NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 26, 2024
The Flyers sign Travis Konecny to a long-term deal plus the latest on Leon Draisaitl, Brady Tkachuk, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers signed winger Travis Konecny to an eight-year, $70-million contract extension. It comes with an average annual value of $8.75 million and a full no-movement clause for the first six years that becomes a limited no-trade clause for the final two years.

Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny (NHL Images)
Sam Carchidi looked at the pros and cons of Konecny’s new contract.
The 28-year-old winger is a hard-working, agitating, offensively consistent leader who’s remained committed to the Flyers during their struggles over the past four seasons.
However, Konecny’s style of play has made him prone to injuries and could slow him down over the term of his contract. He’ll be 36 when this deal expires and this rebuilding club might’ve been better served trading him for picks and prospects.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Reaction to this signing among Flyers fans is mostly positive but some brought up the cons mentioned by Carchidi. In the short term, Konecny will remain a gritty lead-by-example scorer whose presence should benefit the promising youngsters entering the Flyers lineup. However, there’s a risk of his performance dropping significantly over the final half of this contract.
TSN: Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said signing Leon Draisaitl to a contract extension is his priority. Hired by the Oilers earlier this week, Bowman indicated he wants Draisaitl to be an Oiler for life.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Draisaitl becomes eligible for unrestricted free-agent status next July 1. He’ll be an Oiler for life if he believes they’ll be a Stanley Cup contender for a long time and is willing to make him one of the NHL’s highest-paid players. He’s been underpaid for the past four seasons and could seek over $14 million annually on his next contract.
THE SCORE: Brady Tkachuk has a “burning desire” to win the Stanley Cup after seeing his older brother Matthew’s championship run with the Florida Panthers.
The 24-year-old Ottawa Senators captain has yet to appear in the playoffs. He said he’s pleased for the most part with GM Steve Staios’ offseason roster changes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Another missed postseason by the Senators will start raising serious questions about Tkachuk’s willingness to stay with Ottawa. The 24-year-old left winger is signed through 2027-28 and has worked hard over the past six seasons to make the Senators a playoff club. However, his patience could be tested if they fall short this season.
NYI HOCKEY NOW: The Islanders avoided salary arbitration with Oliver Wahlstrom, signing the 24-year-old forward to a one-year, $1-million contract.
This signing puts the Islanders over the $88 million cap by $950K but they can become cap-compliant by demoting Maxim Tsyplakov. He’s their only waiver-exempt player.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The report indicated Wahlstrom would welcome a trade but nothing materialized. I’ll have more in today’s NHL Rumor update.
THE PROVINCE: Longtime Sportsnet host Jeff Marek has left the network. His last appearance was during their coverage of the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft on June 28. He hasn’t updated his X (formerly Twitter) account since then. A Sportsnet spokesman confirmed Marek no longer works for the network but declined to provide details.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s rumored Marek’s departure was for “unconfirmed draft reasons.” His mysterious absence raised concern and questions on social media. Marek is among the most approachable and helpful personalities in the NHL media. Here’s hoping he’s ok and we hear from him again soon.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: United Center owners plan a massive $7-billion mixed-use campus around the arena. The plans call for a music hall, housing, park, and pedestrian-friendly areas as part of a 10-year development program starting in 2025. United Center is the home arena of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lyle, Tkachuk’s exact words were ” … a burning desire to bring the Stanley Cup back to Ottawa …” as opposed to the suggestion that his “burning desire” is to win a Cup – wherever.
Let’s keep things in proper perspective.
He also said, in that interview, that the recent chatter on social media about a trade possibility “came out of the blue” which is why he is largely avoiding that media now.
Of course that won’t stop incessant speculation … it sure as Hell hasn’t stopped it in Marner’s case … but ignore those who think it’s alright to assume either’s mind-set … and then post it in a way that suggests it could be imminent.
George, it’s obvious that Brady wants to win the Cup as a Senator. Nowhere did I imply otherwise.
I also never mentioned anything about a trade or any trade rumors, only that the possibility of the Senators’ ongoing inability to reach the playoffs could test Brady’s patience and raise questions about his future in Ottawa. Those are legitimate points to be raised.
OK, as long as that same sentiment also applies to those like Marner or “star” players in any other location where they have never won a cup.
And just to be clear, my first post was in relation to your blurb above where you state “Brady Tkachuk has a “burning desire” to win the Stanley Cup ….”:
My post clarified that by pointing out that what he actually said was ” … a burning desire to bring the Stanley Cup back to Ottawa …”
There is a difference.
Since Brady is a member of the Ottawa Senators, and is under contract with them through 2027-28, and is the captain of the Senators, everyone understands his desire to win a Stanley Cup means he wants to do so as a Senator, George. No clarification was necessary.
In the matter of Tkachuk’s never having experienced a playoff game, while that’s undeniable – along with what must be a burning frustration – it’s even a bit worse for Chabot who is the only player left from the 2017-18 roster, the year the current 7-year drought began.
Tkachuk joined in 2018-19 … and he and Chabot are now the only players still with the team from that year – 6 years of non-playoff hockey. In 2019-20 they were joined by Batherson … and those 3 are the only players still with the team from that collection – 5 years out of the playoffs.
In 2020-2021 they were joined by Stutzle, Zub, Pinto, Bernard-Docker, Norris and Forsberg – now in their 4th year of missing the playoffs.
So, for the bulk of existing roster, it’s been a 3-year drought.
Just to keep things in perspective … and I realize that that does nothing for the growing frustration of guys like Chabot, Tkachuk and Batherson.
Lyle, my preoccupation for being clear with the written word stems from that part of my career with Immigration Canada where I was responsible for composing legislation – i..e., the Act and Regulations – and believe me, if a word or two – or even something as mundane as a comma – could lead to misinterpretation — it did.
It’s a habit to be precise that was drummed into me early on. And so I know, beyond doubt, that there will be those who see only “a burning desire to win the cup” and interpret that to mean he’ll soon demand a trade to an immediate contender.
George: First of all, the headline I referenced from The Score was this “Brady Tkachuk: ‘Burning desire’ to win Cup amid Matthew’s celebrations”
Throughout the rest of The Score’s report, there is only one mention of “back to Ottawa”, and it’s in this paragraph: “”I think we’re a better team going into the season than we finished up,” he said. “I think everybody’s fired up to get back to Ottawa and get going and get back in front of everybody.”
No mention of bringing the Cup back to Ottawa as you claim.
Now, if Brady said it during the podcast, that’s fine. I was going off the report from The Score.
And as I said earlier, no clarification was necessary regarding Brady’s desire to win the Stanley Cup. Everyone knows he means to do it as a Senator. Nowhere was it implied in my synopsis or in The Score’s report that his burning desire to win the Cup meant doing so with another team, or that it could be misconstrued to mean he wants a trade.
Case closed. Moving on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI3B8YGHtgU
And again, no clarification was required.
Lot of risk to Konecny signing. That deal may look bad in five years. But I still think it’s a good move by the Flyers. They’re not far from playoff contention.
I think a deal like this will become one of those deals which makes the Slafkovsky signing look great for the Habs.
Didn t they learn anything from Courtier contract!
OMG another Ottawa Senator post, here comes another abundance of post from you know who.
LOL – touché.
But Caper, I’ll wager a month’s pension that, for every post about the Senators there are 4 dealing with each of the Bruins, Penguins and Leafs.
And 0 dealing with the Wild.
George O, all in fun and i’m happy to see you took it that way.
Yes there is teams that are spoken about more than others. However, i would think Lyle knows who his readers are and pushes more of them tidbits, then other.
I listen to NHL on the radio, and the host is always asking for listeners from Minnesota to call in, and he says he hardly hears from their fan base.
caper: I try to publish notable stories and rumors on here involving all 32 teams. Unfortunately, some clubs don’t make as much news as others. The Wild, for example, have been quiet this summer, largely because they’re in salary-cap hell until the buyouts of Parise and Suter come off the books.
Caper this is not the droid you’re looking for. LOL
Caper, yeah it’s too bad there are so many teams whose devoted fans choose not to enter debate/discussion about their team’s fortunes.
Just from my observation/recollection, and in relation to ONLY the frequency of participation by stated fans of a particular team (as opposed to known Toronto, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Boston etc. fans, for example, commenting on aspects of other teams), here’s what I’ve observed
Frequent Participation By Fans Of: Toronto, Boston, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottawa
Fairly Frequent Participation By Fans Of: Columbus, Detroit, Colorado, NYR, Edmonton, St. Louis, Winnipeg
Now And Then by Fans Of: Calgary, N.J., Philadelphia, NYI, Tampa Bay, L.A., Vancouver, Dallas
Hardly Ever By Fans Of: Minnesota, San Jose, Chicago, Anaheim, Seattle, Washington, Vegas, Nashville, Florida, Carolina
What say you?
I say, George, that if the Sens don’t show measurable improvement this year, he will surely start to wonder. However you want to phrase that.
The Sens are a bit of a puzzle for me. Going back to Dorion’s moves to bring in Giroux and then Tarasenko, I thought they were playoff bound.
Just shows rebuilds, like most things in life, don’t proceed in a straight upward trajectory.
Buffalo can surely attest to that, LJ. lol
Which makes me wonder why we haven’t seen any speculation about Rasmus Dahlin – now 6 years without a playoff game, or Dylan Larkin of Detroit, 8 years in the wilderness.
GeorgeO i would agree with that.
Here in Winnipeg we had the Ehlers and McGroarty news a couple of weeks ago and now you never heard about it again.
Chevy does divulge much of anything. ie last year no one knew Hellebuyck and Scheifele were signing until they already signed.
George, Larkin did make the playoffs in his first season. But he is also a local kid – lived and played his youth hockey a few miles from my home in the far northwest suburbs of Detroit. I doubt he ever leaves.
Touche’ Caper…
Of course follows that with well the Rangers, Bruins and Penguins have 4 posts to Ottawa every one LOL…
Maybe if Ottawa was more interesting..mmmhhhh
No I kid they have a good young team coming it is a matter of time before they gel and become good…….Ullmark the only question does he resign?
The only way Brady wins the cup is somewhere other than Ottawa. Sens stink. Management is terrible. Fans cant be bothered to support the team when they do make playoffs. Do like your brother, go somewhere that actually cares about winning.
Lets’ face reality that Tkachuk Senior drives the bus for both boys. If he says jump, they say how high? If he thinks that Ottawa’s window is closed as was the case in Calgary, he will advise Brady’s career moves.
Too true. There’s always that aspect in the shadows.
Dorion was a disaster and so far Staios hasn’t impressed. Chump change return for Chychrun for example. Unless Ullmark is outstanding and all of the should be could be players come through, the Sens are not on track to become Cup contenders.
Not any time soon, that’s for sure. It will be interesting to see how much patience Andlauer has.
I don’t mind the trade of Chychrun Brock, got a #4 veteran RD with 2 years left at a decent cap hit. For a pending UFA who would have played his off side again. Always less supply than demand with RD and filled a hole that needed filling. Plus Jensen plays the PK, which Chychrun didn’t.
He had a 10 team NTC. I am sure there were other teams that were interested, and I am sure Staios spoke to all of them. Not sure there was some massive haul out there for the guy, Chychrun has always had issues defending. Or so the book on him is.
Maybe I’m just not as big a fan of Chychrun than some others. Plus he was redundant in OTT, why they traded for him in the first place, I dunno?
Dorion.
Ya George, a head scratcher.
I get it’s a different GM, but it’s horrible asset management to trade a 1st and more for a guy you trade a year later for a borderline bottom pairing RHD and a 3rd round pick. They should have waited until the trade deadline and hoped va team got desperate. Even players like Ben Chiarot have gotten first rounders back when teams get desperate. I don’t get what Staios was doing there.
I should note even though I am a die hard Jets fan and STH, I was a Sens fan during the dark years. I still wish them the best.
Kinda like my choices – grew up a die-hard Habs fan – made many trips to the Forum when I started to drive (mid-1950s) and maintained that right through to the reincarnation of the Senators in the 1990s. Felt it was only right to start cheering for the home town team.
I was at the Civic Centre for their first game – against the Habs – which Ottawa won. Of course, after that night the wins were few and far between for the next couple of seasons