NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2023

by | Aug 1, 2023 | News, NHL | 8 comments

The Wild avoid arbitration with Filip Gustavsson, the Ducks and Troy Terry are far apart in their arbitration filings, and the Kraken’s Alex Wennberg calls out vile social media comments made against himself and his family. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

STARTRIBUNE.COM: The Minnesota Wild avoided arbitration with goaltender Filip Gustavsson as the two sides reached an agreement on a three-year, $11.25 million contract. The average annual value is $3.75 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gustavsson’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for Aug. 4. The 25-year-old goalie is getting over $3 million per season more than what he was making on his previous contract. He earned it with a career-best performance in 2022-23, outplaying veteran Marc-Andre Fleury with a record of 22-9-7 in 39 games played with a 2.10 goals-against average, a .931 save percentage and three shutouts.

Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (NHL Images).

The Wild will likely start the season with Gustavsson as their 1-A netminder and Fleury as their 1-B. If the former carries over his strong 2022-23 play into this season, it won’t be surprising if the latter ends up getting fewer starts as he’s shifted into a backup role. Fleury turns 39 in November and is in the final season of his contract.

THE SCORE: The Anaheim Ducks and Troy Terry are far apart in their arbitration filings. The Ducks are seeking $4.5 million on a one-year contract while the winger seeks $8 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Terry enjoyed a breakout performance in 2021-22, leading the rebuilding Ducks with 37 goals and 67 points. His production dipped a bit last season with 23 goals and 61 points but he missed 12 games to injury and the birth of his first child.

Terry’s earned a raise over the $1.45 million annual cap hit of his last contract but it’s doubtful he’ll get $8 million. His agent probably filed that amount knowing that arbiters tend to settle on a middle-ground total.

CAP FRIENDLY: Terry’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for Aug. 2.

Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic’s hearing is slated for today.

Edmonton Oilers center Ryan McLeod, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Drew O’Connor and New York Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin’s hearings are scheduled for Aug. 4.

YAHOO! SPORTS: Seattle Kraken forward Alex Wennberg and his wife have called out the “BookTok” TikTok community over vile comments that have sexualized and harassed the player and his family for months.

Wennberg issued a statement noting that he’s been media trained to “bite my tongue and leave it”. However, he felt he had to speak up after people posted what he called “vile comments” on his wife’s Instagram account and on photos of the couple’s child.

He expressed his support of the BookTok community writing books and fiction about hockey but felt the aggressive language about real-life players crossed the line.

Felicia Weeren, Wennberg’s wife, recently called out the community for comments toward her husband that were sexually predatory and harassing. Wennberg and Weeren pointed out that some fans went so far as to direct message players with crass remarks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: A player and his family should not be subject to harassment by so-called “fans” on social media. It remains to be seen if Wennberg’s statement will put a stop to the comments directed toward him and his family. The Kraken hasn’t publicly indicated what they intend to do regarding this issue.

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils signed defenseman Kevin Bahl to a two-year contract extension worth an AAV of $1.05 million.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with forward Jesse Ylonen. The 23-year-old will earn $750K at the NHL level.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs inked winger Nick Abruzzese to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL level.

TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins have promoted Amanda Kessel to the role of special assistant to president of hockey operations and general manager. Kessel is the younger sister of former Penguins winger Phil Kessel. She is also one of the most prolific players in the history of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: The Blackhawks will honor team owner Rocky Wirtz with two public ceremonies on Aug. 9 at the United Center. Wirtz passed away last week at age 70 following a brief illness. A private ceremony will be held on Aug. 8.

THE ATHLETIC: The Wirtz Corporation is purchasing the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League.







8 Comments

  1. the Terry situation shows why we need to refocus agents and players on reasonableness. put some language in the next CBA that prevents this kind of disparity. No way he earns bump like that. it is effectively the salary of two players. while sure he is a decent player his ask on one year is rediculous.

    • I agree jumping to $8M seems like a lot from where he was, but he did score 60 goals in the last 2 seasons on a team lacking talent. That should put him in the $6M range easily, so asking for $8M and hoping to get between $6-$7M seems reasonable for a 1 year deal.

    • AHHockeyNut, I don’t think it’s about the size of the bump for Terry, it’s about what he’s done the past couple years. He led the team in scoring two years ago and was four points behind Zegras for the lead last year while playing 11 less games. He’s also scored 60 goals in the past two years on a terrible team.

      Furthermore; he was a -8 last year, the rest of the top 6 were -24, -23, -19, -29, -30. Maybe he doesn’t deserve 8 million, but he deserves much more than the 4.5 they are submitting.

      It’s not like he’s coming off his entry level contract. It would be interesting to hear how Anaheim justifies 4.5 million if the hearing goes through.

      I also think he’s better than just being called a decent player.

  2. Trent Frederick signed 2yrs at $2.4 per I feel that is a fair deal.

    Cutter Gauthier refused to go to Philly development camp stating he was to tired from all the hockey he played and wanted family time. He also stated Danny wasn’t happy about his decision. Yikes

    Swayman number will be in shortly, us bruins fan will know they stand with the cap.

    I never heard of booktok to the other day. Can’t take this crap personally. Shouldn’t happen but always will.

    • Ya seems about right for Fred Caper.
      Haven’t heard of that either, and can’t see me trying out Tik Tok either. Maybe we should start calling it Anti-Social Media.

      Folks need to get a life and get out of the house. Seriously, WTF.

    • Swagman likely comes in at around ~$3.4M so add that to Frederic’s 2x$2.3m and Boston is slightly over the cap by ~270K

      • Easy fix for Sweeney. Just send Jason Megna to Ahl and or move a d man Bruins have too many anyway

  3. Pens…. Appreciate the Amanda move…. Do NOT bring back her brother. Just sayin’