NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 23, 2024
An early look at this season’s Calder Trophy candidates, the Blue Jackets hire Dean Evason as head coach, plus the latest on Ducks forward Mason McTavish, Blues forward Jake Neighbours, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
ESPN.COM: Ryan S. Clark listed several rookies (in alphabetical order) to watch in his way-too-early at this season’s Calder Trophy candidates.

San Jose Sharks prospect Macklin Celebrini (NHL.com).
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is the notable name on this list given his stature as the top pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He could face challenges from a dynamic field that includes Anaheim Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier, Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov, Dallas Stars forward Logan Stankoven and fellow Sharks center Will Smith.
Other noteworthy rookies to watch include Stars center Mavrik Bourque, Utah hockey club winger Josh Doan, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, Minnesota Wild center Marat Khusnutdinov, Colorado Avalanche winger Nikolai Kovalenko, New York Islanders winger Maxim Tsyplakov, and Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some of these players could struggle to adjust to the NHL pace. Several could end up in the minors this season.
Celebrini will be considered the favorite but he’s not a certainty to win Rookie of the Year honors. Stankoven has a significant advantage having played 24 regular-season games and 19 postseason contests in 2023-24. Doan played in 11 games and Wolf had 11 starts last season. Tsyplakov, 25, could also have an edge due to his age and KHL experience.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets announced they hired Dean Evason as their new head coach. Evason was the former head coach of the Minnesota Wild, sporting a record of 147-77-27 in 251 games, including four trips to the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As per the report, Evason is the 11th head coach (not counting interim coaches) in the Blue Jackets’ 24-year history. He faces the daunting challenge of molding a team that has struggled through a rebuilding process over the past four years into a playoff contender.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: A strong performance by Mason McTavish this season could earn the Anaheim Ducks winger a significant raise on his next contract. It could be comparable to Quinton Byfield’s new deal with the Los Angeles Kings. Byfield recently signed a five-year deal with an average annual value of $6.25 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The report noted that McTavish is among the most competitive players on the Ducks. He had 17 goals and 43 points in 80 games in 2022-23 and 19 goals and 42 points in 64 games during an injury-shortened 2023-24 campaign. This season, a healthy and productive effort by the 21-year-old McTavish could put him in the same contract range as Byfield.
THE ATHLETIC: St. Louis Blues forward Jake Neighbours hopes to build on his solid sophomore campaign. The 22-year-old winger began last season on the fourth line and finished on the top line with 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Neighbours was the Blues’ most improved player last season. Their fans are excited by his potential. A full season on the first line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou would cement Neighbours’ place among their core players, potentially propelling the Blues into playoff contention.
TSN.CA: Construction has officially begun on the new $800-million arena for the Flames. The 18,000-seat venue will be named Scotia Place and is expected to open in September 2027.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I’m all for the Flames building a new arena but couldn’t they have come up with a better name? As Global Calgary’s Michael King observed, there’s already a Scotia Place building in Edmonton, a Scotia Centre building in Calgary, Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Corporations pay for naming rights for arenas, but I miss the days when NHL arenas had iconic names like the Montreal Forum, Maple Leafs Gardens, The Spectrum, The Igloo, and The Olympia. At least we still have Madison Square Garden and, for a few more years, the Saddledome.
I agree 100% about these corporate names taking away from the tradition and history of the league. Unfortunately, it’s become the league of the money grab in any and all ways. I blame Gary Bettman in every way. Tradition be damned.
I’m pretty sure that Bettman doesn’t sell the naming rights – the owners do.
While I’m no fan of his, it’s the owners that demand the money grabs. He, of course, seems more than happy to oblige.
That’s his job….
Yes that is his job chrisms and the owners employ him.
Folks, we do live in a free market capitalist system/economy, so money grabbing is how the whole thing works. If somebody wants to pay to have their name on a building the owner of the building will take it. Personally I don’t care what name is on the outside, but the team on the inside.
The only guy I can think of that wouldn’t take the money is good ole’ Stanky.
Looks like a nice rink.
I don’t get the hate-on for Bettman. Never have, never will.
The guy has overseen the growth of the league domestically and internationally. The product is awesome. Has never been better.
Just look at the game when he arrived on the scene, and where it is today.
During his tenure the game has changed for the better. It’s faster, still violent, with less goonish crap.
The new Scotia Place also has the scotiabank logo built into the design. It’s not structural, but if the agreement ever ends then the new sponsor will have to do more than just swap logos like what scotiabank did when they took over the air canada centre in Toronto. It would seem as though scotiabank is making a long-term commitment to the new arena (as they did with the saddledome).
I think CBJ made a great choice in their hiring of Dean Evason! I can t think of many coaches that had a record of 147-77-27 and 4. Playoff appearances that got fired!Give him some time and resources and he will bring stability to an organization that desperately needs it!
When the reincarnation of the original NHL team Ottawa Senators (1883 to 1934 and 11 Stanley Cups) came into being for the 1992-93 season they played their home games in the downtown Civic Centre until 1996 when, in keeping with their “Roman connection,” they moved to their current arena, fittingly called The Palladium.
That only lasted until team ownership – like a lot of teams around the league – discovered the cash-cow renaming ploy, following which the arena name changed to blah corporate names The Corel Centre (named after an Ottawa software company), then ScotiaBank Place in 2006 and, in 2013, the current Canadian Tire Centre.
Boring, sterile names which we see enough of all over the city.
Bring back the names from the past, which had character (the Forum, the Olympia, Maple Leaf Gardens, the Stadium, the Auditorium, the Igloo. the Spectrum and, yes, the Palladium)
Go stanky!
Scotia Place is fine, I thought we weren’t complaining about ads anymore?
LOL. Bazinga!