NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 20, 2024

by | Aug 20, 2024 | News, NHL | 51 comments

The fallout from the Canadiens acquiring Patrik Laine from the Blue Jackets, the Oilers decline to match the Blues’ offer sheets for Broberg and Holloway, Predators goalie Yaroslav Askarov requests a trade, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Stu Cowan believes the Canadiens acquisition of Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets is a low-risk move that could be a big reward. The Jackets sent the 26-year-old winger and a 2026 second-round pick to the Canadiens on Monday in return for defenseman Jordan Harris.

The Canadiens needed more scoring to become a playoff team. Laine is a former 44-goal scorer with two years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $8.7 million. However, he’s struggled with consistency and injuries in recent years.

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said he spoke with Laine before making the trade. He believes the winger is mentally in a good place and is energized and excited about playing in Montreal. He also spoke with people who knew Laine from his days with the Winnipeg Jets.

Laine’s cap hit makes him the Canadiens’ highest-paid player. However, the fact that he only has two years left on his deal factored into their decision to acquire him.

Montreal Canadiens acquired winger Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19. (NHL Images).

Hughes believes Laine’s potential success in Montreal lies not with how many goals he scores but by his ability to contribute and help the team. He also hopes that he’ll help their younger players.

The Canadiens felt they could afford to part with the 24-year-old Harris. They have considerable depth in young left-shot defensemen. Harris was a healthy scratch from eight games last season.

SPORTSNET: Laine said he’s been cleared to skate after having an operation to address a shoulder injury suffered last season. He claims his shot is as powerful as ever. He declined to explain why he wanted to leave the Blue Jackets but said he’s excited about a fresh start in Montreal, adding he’s “always enjoyed the spotlight.”

Laine indicated he wasn’t enjoying himself off the ice, which affected his on-ice performance. Since seeking help for his mental health earlier this year through the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, he’s now happier than ever away from the rink and working hard to prepare for the coming season.

TVA SPORTS: Laine said he wasn’t just content to be a 30-goal scorer again. “I want to be a 40 or 50-goal scorer again. I’ve done it before. It wasn’t by accident,” he said.

RG.ORG: Marco D’Amico reports the Canadiens took on the full value of Laine’s cap hit, putting them above the $88 million salary cap by $1.85 million.

They can get cap relief by placing permanently sidelined goalie Carey Price and his $10.5 million cap hit on long-term injury reserve. However, they’re not doing it immediately because they’re allowed to be above the cap by 10 percent in the offseason. By placing Price on LTIR after the start of the season, they’ll leverage the full benefit of the cap relief.

D’Amico noted the Canadiens could make a trade to shed salary. Another player could suffer an injury that delays the inevitable, or they could play musical chairs with their roster to start the season. He cited sources suggesting the third option is currently their best choice.

Under that scenario, they could place sidelined forward Raphael Harvey-Pinard ($1.1 million) on LTIR and demote youngsters like Jayden Struble and Joshua Roy to their AHL affiliate in Laval. That would make them cap-compliant to start the season with a 20-man roster. They could then place Price on LTIR and recall the necessary reinforcements to fill out their roster to 23 men.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Brian Hedger reports Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell released a statement on the Laine trade.

We want players that want to be Blue Jackets and Patrik made it clear that he thought a change of scenery was best for him,” said Waddell. “We were able to acquire a good young player in Jordan Harris while maintaining financial flexibility in this deal, which was very important to us. We wish Patrik all the best.”

THE ATHLETIC: Aaron Portzline reports it was only last weekend when the Canadiens’ talks with the Blue Jackets about Laine took hold, but they quickly turned serious. The Habs were the only team that didn’t ask the Blue Jackets to retain part of Laine’s cap hit.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: You can read my take on the trade here.

TSN: The Edmonton Oilers declined to match the offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues for defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Dylan Holloway. 

The Oilers received a second-round pick from the Blues as compensation for Broberg and a third-rounder for Holloway. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was assumed the Oilers acquiring Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks and shipping out defenseman Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks for blueliner Ty Emberson was setting the stage to clear cap room to match one or both offers. TSN’s Ryan Ryshaug reports they would’ve boxed themselves in quite badly with the salary cap had they matched both offers. They want to keep some salary cap flexibility for new contracts for Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard.

NASHVILLE HOCKEY NOW: Clay Brewer cited ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reporting Predators top prospect goaltender Yaroslav Askarov informed the club he will not report to their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. The 22-year-old also requested a trade.

The move comes nearly two months after the Predators signed Juuse Saros to an eight-year contract extension. That makes the starter’s job unlikely for Askarov in the near future. That’s a role he and his agent believe he should have sooner rather than later.

THE TENNESSEAN: Alex Daugherty reports that Predators GM Barry Trotz is aware of Weekes’ report but expects Askarov to report to training camp next month. The goaltender’s agent declined to comment.

If Askarov is demanding a trade, Trotz should consider acting on it. With Saros locked in on his long-term deal, getting the most out of Askarov as a trade asset would be ideal.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s believed Trotz was getting trade inquiries about Askarov during the draft weekend in June. Those calls could start up again soon if they haven’t already. If Askarov isn’t traded before training camp opens next month he could refuse to report and stage a holdout until moved.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins made nine new front-office moves yesterday. Among them was assistant general manager Jason Spezza’s promotion to GM of their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Special assistant Amanda Kessel was named manager of minor hockey operations and assistant GM of their AHL affiliate. She’ll also oversee their ECHL affiliate in Wheeling.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Cody Ceci said he’s excited to join the rebuilding Sharks. On Sunday, he was traded by the Edmonton Oilers in a cost-cutting move. He believes he can play a leadership role for promising youngsters like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. 

PUCKPEDIA: Ty Emberson was part of the return to the Oilers in the Ceci trade. If he plays 50 games this season, he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer. If he plays less than that, he becomes a Group 6 UFA.







51 Comments

  1. Great move by Hughes

    Can we trade GMs?

    A 2nd and Laine for a young D. Very very astute move.

    • No we can’t trade GMs. Or Bergevin would have been gone much sooner.

      • Dang

        Thanks at least for responding.

        I was hoping we had a shot.

        LOL

      • “Dang” – yet another “Pengyism”

  2. Wonder if Askorov for Fraser minten might be enough. Good chance he could be backup or starter in Toronto with Woll injury history or even steal his roster spot outright.

    • I would think a package of Knies, one of Minten of Cowen, and a pick gets the discussion started.

      • That’s a hard and fast no thank you from Toronto. Toronto has Hildeby in the bullpen so unless the price is dirt cheap, don’t see Toronto in on this

  3. Re Oiler’s deadline for matching:

    Seravalli: “I wouldn’t be surprised’ if Oilers decline to match Blues’ offer sheets for Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway”

    there was no point at all for the rushed Ceci trade if Oilers weren’t matching at least one of them

    With Ceci out the door; they’d be wrong in not matching on Broberg

    Perhaps they see Podkolskin as better than Holloway; and accept the 3rd. Maybe??

    To me, best move is putting Kane on LTIR, match both; send decision down the road (late Dec or early Jan)

    Right now , 24 on Roster, $5.9 M over. Kane on LTIR, waive any other player to Bakersfield; cap compliant

    Don’t match, they’ll have a weaker team, lots of space but no viable trade option out there to use the “new” 2nd snd 3rd on

    • The issue with this approach, is the Oil is going to need to free up, roughly 10-12 million in cap space, in order to resign both Drait and Bouchard, next summer. (Drait is going to get at least 5 million over his current contract, and Bouchard is going to get at least 4-5 million over his current contract)
      The cap space is just not there if they match Broberg.
      If they match both they are going to have to be desperate in their attempt to move Nurse and his contract. Like adding a 1st and a 2nd desperate.

      • Hi Brian

        Reading uour response now after the announcement of not matching

        Agree that Cap space for 25/26 is an issue (Draisitl signing etc) but not now.

        Had they matched; Kane on LTIR; nothing needs to be done until December at least

        They could deal with things then and/or perhaps another LTIR comes along

        Podkolskin MAY equal Holloway’d performance down the road. TBD

        I’d be lying if I said I believed Emberson could be better (or even equal to) Broberg in the future

        Time will tell

        Just shocked at neither being matched

    • @87
      i agree rushing out Ceci who was solid for them and on an expiring contract was an odd move as you can say Emberson takes Broberg’s spot who takes Ceci? more Nurse is not a good thing.

      I also understand not resigning two kids that left for $ after losing game 7 of the Cup while the roster was improved and ready to try again

      • I just don’t understand the not matching Broberg move

        I’ll by into their belief that somehow Poldkoskin will perform the same as Holloway

        Emberson I can’t see replacing Broberg. Just can’t see it

        Worst still….

        Ceci and Broberg are now Emberson and Brown

        That is definitely a big downturn at D

        Many dump on Nurse

        I agree hid Cap is too high; no challenge there

        But I think he is solid as top 4 for Oilers

        Regardless, full NMC; so he’s an Oiler this year unless he doesn’t want to be

    • Edmonton @8.45AM

      Very Disaponting New’s😩

      St. Louis Blues add Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway As the Oilers decline to match offer sheets for both

      Now the Oilers receive 2025 second-round pick for defenseman, Broberg go’s to the blues on a two-year, $9.16 million contract;
      with Hollaway for a 2025 third-round pick for he also joins the Blues on two-year, $4.58 million contract

      wonder why we were adding an other d/man from the sharks

      Today they have $945,000 in cap space
      and
      Thats befor Evander Kane gos on LTiR, So they should have $4.1 in cap spce at the trade deadline
      intresting year coming up…..🤔

      • The D man the Oil added is one of Knobbers guys from Hartford.
        He is a defensive gem, according to the numbers anyway.
        Almost nothing happens when he’s on the ice.
        I think that trade was about as fair as it gets for both sides at the moment. Check back in a couple of seasons and it’s a big win for the Oil.

        This team is pulling out all the stops.
        I do admire the ruthless pursuit of the cup.

        My money is on Nurse getting moved. I just haven’t figured out how it’s all gonna play out yet. Waddle, Verbeek and Uncle Lou keep coming to mind though.

      • Hi ShoreOrrPark

        Nurse has a full NMC this year; so like Marner, he stays put unless he chooses to move

        Coming off game 7 final and fair shot to get to cup again; very little (none?) incentive to waive his NMC to be moved to another team

  4. A note for CBJ fans, Jordan Harris is a real quality guy on and off the ice.

    He got caught in the numbers game in Montreal putting the puzzle together of a defense crew.

    You’re going to like this guy.

  5. Very low-risk move by Hughes with all kinds of potential up-sides.

    Clearly Laine is a high-end talent RW with a booming shot and great skating skills to go along with size (6″ 5″ 225 lbs) and, if the counselling he’s received has his head in the right place, the Habs will reap the benefits.

    As habfan30 says in another thread, “Worst case scenario Laine is damaged goods and a bust and contract runs out in 2 years, Habs clear a bit of a logjam on D and get another 2nd round pick for the stockpile.”

    Somehow I don’t see that happening. He’s obviously excited at the opportunity with seemingly no fear of the intense spotlight that goes with playing in a hockey hotbed, saying he “loves the spotlight.” He’ll certainly get it there, but those knowledgeable fans will give him plenty of rope to find his groove again and avoid the ills that resulted in his missing 49% of his team’s games the past 4 seasons and be much closer to the negligible 3.5% missed over his first 4 seasons.

    And the thing is, his 82-game average production didn’t deteriorate all that much when comparing the two 4-season stretches. Over the first 4 year span that worked out to 37g 39a 66 pts per season, while over the past 4 it was 31g 35a 66 pts.

    This Ottawa fan can only wish Dorion had left Staios with more cap leeway to have allowed him a shot at getting Laine here. Hell, I wish Dorion had been dumped sooner and Hughes lured here!

    • Should read ” …that worked out to 37g 39a 76 pts per season, while over the past 4 it was 31g 35a 66 pts.”

    • They need to try him at center.

      • Shoreorrpark, given his past emotional woes that might be something they only try once he settles in and becomes attuned to the vastly different atmosphere.

        Right at the moment, with Caufield he strengthens the RW position to at least 50% given that lines 3 and 4 are covered at that position by the under-achieving Anderson and Gallagher.

        At the C position they are also hoping Dach is recovered sufficiently to put in a full season and get his own form back on the 2nd line with Suzuki at # 1, Dvorak at 3 and Evans at 4.

      • Apparently they tried that in Columbus, SOP, and it didn’t work.

        They might try it again if Dach is injured.

    • Ya George. Laine would have looked good in Sens colours.

      I hear a lot of people saying he’ll be under the microscope in Montreal. I disagree completely. I know baseball is a different sport but one of the reasons many of those Expos stuck around so long is nearly complete anonymity in Montreal. It’s a wonderful city. The metro works great. A bit of a gangster issue with their infrastructure but they’ll flush that out a water main or something. The Habs will make sure Laine is has a certain Finnish ex Montreal captain to lean on should he need it.

      • Dark G, with the way Dorion structured the cap before being shown the door just over 10 months ago, there wasn’t a whole lot Staios could do in terms of landing someone like Laine.

        Five players were locked up with term and $8 mil + deals – considered by many at the signings as “locking up the future.”

        Now, in retrospect, only 2 fit the definition of solid deals: Tkachuk and Sanderson with Stutzle still capable of being the 3rd but needs to bounce back from last season’s dip in his progress.

        Unfortunately in the case of Norris no one could foresee a chronic shoulder ailment, but with the being the case, it’s finger-crossing time. The talent is certainly there.

        The 5th one – Chabot – despite being a minute-eater hasn’t quite delivered an overall game commensurate with an $8 mil + long-term deal. Hopefully, however, the acquisition of cagey, stay-at-home RD Jensen to play alongside him will cover for his defensive gaffes (as Methot did for Karlsson) and allow him to use his offensive skills with more comfort.

        Add in the mid-range deals of Giroux $6.5 mil), Batherson ($4.975 mil) and Zub ($4.6 mil) and there was no realistic way Staios could get in on any of the action involving players such as Laine.

        He did, on the surface at least, shore up the inconsistent goaltending by getting Ullmark, and made moves towards improving the overall defensive structure through the coaching changes (Green and Yeo), the dumping of a number of notable one-way types and the acquisitions of Perron, Amadio and Gregor.

        Those, and the probable elevations of Kleven, Crookshank and Ostapchuk, are it insofar as roster additions are concerned as he’s on record as saying his philosophy is to enter a season with a bit of a cap cushion (just over $1.9 mil as at now).

  6. The Oil expected to let both prodigal players go now!
    “If ya don’t wanna be an Oiler, there is the door!”
    IDK, that RS of the D looks pretty iffy!

    • Agree

      Ceci and Broberg replaced by Emberson and Brown…. Ouch!!!!

  7. Not liking the Laine trade to Montreal. I’ve been a Laine fan since he came into the league, that doesn’t change today.

    I’ve said before outside Ovie, Laine has the best release in hockey, his is an underrated passer and skater.

    My concern is a comment that Waddell made, that Laine couldn’t go back to that dressing room.

    That would be the second time Laine had dressing room issues, first time with Wheeler and now in Columbus.

    At worst Montreal picks up a 20 goal scorer, at best 40 plus, this a good move by Montreal and i hope Laine is in a good place mentally.

    • As I understand it Caper, a lot of people had issues with Wheeler.

      I wondered about what happened to Laine in CBJ, but the Habs did their due diligence. So maybe that was time and issue specific and is water under.

      We’re about to find out.

  8. Am I missing something? Why would CBJ not retain salary? They now have $18M available and there’s virtually nobody of significance available to get.

    If they had retained salary, then the return would have been a heck of a lot better, or a least the offered pick could have been worse.

    Saving Cap is an excellent idea when you don’t have it. Saving it when you don’t need it – and can’t really use it – seems silly.

    Unless maybe it’s just a straight ‘let’s save the owner’s money’ dump. Certainly could be.

    • Whalercane, with 11 teams either over the cap or with wiggle room of less than $1 mil (Washington, Vegas, Philadelphia, NYI, Vancouver, St. Louis, NYR, Tampa, Minnesota, Florida and Edmonton) there figures to be more deals prior to camps opening and, with Waddell’s history of making astute moves, his $18 mil + in cap reserve will come into play soon.

  9. Edmonton doesnt match either, officially Blues

    • Yup, just saw confirmation. Interesting.
      I had thought that Holloway was gone (Podkolzin and Savoie backfilling him) but I thought they would retain Broberg just because they need D more than offense.

      • Now they go from being over the cap to a reserve of $945,833 with 22 of 23 spots filled and still the prospect of starting the season with Kane’s $5 mil + on LTIR, opening the door – for a few months anyway – for another acquisition.

        They also just dealt for D prospect Paul Fischer from St. Louis.

  10. I think the Oil aren’t done yet, plus I haven’t heard much from Lou in Long Island and now the Jackets have a ton of space available to take on a high salary player.
    Nurse might get moved this week.

    • Nurse is overrated and overpaid, and the Oil would be wise to move him. That so, doing so is not going to be easy as the Oil don’t have a lot of draft capital to sweeten a deal.

      • Yeah, I think he’s a 6.5million dollar defenseman all day long, LJ. Not 9.5.
        He has a nice set of tools.
        I really like his basic game when he plays simple hockey.
        He just gets into trouble when he tries too hard to do too much.

      • Oil can’t move him without his approval

        Full NMC

        Zero incentive fir him to waive his NMC to move away from s team that went to game 7 of thr Cup finals

      • Yes, Pengy. I know that.
        Do you think Nurse agreeing to a trade to another team is any more far fetched than any one of your many questionable proposals on here?
        C’mon, man?

  11. I expect Laine to light it up to start in MTL. And then….

    • Easy on the expectations Isotopes. Laine has missed a lot of hockey. Combine that with a new system and team mates and it is unlikely he’s going to come out of the gate in prime condition. indeed, he said he only just got approval to skate.

      I hope fans given him some time to get back in the groove.

  12. Wonder what number Laine will be wearing in Montreal.
    He’s been #29 his whole NHL career but it’s retired and hanging in the rafters for some guy Ken Dryden.

    • 92?

    • 92?

      • LOL – same wavelength johnny Z

    • I hope not 92, last guy didn’t work out too well, Jonathan Drouin lol

  13. The Blues announced Tuesday that they’ve sent unsigned 2023 fifth-round pick Paul Fischer and a 2028 third-round pick to the Oilers in exchange for future considerations. The swap immediately follows the Blues’ successful acquisition of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from Edmonton via offer sheets.

    • Fischer, 19, is a solid pickup for the Oilers, who presumably acquired him as a sweetener not to match St. Louis’ offer for either player.

      • That looks like what it was

  14. Blues send 2028 3rd round pick and 2023 5th round selection Paul Fisher to Edmonton for Future Considerations….

  15. Laine needs to prove he can play more than 60 games a season, something he hasn’t done in close to 5 years now. Until he proves that he can start healthy, he’s a big time liability at that cap hit.

  16. I am quite surprised by the Oilers not matching either. Broberg and Holloway are solid prospects but as a contending team, it seems the Oilers did not think it made sense to carry those contracts in “hopes” they can meet expectations this coming season or even next. Cap space, and draft picks will be useful at the deadline. Also the earlier moves probably helped in getting that favorable 2nd deal from armstrong as the oilers could have kept either or both

    Podkolzin and Emberson fill the void. While neither likely has the offensive flair that the two former oilers may reach, both are far superior, by reports, on the defensive side and that combined with low contracts may be more valuable to the oil in the short term. We will see.

    They will have time to see if Emberson can slot in with nurse. They also can see if Stetcher and Brown with Kulak likely can be a feasible 3rd pairing. It will hold together barring major injuroes on D til xmas or deadline and look to upgrade D then.

    And whose to say they are even done for the summer yet?

    It will be interesting to see how things turn out and how this decision works out for both teams in both the near and further future.

    But still a bit shocking to have let both players go.