NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 12, 2024
The latest on the Oilers and Panthers, the fallout from the Capitals’ purchase of Cap Friendly, the latest assistant coach hirings, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
STANLEY CUP NOTEBOOK
EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers are putting on a brave face despite being down 2-0 to the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. “It’s supposed to be hard and I’m excited to see what our group is made of,” said team captain Connor McDavid. “I’m excited to see us fight through adversity and I’m looking forward to people doubting us again.”

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
The Oilers have had to overcome adversity during the regular season and in this postseason. They sank to 31st overall in November, were on the verge of elimination in their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks, and were down 2-1 to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
McDavid’s bold words aside, the Oilers face a daunting challenge getting back into this series after the Panthers shut down their vaunted offense in the first two games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Game 3 on Thursday could be the most consequential of this Stanley Cup Final.
If the Oilers win, they’re back in the series and have a chance to tie it in Game 4, building momentum that could carry them to the franchise’s first Cup since 1990.
Should they lose Game 3, however, they face long odds of overcoming a 0-3 deficit. Only four clubs have done that in NHL playoff history and only one (the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs) has done it in the Stanley Cup Final.
TSN: Oilers star Leon Draisaitl avoided supplemental discipline for his high hit on Aleksander Barkov in Game 2 that forced the Panthers captain from the game.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said Tuesday that Barkov “wasn’t worse” but will undergo a full assessment on Wednesday. Maurice suggested his captain could play in Game 3 if he continues to progress.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Draisaitl left his feet and struck Barkov in the jaw. It was an uncharacteristic hit by the Oilers star. Nevertheless, he likely would’ve received postgame discipline from the league had the incident occurred during a regular-season game.
SPORTSNET: Oilers forward Sam Carrick was fined $2.2K for slashing Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL’s department of player safety called it “slashing” because they can’t find a formal phrase for “nut shot”.
TORONTO SUN: profiles some of the notable stories in the new book “My Day With The Cup” by author/sportscaster Jim Lang. It profiles stories from many subjects (mostly since 1995) describing their “short and sweet” designated day with hockey’s holy grail. Most stories are about spending time with family and friends that run the gamut from heartwarming to hilarious.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I’ve got this one on my Kindle wish list and look forward to making it part of my vacation reading later this summer.
TSN: A survey by the market research company Leger found that 58 percent of Canadians polled aren’t paying close attention to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. 35 percent aren’t following the series at all while 24 percent said they wouldn’t follow it closely.
Fifty-eight percent of Albertans are the most likely following the series because of the Oilers. 53 percent of Atlantic Canadians are also following the series, 42 percent in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are interested with 70 percent of Quebecers being the most disinterested.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There is no such thing as “Canada’s Team” when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup. Most Canadian hockey fans prefer to support their favorite team, which for some isn’t Canadian-based. Here in Atlantic Canada, for example, there are a lot of Boston Bruins fans.
The number of Canadian hockey fans interested in the Stanley Cup Final would be higher if the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens were among the participants. They’re Original Six teams with over a century of hockey history and widespread support throughout Canada.
FALLOUT FROM THE CAPITALS’ PURCHASE OF CAP FRIENDLY
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman offered further insight into why the Washington Capitals purchased the popular Cap Friendly website and why the site won’t remain public following the completion of the sale on July 5. (Stick tap to Sammi Silber for this report).
Friedman said the Capitals purchased Cap Friendly for internal reasons rather than profit. It was cheaper to buy it rather than hire people and invest time and resources in building a hockey salary database.
According to Friedman, the Capitals couldn’t keep the site public even if they wanted to. The NHL frowns on the existence of such sites, even though they should be doing it themselves. “They consider it propriety information,” he said. Nevertheless, he explained some teams are scrambling to find an alternative once Cap Friendly goes dark.
Silber believes alternative salary-cap sites such as Puck Pedia and Sportrac will receive more attention going forward.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Jonathan Bailey cited Friedman listing several teams he believes have backup plans when Cap Friendly goes offline. “Seattle…New Jersey, Carolina, I heard Chicago…Islanders…Toronto…Columbus, and Pittsburgh.”
TORONTO STAR: Bruce Arthur believes the NHL’s unwillingness to make player salary information available on their website shows how the league’s brain trust is out of touch with today’s hockey fans.
Arthur cited league commissioner Gary Bettman’s comments in 2015 dismissing the notion of the league running a salary-cap website, expressing his belief that fans weren’t that interested. The popularity of Cap Friendly and its predecessor CapGeek suggests otherwise.
Because of the NHL’s hard salary cap, fans want to know how their favorite teams spend their money. The media also uses that information to write better-informed pieces about the NHL.
“Allowing high-information fans and media to understand the league leads to more and better conversation about the league,” writes Arthur. “That’s good for the game, too.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is what happens when dinosaurs run your professional sports league. The NHL is still controlled by an old-boy network whose ideology remains rooted in the previous century. They take their fans for granted, refusing to believe they’re interested in salary information despite all the contrary evidence.
The NHL may prefer salary information be kept private, but they have themselves to blame for the fans’ desire to know more about it. They killed an entire season to implement their hard cap system. As Arthur pointed out, how your favorite team spends its salary-cap payroll each year is integral to how well they can compete. Fans naturally want to know if their teams can afford to acquire or retain players.
IN OTHER NEWS…
CALGARY SUN: The Flames hired former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen as an assistant coach.
NHL.COM: Former Chicago Blackhawks bench boss Jeremy Colliton joins the New Jersey Devils as an assistant coach.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins are reportedly hiring David Quinn as an assistant coach. He spent the past two seasons as head coach of the San Jose Sharks. Before that, Quinn spent three seasons as the New York Rangers’ bench boss.
TSN: The sexual assault case of five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior team is set to return to court on Aug. 13 to potentially set a date for trial.
Re: “SPECTOR’S NOTE: Draisaitl left his feet and struck Barkov in the jaw. It was an uncharacteristic hit by the Oilers star. Nevertheless, he likely would’ve received postgame discipline from the league had the incident occurred during a regular-season game.”
That didn’t stop Parros from doling out a one-game suspension to Soucy for whacking McDavid on the jaw. He may not have “left his feet” but the target was the same.
https://www.nhl.com/video/soucy-suspended-6352861372112
One definition of “useless” fits Parros to a T: “having no ability or skill in a specified activity or area.”
Kulikov’s hit on Wennberg resulted in nothing further and was worse than Leon’s.
Star on star was not gonna be a suspension unless extra malicious
Good article on SN by Lyle’s cousin regarding bad hits, NHL DOPS, and the playoffs. In particular the 2nd half of the article. Basically, nobody has your back, like it or not, so you best deal with it yourself. Agreed, deal with it Oil.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/draisaitl-escapes-punishment-as-stanley-cup-final-ratchets-up-intensity/
Prior to the “instigator rule” much of that crap simply did not take place out of fear of retribution.
What ‘s worse … having a star player knocked out of action due to a concussion or broken jaw, or seeing the perpetrator pummeled to the ice with a fat lip?
I know how I’d vote.
If the league is serious about taking this hit out of the game this is time to do it. It was direct head contact left the feet and knocked the player out of the game. if the league took action during the finals I can think of a better message.
Bottom line Gutless move by the league
I’m aware that I have an outlier opinion on the issue of player salaries.
It’s popular, stokes fan interest for betting, fantasy, criticism but really doesn’t bring anything to player and team performance.
Fans rejoice in pressuring players they don’t feel live up to their contracts and analyze their performance base on the contracts.
That’s the job of the GM and coaching staff not of the fanbase, particularly not the rabid fans living vicariously through the team and players.
Case in point, Habs had a talented young D-man, Patrice Brisebois who signed a big contract (for the time) and then all of a sudden he got the nick-name Breeze-by and was booed mercilessly.
He signed in Colorado for a couple of years nd came back to the Habs on a low show me contract, played 3rd pairing D ….and the fans liked him all over again.
Brisebois was known as “Breeze-by” long before he signed that contract in 2001. That nickname arose during the mid-90s and stuck with him for most of his career. During those years he was a top-four defenseman on some bad Habs teams. When he returned for his final two seasons, he was in a third-pairing role on a deeper blueliner with Roman Hamrik, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit, Josh Gorges and Mike Komisarek. And don’t forget, Bob Gainey ripped into Habs fans for mocking Brisebois during a preseason game in 2003. Gainey was newly hired as GM then and still commanded lots of respect from Canadiens fans. The taunts aimed at Brisebois died out for the most part after that.
Similar to what the Leafs fans did to eventual Hall Of Famer Larry Murphy
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/jake-gardiner-larry-murphy-leafs-whipping-boy-1.4979386
Knowledge of players salaries is vitally important in a salary cap era. Teams need to know who they can afford to acquire. Player agents need to know for using them as comparables for their clients in contract negotiations. For those of us who make a living covering the NHL, it’s vital to know that information, especially if we’re writing about potential free agents and trade candidates, and if teams can afford to move players or add players.
Frankly, as much as I hate gambling and just how prevalent it has become, it is imperative that teams be as transparent about their team’s odds…and this includes how much money they are able to spend.
Imagine someone placing bets early season and having no knowledge that the team cannot make any changes…or another team has a coffer full of extra cash to stack up before playoffs…
Habfan30, for the casual fan they may not care about salary and salary caps etc.
For others like myself; information is knowledge, i talk and read hockey 365 days a year. It’s why i come to Lyle site, other than a couple breaks during the year, Lyle is always here. Thank you Lyle.
Also a daily visitor to capfriendly, i look at teams salary caps, nmc, ntc ect. I scroll thru who are the upcoming ufas and can sort by position. I can look at a ufa ie LW where i believe the bruins need one, and see who is a ufa that they may target and who is a potential fit. Knowing the teams present salary cap give you an idea of a certain player is a fit for the team. It isn’t so much about if a player is over paid or under paid, its the whole picture.
Just looking at a team like NJ on capfriendly:
Jack Hughes long term $8m
Jasper Bratt long term $7,875,000
Nico Hischier 3yrs @ $7,250,000
These are good young players locked up on value contracts that have the potential of being a Stanley cup contender because the cap is going up and they have core pieces locked up at valued contract.
That’s just me though, that is why i appreciate a site like capfriendly.
Thank you, caper. We might disagree at times but I do appreciate your support and that of everyone else who frequents this site. Cheers!
The Washington Capitals are spreading, as is the Washington habit, disinformation. The mechanics of a site like Cap-Friendly, especially if the information is to be accessed internally, behind a presumed secure corporate firewall, are trivial in today’s programming world and a very modest cost. The cost of acquiring and maintaining the data is essentially invariate, whether done for a valuable public site or a single professional client.
Now, there are 31 other professional clients for whom such data (salary information, accurate & timely) is essential to the conduct of their business, and at least several dozen others in the hockey world whose jobs have depended in part on having such information, including our host.
It is not an option for the other clubs to replicate the data, and unlikely they’ll again trust a public site. Since most now have at least some internal processing of what I think of as fancy stats, there a logical place for each team to add internal host of league wide salary data.
This is one of those tricky things that are really nice to have, for those who like to debate in forums like this, but not quite nice enough to pay for on a subscription model, and probably not valuable enough to support their own hosting on an ad-supported model.
Caps (and league’s) motives not as simple as suggested; els the other clubs might be annoyed as well
Don’t forget us cap-league fantasy league players who rely on capfriendly when building and maintaining our teams!