NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 26, 2023
A roundup of Monday’s preseason action, the Blue Jackets hire Mark Recchi as an assistant coach, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken picked up wins in their split-squad matchups. One Flames squad got a 3-2 shootout victory while the other Kraken squad picked up a 5-3 victory.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames also lost forward Jakob Pelletier in their 5-3 defeat when he left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury after being boarded by the Kraken’s Marian Studenic, who received a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Pelletier was helped from the ice and will be evaluated today.
SEATTLE TIMES: Coachella Valley Firebirds assistant coach Jessica Campbell was behind the Kraken bench as part of the coaching staff in their 3-2 loss to the Flames.
She is the first female to coach full-time in the AHL. In this game, she became the second woman to be part of the coaching staff for an NHL contest.
Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) coach Kori Cheverie was the first as she made a guest coaching stint behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Montreal on Sunday.
Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (NHL Images).
In split-squad action, the New Jersey Devils doubled up the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 with Jack Hughes leading the way with a goal and two assists while Jesper Bratt collected three assists in a 6-0 drubbing of the Philadelphia Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sean Couturier played his first game in over 21 months following two back surgeries. While he didn’t collect any points, the 30-year-old center won 10 of 18 faceoffs and logged over 18 minutes of ice time.
Flyers winger Cam Atkinson was expected to play in this contest but was scratched due to soreness from a lower-body injury.
The Florida Panthers also won both of their split-squad games. Oliver Ekman-Larsson picked up three assists in a 5-0 victory over the Nashville Predators while Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists in their 5-2 win over the other Predators squad.
Jakob Chychrun scored twice, including the winner in overtime, as the Ottawa Senators nipped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit kicked out 26 shots to shut out the Edmonton Oilers 5-0.
Ryan Johansen scored in his debut with the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud left the game with an upper-body injury in the first period. He will be reevaluated today.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets hired Mark Recchi as an assistant coach as he’ll work with their forwards and coordinate their power play. The Hall-of-Famer spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Western Hockey League (WHL) has suspended Wenatchee Wild head coach Kevin Constantine pending an investigation into alleged violations of league rules. Constantine was a head coach with the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils from 1993 to 2002.
Recchi a good add for CbJđź‘Ť
Not much news on Zegras and Drysdale. From what i did read Zegras wants between 4 and 5 team is offering between 2 and 3.
This shows you the difference between markets, if these two players were in say Toronto or Montreal, their names be a headline every day.
They certainly would.
Anaheim is lowballing Zegras – over the past 2 seasons the kid has potted 23g 38A 61 pts and 23g 42a 65 pts – he’s worth every nickel of what he’s seeking.
Couldn’t agree more. If he’s asking only $4-5M per is a bargain even as far back as 5 yrs. Perennial young 60+pts players aren’t as common as some people think.