada have laws that would prevent him from moving foward with some of his projects ?…
It’s not a financial decision to ignore Canada. It’s about over growth of the game. Being the past time of Canada people are going to tune in whether there is a local team or not. They will still play the sport at a local and amateur level. By expanding in the us you create new markets new fans new excitement. You create new talent development hubs. Best and easiest example of that is Austen mathews. He doesn’t exist to be the face of a Canadian team if there is no Arizona expansion.
Hi Mike, no such laws preventing any of that in Canada. I think we may be more open to gambling etc up here than USA. There are Casinos all over Alberta, and one in the actual arena in Edmonton. Can’t speak for the province of Quebec, but judging how long the bars are open and stuff there, can’t see the Quebec citizens having an issue with it.
I think Ottawa will do something similar to the development by Katz in EDM in order to get the city and province to kick in some real $, which they did. Overall investment in the Ice District has been $2.5B, including a new high rise with offices and condos. Might even be another one planned? Still not 100% completed, but lots is done now.
Have a look
https://icedistrict.com/
Thanks for the link Ray, that would be fantastic for the Sens and their fans, don’t want them to move ever. I would love Canada to ad not substract anymore. Not only Quebec would be a way better market than Arizona, another team could easily be added in Ontario, heck I wish Saskatchewan would have enough population in Regina or Saskatoon..
Just can’t stand what’s going on with the Coyotes, they still have empty seats in a 5000 people arena, Laval Rocket does better in its attendances
What’s happening in Arizona is a disgrace to the game. Hopefully a new arena will materialize before too long.
Going back to Atlanta a third time only to see the team struggle, as it undoubtedly would, would be a bigger embarrassment.
Count me among those who are skeptical that putting teams in places without solid fan base really does much to grow the game.
As to Quebec City, Bettman really doesn’t want to go there. He’d sooner place a team in Hamilton or the Toronto suburbs. Does not want to deal with the French language issue which will eventually come up.
Chrisms, I agree with much of what you say, but an important omission is broadcast revenue, the bread and butter of all major pro sports. The more states that have NHL teams the greater the # of viewers to draw from.
This is likely to be more important than ever, as Pat Hickey wrote this expose:
“Bally Sports, which is part of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, provides regional TV coverage for 12 NHL teams and a larger number of NBA and MLB teams. It owes teams billions of dollars in rights fees. There’s no breakdown of how much money is owed to the NHL teams, but if the cash isn’t forthcoming, it will have a negative effect on hockey-related revenues and that means the salary cap might go down rather than up and the players could be looking at continued escrow payments.”
TNT has a firm hold on broadcasting in Georgia.
@Howard, might be me but I don’t remember a ”french issue” when they were in the league… As a matter of act the only french issue I see is with the Canadiens and the fans absolutely wanting a french GM and coach even if it meant not having the best management. Like if the fans weren’t happy when the Als won the Grey Cup with Trestman and Matthews and having the Expos being the on top of the majors with Alou in 94.
@Chrisms I agree that they are trying to grow the game, but I cannot help feel anything but slighted by a BUNCH of e they make that make it appear that they are purposely doing this at the the expense of Canadian fans. Not only do we not get any expansion consideration anymore, but the number of times I see “this game has been blacked out in your area” except for Ranger vs Penguins etc etc… I get so damn frustrated. I was even on NHL Network (which is Sportsnet something something now) and even wit the paid subscription I cannot see the games I want? 5 TSNs and all of them are blacked out games? Ridiculous.
Completely agree with the tv revenue piece lj. Saint. Why would they do that? That’s wild.
Agree Mike
Bettman and Bettman alone is preventing another Canadian franchise
No matter what economic model you look at… short term; mid term; long term…. The biggest increase (growth, rev etc etc) is from a second GTA franchise
Bettman absolutely win’t do that
Look at what mess he has created for the league by continuing the negative draw (on HRR) by keeping Yotes in Phoenix
Setting aside the 2nd GTA franchise; Moving the Yotes franchise to Houston …, would have massive increases in revs; increases in fan base; cap increases, owners gaining; current player average sals increasing; tv revs increasing ; etc etc etc
He just won’t move on from Yotesville
Now someone is floating yhe “expansion” word re Atlanta?????
Before 2nd GTA team; before KC; before Quebec; before Baltimore; before Portland; before San Diego; before Halifax; etc etc
Where is this coming from?
Bettman allowed Quebec to bid before; just only to snub them
Altlanra should not be considered!!!
Gary, retire…,, you are not helping things!!!
Seems like the new US teams that do well don’t compete with an NBA team.
I could certainly understand why, as a lawyer, Bettman would continue to deny culpability. But the longer the head injury problem goes on the worse it’ll be for the NHL when the stuff does eventually hit the fan. Of course Bettman May figure that he’ll be retired by then and it’ll be someone else’s problem.
As to Richard not having worn a helmet, it is obvious that wearing a helmet provides safety to sudden traumatic blows to the head. For instance, if Bill Masterson had been wearing a helmet, he’d have likely survived. But the benefits are less clear as to repeated checks to the head over a lengthy career.
Players are certainly much bigger today and the game continues to move at a faster speed. The leagues thinking must evolve as well. The sooner real solutions are found, the better.
32 teams is a good number. 50 50 playoffs vs not. It’s good to have cities waiting in the wings should a team have to move. Say if Tempe doesn’t vote to support the yotes.
Re Atlanta’s chances for yet another franchise … maybe some investor is banking on the old adage “the third time’s the charm.”
Richard played without a helmet, not that that would be a major factor.
These days players are bigger, stronger, faster and the rinks are the same size.
I’d be really interested to see proper research done on head injuries in the NHL but that’s not going to happen.
As a fan, I’d love to see players like McDavid and McKinnon play on an Olympic size rink.
BC Fan: I’d speculate no helmet would be a factor, especially given the pocket rocket’s size. He played hard and with a lot of courage. I’m sorry to hear that he suffered through CTE.
Always loved watching the Pocket Rocket. He and Dave Keon were marvels on ice.
BC Fan: I used to think that Olympic size rinks would increase scoring due to more space for players to dangle.
But what has happened is that players defend by collapsing into a zone in front of the net. Yes that’s how teams defend now, but doing the same thing on a larger sheet of ice voids the size difference.
Reading articles about tonight’s Oilers/Bruins game it probably has the makings of a heavy game, Bruins might be a little off because of not playing since last Saturday, Oilers have played Sat/ Mon so they should have good flow … Could be a playoff type game .. Bruins -162
Game here was one of the best games I have seen all year Joe.
Ya, Holland has been making the Oil bigger since he got here. Both guys he added at deadline are large men. Kane gets back in after missing more time too, probably pretty rusty though.
Oil will be up for this one after losing the last one.
Must see TV!
This could be the first time in a long time that the Oilers have a fully healthy roster. Here’s hoping for a great game played by both teams!
Tonight’s game with the Oil & Bruins should be a Great one, #97 is alway playing better in March every year so far…❗️
The Oiler’s need to replace Cody Ceci with a better RD man playing in the top 4, young Evan Bouchard has a Great oppertunity to showcase himself with Big Mattias Ekholm in the 2nd paring, so far so good for EB.
Sea-weedman Continues to play well in his 20th game as a defencive d/man, He Desharnais has been a pleasant surprise in Edmonton playing on the 3rd pair this season….👌
last but not Least Evander Kane is Back tonight a full roster at last….✅👀
I say “bring back the whale”!!! Forget Atlanta and bring a team back to Hartford!!!! Brass Bonanza!!!! Also, Quebec may deserve a second look. For irony and circle completion, we can have Eric Lindros be the coach for the ‘Diques. Over/under for Bruins-Oilers tonight is 6.5. Take the over!!
Yeah ! Whalers used to be my second favorite team even tough they were in Adams division. Loved to watch Francis, Ferraro, Turgeon, Dineen, Samuelsson, Liut. Such great memories. Wasn’t the rink inside a shopping mall ?
Hartford Civic center … I live 5 miles from there … went to a many Whalers/Bruins games
Cant forget Pat Veerbeek
@Joe Yup Geoff Sanderson, John Cullen, Andrew Cassels, Brendan Shanahan and Paul Coffey too 🙂
Chris Pronger
Atlanta already lost TWO teams to Canada… feel free to start up another team and gift it to Quebec though…
Must see TV will be Avalanche vs Kings. Talk about a ” heavy game” that should have some serious desperation for both teams at present? Avalanche nothing guaranteed and Kings we owe from last game, coughing up a 2 goal lead if I remember correctly? Stay out of the box and bring the speed! GO AVS!!!!