NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 28, 2024
Kings GM Rob Blake is on the hot seat, questions linger over Jeff Marek’s departure from Sportsnet, Oilers captain Connor McDavid ties the knot, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau believes Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake is under huge pressure to produce real postseason success for his club. The Kings qualified for the playoffs during the last three seasons but were eliminated from the opening rounds by the Edmonton Oilers.
Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake (NHL Images).
Entering his eighth season as Kings GM, Blake must assemble a roster that can do damage in the playoffs or risk losing his job. He’s brought in good players like Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield. However, the mistakes are piling up, including his ill-fated acquisition last summer of Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was traded in June to Washington.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blake’s recent moves have observers ranking the Kings among this offseason’s losers. The coming season will determine if those assessments are correct, which could spell the end of Blake’s tenure as general manager.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Steve Warne noted the recent confirmation from broadcaster Jeff Marek of his departure from Sportsnet after 13 seasons. However, questions remain as to why he and the network parted ways.
Marek worked the opening day of the 2024 NHL Draft, interviewing the first-rounders after they were selected, then returned home on a red-eye flight, leaving Elliotte Friedman to host their popular “32 Thoughts” solo, which was pre-planned.
Friedman indicated during that episode that he and Marek would do their final episode of the season following the start of the July 1 free-agent market. That episode never occurred and Marek was silent until this past Friday, when he confirmed his departure from Sportsnet.
No one is saying what led to Marek’s departure. An early report claimed the split was due to “unconfirmed draft reasons”, creating speculation that something happened during the draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s unusual for a popular broadcaster like Marek to suddenly disappear from the airwaves with no explanation for weeks. Naturally, the speculation was going to grow the longer he was absent. He indicated on Friday that there was more to come about his plans. Maybe then he’ll share details about his departure from Sportsnet.
CTV EDMONTON: Oilers captain Connor McDavid married long-time girlfriend Lauren Kyle on Saturday in Ontario.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the happy couple. May they enjoy a long and joyful life together.
TSN: The Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Kent Johnson to a three-year, $5.4 million contract with an average annual value of $1.8 million. Johnson, 21, was selected fifth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 22 goals and 37 assists in 130 career NHL games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Johnson had a promising rookie season in 2022-23 with 16 goals and 40 points in 79 games. However, he struggled last season under head coach Pascal Vincent and split the season between the Blue Jackets and their AHL affiliate in Cleveland before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in March.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov told the club he didn’t want to return to North America after they saddled the Belarussian in a hotel in Allentown, Pennsylvania for a month during his sting with their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley.
Kolosov saw action in only two AHL games. He was otherwise left to himself in the hotel and felt isolated partly because of his limited English. The young netminder was not paired with or surrounded by anyone he could communicate with on a meaningful level.
Flyers GM Daniel Briere acknowledged the issue during an interview last month. He indicated the Flyers had no Russian-speaking players with their AHL affiliate and regretted that the youngster had no friends or loved ones with him.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some observers will probably chide Kolosov over this but put yourself in his shoes. He comes to the United States for the first time, speaks little English and knows no one. The club provides little support and he’s pretty much left to fend for himself when he’s not at the rink. The culture shock can be intimidating for a young person. No wonder he’s having second thoughts about pursuing an NHL career.
The report points out it was an “incredibly short-sighted move” by the Flyers, especially considering how quickly Ivan Fedotov joined the club last April, where he had a couple of Russian teammates to lean on.
Kolosov skipped attending the Flyers’ recent development camp, creating an uncertain situation regarding his status for this season.
Bruins….Can’t win every game 2-1 (Monty’s own words ) Sweeney did absolutely nothing to change that statement & he lost 25% of his goals scored durning last season …didn’t bring much back ..
Joe…i see Boston winning the Atlantic this year. They missed by one ooint last year and added Zadorov Lindholm…
Florida did lose some key pieces and arent as powerfulthey finish second.
Toronto third
Tampa a wild card spot..
I know it is not as noted as it once was, but is it possible Kent Johnson just had a sophomore jinx season & was struggling???
It really is not uncommon for a young players to struggle with his confidence after a successful rookie & be sent to the AHL to regain it.
But it sure seemed like a huge deal in Columbus with Johnson.
Uwey, ya, happens to lots of guys. Maybe his shoulder injury was longer term and he was trying to play through it. Didn’t get better, had surgery.
That would also explain his struggles, and that CLB management understood that.
Just a guess.
For the kid’s sake I hope it doesn’t keep repeating itself the way it has with Josh Norris
Joe why are you so stuck on this! Bruins strategy is to give younger players an opportunity to make the team as a top 6 winger! If all else fails you get a veteran winger at the deadline and you still have 15 games to work him into the lineup! You go after the teams not making the playoffs and it only cost you a 2-3 round draft pick! A guy like Vatrano ,Perron,would be perfect for short money!
the info on the Flyers’ goalie sheds more light and gives better reason why the kid wants to return home, Flyers organization doesn’t look too good there. Briere hasn’t really been that impressive running that team, maybe he is in over his head, and they need a more experienced manager to run things
I bet Flyers fans are all over the kid but you have to feel bad, the kid probably didn’t want to leave his room due to the language barrier. Imagine being moved to a foreign land where you don’t speak the language, and no one wants to help you, you’d feel the same as that kid
The Flyer organization should be ashamed of itself,and so should members of the team and coaching staff!Some team,bring ina teenager and then let him fend for himself in a new country with a language barrier!I m sure they won t do that to the Russian boy toy they just brought over!
You blew it mcdavid! You coulda married oilers girl! 😍
Ha ha, she is something isn’t she! Thinking plenty of the boys have kept their eyes open for her at games.
Connor did alright, Lauren Kyle is a beautiful woman. I think they’ve been a couple since they were teenagers.
Signing Dubois to that ridiculous contract is, on its own, a sh#tcan worthy offense.
Agreed, the contract was a brutal overpayment even without the context of trading away a bunch of assets, especially Vilardi who is a beast when he’s at the top of his game.
Not to mention what Blake traded away for him!!!!
Heh Uwey, it sure do look imbalanced.
For $8,500,000 the Kings got 16g 24a 40 pts and a minus 9 while the Jets got (in Iafallo and Vilardi) 33g 30a 63 pts and a combined +25.
Kupari didn’t do much and the 2nd round pick in this year’s draft the Jets also got seems to have been dealt sway in a separate trade.
In effect, the Kings wind up dealing Dubois for 34 y/o goalie Kuemper who just completed a mediocre season of 33gp with a 3.31gaa and 0.890 save %