NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 19, 2024

by | Aug 19, 2024 | News, NHL | 29 comments

Taylor Hall hopes to be a difference-maker for the Blackhawks, the Oilers trade Cody Ceci to the Sharks and acquire Vasily Podkolzin from the Canucks, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Taylor Hall hopes to be a difference-maker this season for the Blackhawks after missing most of last season recovering from ACL surgery on his right knee.

The Blackhawks acquired Hall last summer from the Boston Bruins to ease the offensive burden for rookie center Connor Bedard. However, the 33-year-old winger was in only 10 games before undergoing surgery in November.

Chicago Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall (NHL Images).

Now recovered, Hall is confident he can be “a solid contributor” to the Blackhawks, citing his offseason preparations.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hall is also in the final year of his contract. A solid bounce-back effort could make him a valuable trade chip for the Blackhawks at the trade deadline, and bolster his stock in next summer’s free-agent market.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers traded defenseman Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Ty Emberson.

THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks traded winger Vasily Podkolzin to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ceci, 30 is in the final season of his contract with a cap hit of $3.25 million. The 24-year-old Emberson is on a one-year, $950K contract.

Podkolzin is signed through 2025-26 with an annual cap hit of $1 million. Chosen 10th overall by the Canucks in the 2019 NHL Draft, Podkolzin had a promising NHL debut with 14 goals and 26 points in 79 games during the 2021-22 season. However, he struggled in the next two seasons, in part because the Canucks went through three head coaches during that time.

These moves created a stir among Oilers followers. Their club has until Tuesday to match the offers sheets signed by defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Dylan Holloway with the St. Louis Blues.

Puckpedia indicates these moves mean the Oilers can match both offer sheets if Evander Kane undergoes surgery and is placed on long-term injury reserve. However, they’ll have to make a trade once Kane comes off LTIR to become cap-compliant. If they match Broberg but not Holloway, they won’t have to make another trade once Kane comes off LTIR.

Ceci’s departure and the acquisition of Podkolzin suggest they’re retaining Broberg and parting ways with Holloway. We’ll find out for sure by no later than Tuesday.

THE SCORE: San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky looks forward to seeing competition among top prospects Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith as they attempt to land full-time roster spots in training camp next month.

Celebrini, 18, was the first-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Smith, 19, was selected fourth overall in the 2023 draft. Both centers are expected to play significant roles for the rebuilding Sharks.

Sharks general manager Mike Grier said his plan is for Celebrini and Smith to play their natural center position rather than move them to the wing.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Celebrini and Smith could become contenders for the Calder Memorial Trophy if things pan out as hoped for the Sharks this season.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins won’t be playing for his native Latvia in their upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament for personal reasons.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Merzlikins could be focused on preparing for the upcoming NHL season. He’s coming off a tumultuous campaign with the Blue Jackets, at one point asking to be traded before withdrawing the request. The 30-year-old netminder will be trying to establish himself as the Blue Jackets starting goaltender.

THE BUFFALO NEWS: Lance Lysowski examines the Sabres’ blueline depth to determine who their defense pairings could be this season.

He expects new head coach Lindy Ruff to pair top blueliner Rasmus Dahlin with Mattias Samuelsson. Bowen Byram and Owen Power could be their second pairing, leaving Henri Jokiharju, Connor Clifton, Jacob Bryson and Dennis Gilbert jockeying for the third pairing.







29 Comments

  1. Buffalo GM is awful! Signed Clifton to a 3/9 million dollar contract and he could be as low as 7-9 on their depth chart!

  2. Thinking the Oil keeps Broberg now, as he can play the RS better than Emberson, Brown or Stecher!
    His cap hit is not as bad as Nurse! Ha ha!
    Army really put a hurt on them! besides if Army gets Broberg, he would have to trade one of his D-men to clear space. Just acquiring Hollaway and wreaking havoc on Stan will make his venture worth while.

  3. Ceci traded with no poison pill , imagine that .
    I don’t know emberson well but a 3rd round pick himself , played 30 games in the nhl last year, almost a wash on the picks .
    Not many in the media or on here thought that was possible

    • The Sharks, his 5th team, are about to discover why many in the media and in here thought that.

  4. Mattias Samuelsson on the top pairing? Can he stay healthy or would they do better to get a replacement? They sure could use a righty in that D-core!

  5. Excellent move by Oilers

    Match them both now.

    Have Kane do his operation 2 days before opening night; LTIR; then no significant moves needed until January

    Send the decisions down the road

    There is always injuries; perhaps another LTIR just before Kane’s return

    Either way; decision tree is delayed by months

  6. Ceci in Edmonton
    Averaged 79 games played over 3 seasons.
    28 pts +8
    15 pts +11
    25 pts +12
    PK
    20 mins a night
    I think he will struggle with the group in SJ but he was steady in Edmonton , has his limitations but on expiring 3.25 contract , the oil were never adding this huge sweetener , even after offer sheets and up against the odds .
    In true media fashion when dealing with oilers , watch how quickly the reporting turns to a gaping hole that needs to be addressed because of his departure . Lol. I’ve already read a couple.

    • Don’t see any gaping hole, Craig. As of this morning, with Ceci off the books, they show them with 24 on the roster – 14F 8D 2G – and $5,925,541 over the cap,

      Kane’s move to LTIR will, for a spell, cover $5,125,000 of that with the $800,541 still over the cap covered by either another minor deal or demotion of an ELC.

      At RD they now have Bouchard, Brown, Emberson and Stecher.

      • And if, as Lyle suggests, the decision is to let Holloway go and keep Broberg, they are at 23 players with the “over” easily covered by Kane going on LTIR. For a few months, anyway.

    • I agree Ceci earned and deserved more trust in Edmonton over the past few seasons. 3rd most used Dman during the playoffs. so which dmen gets more ice Broberg thrown into the fire with that deal now?

  7. Edmonton 😁

    Great News this AM, Oilers clears Enough Cap Space $3.25 in the SJ trade moving Ceci out & 3rd pick for
    Ty Emberson, saving $3.25M
    Broberg takes on the 2nd pairing RD Spot, he has a very bringht future in Edmonton
    Ceci will be god in SJ with the young kids down there….

    With Kane @$5.12M going on LTR, could be out
    16 weeks+ and 2 weeks of conditions in Bako
    (❓I’m not sure if we save $ 2 weeks of salary there)
    16 weeks salary @$4,144,761
    2 weeks of salary in Bako $487,619…??
    oil clear $345,000 in cap space overage.

    We should be good to keep both the kids,
    Hollywood & Broberg on the team👏👏

    • I’m sure it was a typo but just checking:

      You meant “Ceci will be good in SJ….”

      Not

      “Ceci will be god in SJ…”

      Right?

    • williew. I bet they match on Broberg and let Holoway walk.

      • Not sure what they will do George, but if it was me, I would sign them both. If/when Kane comes back, trade one of them. Moving Ceci (who is better than most give him credit for) indicates they are keeping Broberg.

        Broberg is more overpaid than Holloway. Lots of promise, but hasn’t proven to be a top 4 guy other than a 10 game stretch. The Oil also gave up way more chances with him on this ice during that stretch, than with other D-men out there. Problem is he is being paid like a proven guy. He is not that.

        Trading Holloway should garner at least a 2nd even at the high salary but not as overpaid as Broberg.

        Kane – depends what the issues are. There is the sports hernia, but also rumblings about a hip issue. So what surgery are we talking about? He could miss significant time. Other injuries could happen as well as the season progresses. Maybe they will have the space if that happens? If you have the time, use it.

        Sign them both, if you need to trade one of them, probably Holloway, do it then.

        I was away last week, so will opine now. This was another irresponsible offer sheet. I don’t like them. St Louis has opened themselves up for the same, I hope they get it, hard.

      • Ray Bark, neither one can be traded for 1 year.

      • Ed, thanks for that. There goes my idea.

      • Only reason I say that, Ray, is the addition of Podkolzin and his $1 mil per cap hit and who, being a left shot, could replace Holloway on the left side, despite his being listed as a RW. Maybe that was part of his problem in Vancouver.

        But you’re right, they could retain both Broberg and Holloway, mostly covered for the time being with Kane’s $5,125,000 moved to LTIR and the $800,541 still over difference covered by either another minor deal or a demotion and to get them down to a 23-man roster.

        Of course, when Kane comes off LTIR – and he won’t be there for the entire season – if that minor deal or demotion to cover that $800,541 still leaves them perilously close to the cap they are going to have to make room for Kane’s full cap hit.

        And as Ed points out, they can’t trade either Broberg or Holoway for one year if they do match both. So either they would have to move Kane himself or engineer some other transaction to free up space for his contract.

      • Good point Ed & George, I forgot about that part. So ya will need to move somebody else if they match on both.

        Hopefully they will have more clarity on Kane soon. Maybe they do already? I dunno. He has a NMC, as does Skinner, which leaves Arvidsson as the forward without. All 3 of those guys are more proven producers than Holloway and the Oil are trying to win now.

        Really tough flippin’ call for the Oil. I’m sure they will know the market for both Skinner and Arvidsson by now.

        I have no idea what they will end up doing. While I dislike the irresponsible use of the offer sheet, like this clearly was, it does make for intrigue.

      • Hey George,

        my bet I think they keep them both, ❓

        Hollywood playing 3rd line with Adam Henrique
        to train him in his defencive game.. in 2 years time Evander Kane will be done with his contract,
        and hollywood replaces him

        A QUESTION…❓

        IF Kane HAS 2 weeks of conditions in Bako after his re-hab….?

        I’m not sure if we save $ 2 weeks of salary there also in Bako $487,619…❓

        After that they are going to have to Trade or Wave a d/man or a forward making
        $750, to $1.M to be under the cap…

  8. Oh boy when your finger’s are to big for your
    apple key board…🙈
    Ceci will be GOOD…& Broberg has a very Bright future in edmonton

    • 👍

  9. Is no one else surprised that Canucks weren’t able to get more than a fourth round pick, from a division rival, for Podkolzin?

    • Shocked actually. The kid can play.

    • Definitely odd.

    • I was surprised.

  10. My thoughts too Shoreorrpark. As I mention above, he shoots left but is shown as a RW. Could that have been part of his problems after such a promising start in 2021-22? Did the Canucks mainly play him on the right side?

  11. Can someone help me understand the math here. Right now assuming they retain both holloway and broberg they are over the cap by ~ 6 million.

    Assuming they only retain Broberg, how is it that they would be able to fit Kane in without making another move?

    I have some assumptions how this may be but we all know what happens when you assume.

    • 1Oilerfan – as of this moment PuckPedia shows them $5,925,541 over the cap with 24 players committed to. The limit is 23 so one has to be dropped in some fashion – either a deal or demotion.

      The 24 listed include Kane and his $5,125,000 cap hit, Holloway and his $2,290457 cap hit, and Broberg and his $4,580,917 cap hit (the last 2 as per the offer sheets).

      By itself, Kane’s cap hit, once on LTIR, would not be enough to cover the $5,925,541 – missing by $800,541 so, even though his placement on LTIR would drop the roster to the 23-man limit, they’d still need to move someone to cover that $800,541.

      By not matching Holloway’s offer, his $2,290,457 goes off the books. That not only gets them to the 23-man limit, but drops the current “over” from $5,925,541 to $3,635,094 – easily covered by Kane’s $5,125,000 – and when he goes on LTIR, they’ll have $1,489,906 with which to bring the roster back up to 23.

      But only for as long as Kane remains on LTIR. When he gets back they’re back to square one re necessary roster juggling. It’s the St. Louis gift that keeps on hurting.

      • Thanks George O, that was my understanding but the wording seemed to indicate that even when Kane came off LTIR that no additional moves would be needed and that had me scratching my head as the math was just not working. Its been a long day lol