NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 13, 2024
The Golden Knights clinch the final Western Conference playoff berth, Filip Forsberg sets the Predators’ single-season goals record, the Coyotes players are told the team is moving to Utah, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Vegas Golden Knights (43-28-8) clinched the final playoff spot in the Western Conference by defeating the Minnesota Wild 7-2. Tomas Hertl scored his first goal with the Golden Knights, Jack Eichel tallied his 30th goal of the season and Chandler Stephenson collected four assists. With 94 points, the Golden Knights hold the final Western wildcard berth. Wild forward Ryan Hartman netted his 20th of the season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jonathan Marchessault scored his 42nd of the season, putting him within one goal of William Karlsson’s franchise single-season record of 43. Meanwhile, Golden Knights captain Mark Stone joined his teammates in practice earlier in the day wearing a non-contact jersey. He’s been sidelined since Feb. 20 with a lacerated spleen. There remains no official word as to when he’ll return to action.
Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg (NHL Images).
Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg tallied a hat trick in a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Forsberg now holds the single-season goal record (46) for the Predators (46-29-5), who sit three points ahead of the Golden Knights in the first Western wildcard. Philipp Kurashev replied for the Blackhawks.
An overtime goal by Matias Maccelli lifted the Arizona Coyotes over the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Logan Cooley scored his 20th of the season while Josh Doan scored his fourth goal and has eight in his first nine games for the Coyotes. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid missed this game with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers (48-24-6) sit ninth overall with 102 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong reportedly told his players and staff that the franchise is moving to Utah for next season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated there will be attempts to help those affected visit Salt Lake City.
According to GOPHNX’s Craig Morgan, the move could be officially announced following the Coyotes’ final game of the season on Apr. 17. However, Friedman’s sources believe that might not be possible because there is still lots of work to be done.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported his sources claim major issues still have to be resolved and the situation remains fluid.
The Carolina Hurricanes picked up their fourth straight win with a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues, eliminating the latter from postseason contention. Jake Guentzel scored twice for the 51-22-7 Hurricanes as they moved into second place in the overall standings with 109 points, one point behind the league-leading New York Rangers.
Calgary Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko scored a hat trick to beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-3. It was the final home game for Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg, who announced his NHL retirement at the end of this season. The Ducks honored Silfverberg following the game.
IN OTHER NEWS…
NHL.COM: Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini won the Hobey Baker Award on Friday as the NCAA’s top male hockey player. Celebrini, 17, is the youngest player to win the award. He is expected to be the first-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft in June.
MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Top Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson signed his three-year entry-level NHL contract on Friday. In his two seasons with the NCAA’s Boston University Terriers, the 20-year-old defenseman averaged 1.26 points per game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hutson could make his Canadiens debut in one of the club’s final two games on Monday or Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.
ESPN.COM: New York Rangers center Filip Chytil has returned to practice with his teammates and could be an option for the playoffs. He’s been sidelined since January dealing with a head injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Chytil is believed to be dealing with post-concussion symptoms.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Goaltender Ville Husso’s attempt to return to action from a lower-body injury with the Red Wings’ AHL farm team in Grand Rapids suffered a setback. He left warmups before Friday’s game and didn’t return after conversing with the training staff.
Watch out for Vegas with Hertl in the lineup and signing of Hanifan! Good for the Coyote s to go play in an NHL arena! Only negative is that their players will not be there to help the Arizona State coeds study!
What a crushing blow to all the Arizona fans that supported them. Particularly the young ones. I really feel for them.
Chrisns
I have to agree but way too long was given for them to figure it out. Once they lost arena they should have relocated
Re; AZ….
Gary did not want to sell his share in the AZ team….😂
I think the owner was strining them along for years going round in Circle’s and now he gets 1B$ for the team….❗️
Where are these fans? Where’s the rally of 20,000+ people to save the team? Where are the kids emptying their piggy banks in a vain attempt to keep the team? I’m not seeing it…
What’s your point, Brock?
That’s a heartless cold mean take Brock. This move may have been necessary but celebrating it makes one a complete A hat.
My point is they had 25 years to figure it out and the public support is clearly not there. If anything the biggest recent moves from the general public have been to shut down any and all corporate welfare for the team.
Though all but the Coyotes final three seasons, Brock, their average attendance was between 13,000 and 14,000. It declined sharply over the last two years because they’re playing in a much smaller arena.
If the Coyotes had stable ownership, sound management, iced a competitive team each year and drew those attendance numbers, I could agree with your take. The fact they consistently drew what they did despite multiple bumbling owners, mismanagement, and missing the playoffs in all but nine seasons over the last 27 years show the interest was there. They just couldn’t build on it for the obvious reasons I stated.
Had the Coyotes been a better-run franchise, they wouldn’t be relocating today.
If the team had been run competently, they would still be there – agreed. That said, lets not pretend public and taxpayer sentiment is on the teams side. They had over 25 years to foster a community and the result is a huge L.
Averaging 13,000 to 14,000 per game isn’t a community? Especially considering the obstacles of their own making that the Coyotes put up with multiple owners and badly managed teams, I’d say that’s pretty damn good all things considered.
If you don’t think they were fostering a community, perhaps you should read this interview with Toronto Maple Leafs winger (and Arizona native) Matthews Knies:
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/arizona-coyotes/latest-news/matthew-knies-talks-about-disappointment-regarding-coyotes-possible-relocation
Or this piece in The Athletic from earlier this season on the growing popularity of the sport in Arizona, thanks primarily to the Coyotes:
https://theathletic.com/5286330/2024/02/19/maple-leafs-matthew-knies-arizona/
And let’s not forget this season’s leading goal scorer, a two-time Richard Trophy winner, who is poised to become the first player in 31 years to score 70 goals in a season, learned the game and played it in his youth in Arizona. https://theathletic.com/5288240/2024/02/21/auston-matthews-arizona-hockey/
Here’s some more:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2018/08/23/hockeys-popularity-heating-up-in-arizona-desert/37584605/
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2023/01/16/arizona-hockey-rise-coyotes-colleges-and-community/
Lyle,
Not only has Coyotes attendance been higher than Sn Jose, Buffalo, New Jersey and Florida…..the AHL team in Tucson has regularly drawn over 4000-5000 fans over the years so there is definitely a hockey fan base in Arizona.
Sadly its reminiscent of MLB in Montreal. The fanbase was there and the franchise was gold under the ownership of Bronfman.
Poor ownership after him led to the decline and cannibalizing of the team.
It does draw some parallels to the Expos, doesn’t it? I’m still bitter over that.
And here’s the other side of the coin:
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-coyotes-pay-1-4-million-in-back-taxes-after-threat-of-being-locked-out-of-gila-river-arena.amp
https://thehockeynews.com/news/coyotes-lose-vote-on-proposed-tempe-arena-project-referendum
Clearly tax payers in that area didn’t want to spend $300+ million in hopes of developing a couple more NHL players.
That had nothing to do with your baseless claim that they didn’t foster a hockey community there, Brock, especially in the case of Gila River Arena over unpaid taxes and fees owed to the city of Glendale. Indeed, it’s puzzling you cited that since that has nothing to do with fan support or fostering a hockey community. It’s about the ongoing ineptness of their current owner.
BTW, the Coyotes ownership and the league did very little to support their case compared to those who didn’t want to see the arena funded with taxpayer dollars. It’s like they just assumed they would get it.
Find me the rally of several thousand fans protesting and I’ll accept that my claim is “baseless”.
Really? That’s the basis of your argument is there’s no protest rally? LOL! They’re probably not protesting because it’s happened so quickly but have accepted the reality that decades of lousy ownership brought this team to this inevitable point.
That’s not indicative that Phoenix isn’t a hockey market. It’s the outcome of an owner who got evicted from an existing arena for being a bad tenant, who did a piss-poor job making his case for a taxpayer funded arena in Tempe, has no certainty of winning an auction for a piece of land to build his new arena, and is now looking for an escape hatch.
As I said before, if the Coyotes had stable ownership and a competent front office, iced a competitive team each year but couldn’t draw more fans, you wouldn’t get an argument out of me that it’s not a hockey town. Yet I look at the stable attendance figures they had for most of their tenure and the growth of hockey in Arizona because of their presence and see what could’ve been.
And yet, Lyle, public officials, present and past, have not supported the Coyotes. When Glendale cancelled the Coyotes contract the Mayor said:
“We have worked for months to resolve the inequities in this contract. Only recently did we learn that the integrity of the process had been compromised. We can’t and won’t support a contract that favored the sports team over the interests of Glendale citizens.” Note the phrase interest of Glendale citizens.
Was there an uprising at the amongst the citizens? Demonstrations in the streets? A new pro Coyote council re-elected?
Just the opposite: Current Scottsdale Mayor Ortega and council members don’t support the Coyotes newest plans. Citizen pressure to support the Coyotes is nowhere to be found.
Being able to partially fill an arena with fans is not the same as a fan base that is big enough and passionate enough to sustain a team. In fact most fans rarely get to go to a game live, but support the team in other, more affordable ways: merchandise sales, tv viewership are two examples that easily come to mind.
Bettman has been as loyal as a dog to the Coyotes. Result?
What was the result of Bettman coming to Calgary and hinting that without a new arena deal the team would have to move?
One more time: if there is enough support for the Coyotes, why are they moving? Why has Bettman, their biggest booster, finally giving up?
LJ: Glendale evicted the Coyotes because they didn’t pay their bills. Nothing more.
Scottsdale’s mayor doesn’t support the Coyotes newest plans because of infrastructure concerns as well as the Coyotes owner not consulting him first before unveiling his plans.
The average attendance for most of their tenure was between 13,000 and 14,000, LJ. This for a team that endured several bumbling owners, poor management, and a team that only made the playoffs nine times in 27 years and got past the second round once.
You’re right that most fans don’t go to a game but support the time in other ways. It’s the same in every city with a sports team. So that means there were more Coyotes fans that didn’t go to the games but supported the club in other ways.
Why are the Coyotes moving? Why is Bettman giving up? Because the current Coyotes owner put them in this situation. When Meruelo took over, the Coyotes were playing in an NHL arena in Glendale. It wasn’t perfect as it was away from downtown Phoenix (like the Senators in Kanata away from downtown Ottawa) and the club was still being mismanaged (hello there, John Chayka), but the situation was stable.
In Meruelo’s tenure, he got the club evicted from Gila River Arena, forcing them to play in a small university arena while he made a bumbling attempt to get a taxpayer-funded arena in Tempe. That defeat last year was the beginning of the end despite his promises that he’d find another location.
Having the Coyotes play three more years in Mullett Arena simply won’t do as it’s a drag on the league’s HRR. That’s drawn grumbling from a growing chorus of BoG members and from the NHLPA.
It’s because of their ownership, not because there is no fan support. Again, the fact they had the attendance numbers they did in spite of how badly run the team was suggests the support could be there for a franchise with stable ownership and management willing to invest in improving the team rather than running it on the cheap.
It’s been less than 24 hours and not even officially announced. Give it time for all the those failures as fans to smash open those piggy banks, pool their tooth fairy money, organize a march on social media on their heavily padded tablets and let the city know their thoughts! Guess they’ll have to wait until the next election to voice their displeasure! Hope they pack stepping stools to use the voting machines.
Meruelo’s failure is the NHL’s failure. They approved him as the owner and allow him to run the club into the ground.
Saying Phoenix/Arizona could or would be a great hockey market under great circumstances isn’t a good argument either. There is no one there with the money and dedication to hockey to make it work. Could have, should have, would have is meaningless conjecture when the reality is it’s a big time failure.
Oh, I don’t disagree that Meruelo’s failure is the NHL’s. As you said, they approved him.
How do you know Phoenix/Arizona wouldn’t be a good hockey market without stable ownership, Brock? The reason I keep pointing out their average attendance is because it was pretty good considering all the issues facing the team that were the direct result of lousy owners and mismanagement. If attendance was dropping regularly or consistently was below 10,000 per season, I would wholeheartedly agree with you. The fact their numbers were what they were in spite of all those problems suggests otherwise.
You continue to ignore or overstep the most important aspect of the reason for the Coyotes move Lyle: lack of broad community support.
If there were broad support why are the Coyotes moving?
If there was broad support why have there been no support in either Glendale or Scottsdale to keep the Coyotes?
You know very well that if city counsellors received pressure from voters they would be supportive. If businesses in the areas felt there was enough support for the Coyotes they would be pressuring city counsel.
And yet that support is not there. That cannot be explained by bumbling management, or a lack of playoffs. Had that been the case the Sabres, Jets, Blue Jackets, Canucks, Sharks and the Sens would all be in trouble. One might add the Habs, if we accept that bumbling management has the same effect as ownership.
You can sneer at the point there has been no public demonstrations in support, but to say that this is because things have happened so fast is ridiculous. The tenuous situation around the Coyotes has been know for years. Where have the Save the Votes rallies been for the past 10 years? Held in a coffee shop, that’s where.
The last person I know who relied on the concept of the “silent majority” is no longer Richard Nixon, Lyle.
It’s you. Not a good look for a fellow Habs fan.
LJ, I’m not ignoring anything. As I’ve said over and over, the Coyotes averaged between 13,000 and 14,000 per season despite the ownership and management issues leading to a team that failed to reach the playoffs more often than not. As I told Brock, if those attendance numbers were regularly below 10,000, you wouldn’t get an argument out of me that Phoenix couldn’t or wouldn’t support an NHL franchise.
Public demonstrations did nothing to save the original Jets or the Nordiques or the Whalers. Those teams had broad support but moved anyway. Those were ownership decisions because they felt they could make more money elsewhere, largely because their host cities wouldn’t build them new arenas at the time.
You forget your hockey history, LJ.
The Sabres were in danger of moving before Terry Pegula took over in 2011. There was considerable concern over the plight of the Canucks, Flames, Oilers and Senators back in the late-90s and early-2000s, with real fears of relocation despite their broad support. That was due largely to a much lower Canadian dollar at the time plus the lack of real revenue-sharing that teams now enjoy since 2005.
Indeed, the Oilers were poised to move to Houston in 1998 before a local group of businessmen bought the club. They now have better ownership stability under Daryl Katz. The Senators were also poised to move in 2003 until Gary Bettman brought in Eugene Melnyk to buy the club. They’re now have more stable ownership under Michael Andlauer.
The Sharks have been largely a success story until the past four seasons. They’re not even comparable to the Coyotes. They’ve enjoyed stable ownership under Hasso Plattner since 2002.
The Blue Jackets certainly have a comparable history to the Coyotes when it comes mismanagement and decades of missed playoffs. Yet, they’ve enjoyed stable ownership under the McConnell family since their inception plus they haven’t bounced among three arenas during their tenure.
“The last person I know who relied on the concept of the “silent majority” is no longer Richard Nixon, Lyle. It’s you. Not a good look for a fellow Habs fan.”
Insert eyeroll here…
I thought it was a good line, Lyle.
Don’t quit your day job…;)
Lots of arguments will come out about support for the team or lack thereof. But I suspect that the majority of those celebrating this are less concerned about the viability of the team or the success of the nhl. They are thrilled that bettman has egg on his face. Which is so wild that they would cheer the loss of those fans franchise to say I told you so. That’s some next level bitter.
It certainly seems that way for some folks.
I never said Phoenix couldn’t be a good market with a good owner. I agree it could be, but that the argument was purely theoretical because no good owner exists for this franchise who wants them in Arizona.
Chrisms:
I don’t like the Coyotes because I am tired of the ridiculous and non ending gong show that has been the franchise’s story since the beginning.
That and my belief, despite some good points Lyle has made, that Arizona would have kept the team had there been enough support.
I dislike Bettman for several reasons, none of which have anything to do with his dogged devotion to the desert dogs.
Better line, Lyle?
See my previous response, LJ…;)
Re; Habs
Canadiens prospect LD man Lane Hutson @ 5ft10 & 162lbs… it Sounds like an other Really very Good young d/man to the Stock pill they already have ….⁉️
I’m sure they will be dealing one of them at the draft along with a pick or two and maybe a Josh Anderson type in a Salary dump move for a couple of foward’s who can help scoring
They could be a Very Busy draft for the Habs ….
they also have in the next 2 drafts, 2024/25…
4 X 1st picks
3X 2nd picks
5X 3rd round picks
and
5 of there top 7 d men on the NHL team are aged
22 & 23….and
19 yr old RD David Reinbacher,
and Big 20 yr old RD Logan Mailloux
They still n to keep a couple of older d/men around to help train All these young kids
Ville has the Mrazek cursed groin! He should not have taken #34 jersey!!!!!!!!!! 😖
Playoff hockey one week from today!!! Finally can’t wait.
I dont have any clear cut favorite as many teams can win.
Florida maybe has the most complete team.
There will be upsets.
My early pick is Dallas for thr cup.
Here here. I’m hoping for a bunch of Whiteouts this year! I’ll be at every one of them.
I feel awful for any employee of the Coyotes who can’t relocate with the team. Some families just can’t do it due many different reasons.
What an awful strain on a family. Hopefully things work out quickly for those affected.
Arizona residents woke up to the news that they had an NHL franchise and lost an NHL franchise the same day.
In all seriousness, you want to keep your team around? Support your team. Winning, losing whatever. If you think you can protest by not going to games, don’t be shocked when that team relocates.
Ken Knight said it best in his book New England Bandwagon Nation”
“If you only support the team when things are going well, that makes you a fan of winning, not a fan of the team. There is a huge difference.”
Not many organizations can withstand years of a losing culture. There are a handful of pro sport organizations that have and do (NY Jets, NY Knicks, Cleveland Browns) some even thrive with that losing culture.
Even the islanders who were a dynasty team had arena issues , ownership changes, attendance issues.
Go to games, support your team. Don’t complain when you choose not to and your team disappears.
I know some don’t like to hear this, but this IS a business!
Sometimes even supporting your team through thick and thin isn’t enough.
The original Winnipeg Jets, the Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers had solid fan support yet they relocated. The Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators nearly relocated despite solid attendance numbers.
It always comes down to the team owner. If you won’t fund his new arena with your tax dollars, he’ll threaten to move to a city that will, and in some cases, he’ll make good on that threat no matter how well-supported his team is in in their current venue. And no amount of protests by the fans will stop it.
An unsustainable business failed because the owner of the business was unable to extort corporate welfare from the area’s taxpayers. Welcome to Capitalism, Arizona Coyotes.
Or, a franchise that suffered through nearly three decades of constantly changing inept owners, mismanagement of its roster leading to just nine playoff appearances in 27 seasons, relocated despite decent fan support because their current owner got evicted from its NHL arena, failed to sway voters in a referendum for a new arena in Tempe, has no certainty of winning an auction for a piece of land in an area where he didn’t consult with the town’s mayor on his plans, now seeks a golden escape hatch from the league.
Welcome to reality, where billionaires fail and someone else will always pick up the pieces and bail them out.
Exactly. Same story in Atlanta x 2. There’s a great fan base there. It was just saddled with bumbling ownership.
Agreed, but this case of the coyotes is just a perfect storm for disaster.
Attendance, ownership, losing both on the ice and on the books. This franchise never really got on its feet from the get go.
Their only seasons operating outside of red were the last two in mulllet arena.
Their reported operating income 05-2021 was -308 million dollars. I don’t care how deep the pockets of ownership are, nobody is going to go to the mat for a failing business.
That operating income loss in 2021 was in a pandemic year. Lots of clubs lost money during that period. I’d be interested in what their losses were pre-pandemic.
But Gary said he’d be a good owner!
“I think (Meruelo) is committed to trying to get a new arena in the right location and making it work,” Bettman said. “He is a person of substantial means, and he is very good, if you look at his career, in turning around businesses and making them successful. I think this is an extraordinarily positive step for the Coyotes and their fans in Arizona.”
Again, I’m not disagreeing with you regarding Bettman vouching for Meruelo. He owns this. However, Bettman will come out of this squeaky-clean by earning a $200 million profit for the league by relocating the franchise to Salt Lake City.
Here you go Lyle.
05-23
05-06 -6 million
06-07 -11.4 million
07-08 -9.7 million
08-09 -18.5 million
09-10 -20.1 million
10-11 -24 million
11-12 -20.6 million
12-13 -8.9 million
13-14 -4.5 million
14-15 -4.5 million
15-16 -8 million
16-17 -19 million
17-18 -11 million
18-19 -15 million
19-20 -17 million
20-21 -33 million
21-22 +5.8 million
22-23 +19 million
Thanks!