NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 13, 2024
The Leafs to name Auston Matthews as captain, Oilers winger Evander Kane could start this season on LTIR, plus the latest on Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
TORONTO STAR: The Maple Leafs are expected to call a press conference on Wednesday to name center Auston Matthews as their new captain.
Matthews, 26, will take over from John Tavares, who has held the captaincy since Oct. 2, 2019. The 33-year-old center reportedly was heavily involved in the process and approves of the move.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The move is seen as shaking up the leadership and providing a fresh perspective. It’s also worth noting that Tavares is in the final season of his contract and could depart next July as an unrestricted free agent.
Cynical observers, such as the Star’s Dave Feschuk, believe the Leafs are making this move because the no-trade protection enjoyed by Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander makes it impossible to shake up their failing core by trading one of them.
What do you think, folks? Let me know in the comments below.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: David Staples cites Oilers insider Bob Stauffer reporting that there is a “very good chance” that Oilers winger Evander Kane starts this season on long-term injury reserve. Stauffer indicated the 33-year-old winger “may require surgery”.
Kane claimed he was hampered last season by a sports hernia. Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson recently said he was dealing with a hip issue.
Staples noted Stauffer’s report contradicted recent rumors claiming Kane would be good to go for the start of training camp.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Staples points out Stauffer is the ultimate Oilers insider so this report should be considered credible unless we hear otherwise. Kane carries a $5.125 million annual cap hit through 2025-26.
This could explain why the Oilers haven’t signed restricted free agents Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg yet. They are over the $88 million cap but could sign Holloway and Broberg for the start of the season with Kane on LTIR without having to trade or demote players to free up cap room.
They’ll have to shed salary to be cap-compliant once Kane’s ready to return to action this season. In the short term, this would give them the relief they need and buy them time to find a way to prepare for Kane’s return.
TSN: Patrik Laine and his fiance, Jordan Leigh, have launched a mental health initiative called “From Us To You”.
Laine, 26, missed most of last season in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program receiving treatment for his mental health. The couple said they decided to start this initiative after people reached out to Laine to share their stories and the importance of speaking out while dealing with mental health issues.
TSN: Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers will be suiting up for his native Denmark in Olympic qualifying later this month.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov lashed out at Ottawa Senators netminder Linus Ullmark in response to comments by the former Boston Bruins goalie earlier this year when Samsonov played for the Maple Leafs.
After Boston eliminated Toronto from the opening round of the 2024 playoffs, Ullmark said he was surprised the Leafs stuck with Samsonov as long as they did. He claimed the Bruins found Leafs netminder Joseph Woll more challenging.
Samsonov’s Golden Knights are scheduled to face Ullmark’s Senators on Nov. 21. The Vegas netminder took to Instagram to note the date, telling Ullmark to “keep your a** shut or will you be injured again?” Samsonov soon deleted the comment but not before fans took screenshots.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Circle your calendars, Golden Knights and Senators fans. Things could get spicy if Samsonov and Ullmark are the starting goalies for that game.
THE ATHLETIC: Julian McKenzie shed some light on why Oliver Kylington didn’t re-sign with the Calgary Flames in a recent mailbag segment.
McKenzie indicated the Flames approached Kylington with a one-year contract offer but the 27-year-old defenseman wanted a two-year deal. Ultimately, the Flames wouldn’t give him more than a year and let him depart as a UFA.
Kylington’s agent claimed his client was willing to sign a one-year contract with the Flames once he hit the open market but the club had moved on by then. The blueliner recently signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche.
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils signed Nolan Foote to a one-year, two-way contract worth $825K at the NHL level. The 23-year-old forward missed all but four games last season with a lower back injury.
Tavares “involved” and “supportive” in the process?
More like
Treliving:
“Look John, we’re going to throw you under the bus for all our playoff failures by stripping you of the C and giving it to Austin.
We need a visible “change” (Treliving actually using air quotes) here to appease this F$&@kin’ local “audience” (more air quotes) that surrounds our glass house.
I know we can fool this audience for a few more years with this move.
But your going to take this move and publicly support it and tell everybody you were involved in the process. You know why? If you don’t do this convincingly , we won’t extend you here , your childhood dream team.
Now put on your big boy pants and comb your hair; we’ve got dramady presser to put on.
Heh Austin , come here
You’re in; JT’s out. High Five!
Oh and please don’t wear the turtleneck to the presser, and please hand these hankies to JT on the way out”
Thud!
Yep
Sound of Tavares fainting
No, 8787, the sound of a unfunny lead balloon hitting the floor.
Pengy stick to whining about the penquins
How old are you?
Story time ended long ago for many here. Pengy for life!
Rough crowd.
Nah, chrisms. That was a crudely lame attempt at humor
No doubt. I was just glad it was directed towards the leaves and not the pens.
Give him time.
You never strip the captaincy off a player and keep him on the team. Even a guy like Tavaras.
It’s been done before
https://www.quora.com/Who-are-some-NHL-players-who-got-their-captaincy-taken-away-without-changing-teams
Tavares has always been a class act despite what disgruntled NYI fans and fanatical TML fans emote.
A class act that just can’t seem to win. Mathews should have been named captain after his rookie season. Huge blunder by the leaf. Why do you think none of those guys will take a hometown discount? The culture there is bad.
As per Samsonov, the truth hurts. And…as Jack Nicholson once said: “you can’t handle the truth “.
Exactly. And, if he truly wants a monumental fight I’m sure there are plenty of openings in Ukraine where thousands of his countrymen are fighting and dying while he lives high of the hog in North America. Nice arrangement, Ilya.
Team player… Evander Kane still hasn’t had surgery yet. Didn’t the season end almost two months ago? WTF are you waiting for?
A second opinion? 🙂
Or more. Some in the past don’t recover from surgery especially when it seems to be a vague one so it wouldn’t surprise me if he had tests done as well as referrals up the yingyang so as the season nears, if this ailment needs anything, ie time, surgery, rehab, etc, it’s pretty safe to say he’ll most likely be on LTIR to start.
If he waited to have surgery until the opportune time for the team to get ltir relief to sign the remaining players then that makes him the ultimate team player.
Exactly what I was thinking. He’ll be back at the start of the playoffs so the cap doesn’t matter
The Turk.
Evander Kane was at McDavids wedding at the end of july,
I think this is going to be a Stone type Surgery coming back to play for the playoffs savings his Whole Salary on long-term injury reserve.
5.12M
Then they Trade Cody Ceci, $3.25M use Broberg on his RD 2nd pairing
thats $8.37M in savings
Today After the Blues offer sheet for Broberg & Hollaway totaling =$6.7M❗️ +345,000 in cap overage
thats about $7.M
Or
they just Trade Nurse like the Oilers fans have been asking for since they signed him to the $9.25M deal……⁉️
Pushing back Kane to LTIR just puts off the problem Edmonton has! His attitude is counterproductive to all the positive things happening with the Oilers!The sooner they rid themselves of him the better!
Why not Matthews as captain? Makes sense to me.
For the most part over the many years I have been following hockey, the top player on every team eventually took over the captaincy.
You realize you just called poor traumatized Steve Dangle a ‘cynical observer’? You monster.
(Chuckles evilly).
With Tavares only having 1 year left on his deal, it’s odd timing as you can make the change next year after he leaves. Unless both sides know he likely isn’t leaving (maybe extension discussions have already occurred between the 2 sides?) so they wanted to make the change now and then bring him back on a lower deal next year without the captaincy attached?
Also, odd regarding the lack of clarity around Kane’s injury. He “may” need surgery? Odd that they don’t know (or aren’t telling the full story). Maybe surgery is recommended but he wants to try rehab first?
Pat Quinn once said “your best player has to be your captain …” – or words to that effect.
And there can be no doubt that Matthews is their best player.
I’m sure Tavares is well aware of that sentiment, and also that his retention of the captaincy in a season leading up to his becoming a UFA would only become a total distraction as the season wore on and no new contract settled.
The rabid Toronto media would see to that!
Matthews isn’t the problem he is consistent. Maybe it helps? What they need is an ownership and GM that stops listening to media and fans and refuses to have out rediculous contracts. Let the cancers go that won’t accept reasonable contracts. Someone else will step up. Sell the departures are removing cancers as that is what they are at that point or as they age and underplay their contracts (always happens)
Agree that’s what they NEED to do.
What we (outside of the nightmare in Toronto ) want; is for them to continue doing what they are doing.
Unfortunately for us here , we got straddled with their nightmare of a cast-off GM
I’m sure you meant “saddled” … but then again, maybe the Fenway Sports Group can be seen as “straddling” the franchise along with their other holdings like the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool, etc.
And in the end, it was someone in that faceless ownership group who rubber-stamped the hiring of Dubas.
Maybe that’s where you should be directing your venom.
AZ Nut
The leafs problem has been the same for years and years, there Defence has More Holes the a Hockey Net,
Leafs spend way to much on fire power up front like Tavares & Marrnier $22.M‼️🙈 both of these players dont have good playoff performances
and then spend peanuts on Defence,
Goaltender Samsonov played well the last 25 games of the season in front of a Crapp Defence apart from Morgan Reiley,
I think they will regret letting Samsanov walk…..🤔
PS
Great move to make Mathews the leafs Captain
The “Captain” isn’t your best player, your best scorer, your best D-man, it’s the guy who can motivate, drive, take the team on his shoulders.
Tavares is a class act who has filled the role of captain admirably and stripping him of captaincy isn’t exactly a motivating or uplifting move.
From a habcentric view, the role was filled by many who were far from the best players but were highly respected.
Rocket and Henri Richard, Cournoyer, Savard were in the twilight of their careers when named captain, Gainey, Carbonneau, Keane were highly respected but not the best players.
Seems like a bush league move .
So, according to you, the Leafs (read Shanahan) got themselves a bush-league GM in Treliving.
Agree fully with you habsfan30.
Leader, Motivator, Driver absolutely key characteristics of a Captain
This may be your superstar player; but as you’ve pointed out; not always; and certainly not a requirement
Kopitar and Doughty were the stars of Kings; but the charismatic Brown was made Captain
Is there any real proof that adding a small piece of cloth to a player’s sweater make the team any better?
And Feschuk has once again provided top notch reporting…this is something, much like canning the GM and the coach which should have happened sooner than it did. It’s like the Leafs went from a hastily group to one that has soooooooo much patience.
Of course there’s also this “opinion” from another
“Instead, it will be superstar center Auston Matthews taking up the captaincy for the Maple Leafs, a decision which was reportedly agreed upon by Tavares. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Tavares has been heavily involved in the process of instating Matthews as captain.”
If Tavares is involved in the process then there’s no real issue is there? Heck, maybe it was Tavares’s suggestion to give the C to Matthews. It does take the spotlight off of JT somewhat and it’s a classy move
Zero chance this was Tavares’ idea. Zero
Leafs are starting to balance out the roster; they are likely freeing up $11 M (Marner) for 25/26 for an even more balanced roster; so Leafs have a very good shot at Cup in 2 years. Homegrown Tavares hoisting a cup as a Leaf Captain would be the ultimate dream.
No way he all of a sudden gives up that dream; and wakes up one day this last week and calls Treliving with his vision of a Leafs Cup hoisted by Captain Mathews
Just no way
Holy crap! You mean all this time we’ve been blessed in here with someone (not Pengy) who has more inside knowledge than a guy (Dreger) who gets paid for imparting knowledge gleaned from his connections??
Who’da thunk.
Zero chance my Royal Canadian butt.
Nothing fills the slow summer months like the Leafs making news about nothing. Or silly goalies running their mouths.
Laine’s mental health initiative is an interesting endeavor. Still think there’s a play to be made for him by Ottawa. (I just don’t want to give anyone up) Alfredson is heavily involved with the Royal Ottawa and it is one of leaders of mental health assistance and recovery as facilities go, in Canada.
Agree Dark G , save for Laine to Sens
No team gains more from a Laine add than Pens
We have no signature on an extension of our superstar ; and our team after missing two consecutive playoffs; has only 5 top 6 players; and is actually older, shorter, lighter (all 3 a fact and not a subjective viewpoint) ; is a very slow team; and expected GF is less than last year.
Laine fed by Crosby gives a huge boost to us
The Blues have tendered offer showers to Broberg AND Holloway.
This will be interesting.
Another classless move by a classless Leaf organization. Agreed that Tavares is not an $11 million player, but if they are not going to resign him at a $5-6 million extension,at least let his contract expire with dignity. Another example of their ineptitude is the handling of Nick Robertson. They jerked him around so much, is it any wonder that he refuses to sign with them? He is an NHL player and is certainly better than that stiff Ryan Reeves.
Aaaah the trolls are out in force
No one can realistically argue that point re Reeves. Complete waste of a roster spot … not to mention $1,350,000 off the cap … for two more years!
You can bury Reeves cap hit in the minors at the cost of 100000 against the cap. No real harm, but it still won’t make Robertson better defensively. Until Robertson shows he can be bettter without the puck, he’s going to have to fight for ice time. Plain and simple
Can’t argue that point either.
Will the majority of the fans buy new Austin Matthews $weaters, or will they just get a “C” $ewn on?
Well, if he wants to generate more revenue for the franchise he could also ask for a number change … that should increase jersey sales 🙂
I think it’s safe to say those with sweaters will have that choice to either no letter, an A or a C on their sweater! 3 choices for fans.
This news now fills my hockey needs for the year.
Lol. A big old nothing burger.