NHL Morning Coffee Headlines & Rumors – September 8, 2024

by | Sep 8, 2024 | News, NHL, Rumors | 17 comments

Canucks captain Quinn Hughes on his goals for the upcoming season, the Wild attempted to acquire Patrik Laine, an update on Ryan Johansen, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

HEADLINES

SPORTSNET: Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes is proud of winning the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 but is putting that behind him to focus on his club’s goals and his personal ones for the upcoming season.

Hughes, 24, finished last season with a career-high 17 goals and 75 assists for 92 points. He believes he can reach 20 goals and doesn’t rule out 100 points this season, explaining that he felt he missed a lot of scoring opportunities last season.

The Canucks captain also believes his club will be better in 2024-25, pointing to the addition of forwards Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood and Daniel Sprong and defenseman Derek Forbort.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (NHL Images).

Hughes doesn’t see his club enduring the inconsistency of the previous years before last season’s improvement, noting that they’re no longer an up-and-coming club as they were back then. He indicated core players like himself, Elias Pettersson, Thatcher Demko, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser are older and more experienced.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hughes and his teammates will face significant pressure to build on their 109-point performance last season, the third-best record in franchise history. How they handle the heightened expectations could determine the outcome of this season.

SI.COM: Nick Horwat cited Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman claiming the Minnesota Wild attempted to acquire Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets before the 26-year-old winger was traded to the Montreal Canadiens last month.

Friedman believes the Wild were “very interested” in Laine. However, Horwat pointed out the cap-strapped Wild would’ve had to ship out some salary to absorb the winger’s $8.7 million cap hit through 2025-26.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was rumored last month the Wild could look into acquiring Laine. There was also talk that they were on his 10-team “no-trade” list.

THE ATHLETIC: Kevin Kurz reports the Philadelphia Flyers hope to receive further clarification regarding their efforts to void Ryan Johansen’s contract.

According to Kurz, whether Johansen was healthy enough to report to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate following his acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche is at the heart of the disagreement. The Flyers originally thought they’d receive clarification before the start of the season but a team source suggests it’s “going to be a few weeks”.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Johansen has a year remaining on his contract. The average annual value is $8 million, of which $4 million was retained by the Nashville Predators when they traded him last summer to the Avalanche. The Flyers took on that portion of his AAV when they acquired him earlier this year.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Steve Warne wonders if veteran winger Mike Hoffman has played his final NHL game. A 70-point producer in 2018-19 with the Florida Panthers, the 34-year-old winger has been unable to land a contract.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hoffman’s production has tumbled since then, partly due to two COVID-shortened seasons but also because of three injury-shortened campaigns with rebuilding clubs in Montreal and San Jose.

The knock on Hoffman is he’s a one-dimensional offensive player whose defensive play leaves something to be desired. Age could also be catching up with him.

DAILY FACEOFF: Edmonton Oilers winger Corey Perry helped WWE wrestler Kevin Owens in his triple-threat match against Austin Theory during WWE Smackdown in Edmonton on Friday night.

Perry got involved when Owens and Theory battled outside the ring, grabbing Theory and holding back his arms, allowing Owens to deliver a chop across Theory’s chest. Owens high-fived Perry afterward.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nice little bit of cross-promotion there.

SPORTSNET: Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder paid tribute to the Gaudreau brothers during a concert in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Vedder noted he and bassist Jeff Ament lost people close to them in tragic accidents. He cited his friend, Hall of Famer Chris Chelios, saying what good men the brothers were. Hearing the Gaudreaus came from Philadelphia and grew up watching games in that city, the band dedicated the song “Given To Fly” to the brothers, their families, loved ones and teammates.

RUMORS

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: James Nichols cites Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman saying he expects a bridge deal between the Devils and Dawson Mercer. The 22-year-old winger completed his entry-level contract last season.

Friedman doesn’t see how a long-term deal is possible given the Devils’ limited cap space. They have just over $4.9 million for 2024-25.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’ll probably be a two or three-year contract with an AAV between $3.5 million and $4 million.

Nichols also tweeted on Friday that former New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck remains focused on signing an NHL contract. He indicated a handful of teams have inquired about professional tryout offers.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Kurt Leavins believes a reunion between the Oilers and Justin Schultz is possible, saying the two sides have talked. He also noted the rumors linking the club to Kevin Shattenkirk but feels it’s more likely they sign a more affordable defense option like Travis Dermott.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Schultz, 34, began his NHL career with the Oilers, playing 3 1/2 seasons before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 27, 2016.







17 Comments

  1. Schultz can still skate and is mobile

    • Re Oilers,

      I hope they look at 1st, Justin Schultz and 2nd Kevin Shattenkirk
      Before they look at Travis Dermott.

      Dermott has only played 28 games in the past 2 years…. why would they look at him we have better d/men in Bako…⁉️

      • williew, I think you missed a season … Dermott did only play 28 games over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but this past season he played 50 with Arizona. For whatever that’s worth.

      • Also, just wondering – who in Bakersfield is better than a 6′ 200 lb LD who has 329 NHL games played to his credit going back 7 seasons?

        Beau Akey is a RD just out of the OHL,
        Max Wanner a RD with only 68 AHL games as a pro
        Connor Carrick is a 30 y/o RD who has 242 NHL gp with 5 different teams
        Cam Dineen is a LD ho, in 7 years as a pro, has 34 NHL gp – all with Arizona
        Noel Hoefenmayer is a LD with no NHL experience going back 5 seasons
        Philip Kemp is a RD with 1 NHL game played in 5 years
        Ben Gleason is a LD who played 40 NHL games 6 seasons ago with Dallas
        Markus Niemalainen is a LD with 43 NHL gp and an AHL fixture as a pro

  2. Luckily for Vancouver their decisions is pretty weak. There is a few teams over there which can be stomped on regularly.

    • Re; Oilers d

      I would rather take from within righ now if we need a d/man, however i think they wait till closer to the TDL to see what they need for the playoff push
      as they will have Evandr Kane’s money about
      $+4M in cap space🤔
      Right now the Oilers have 7 d/men signed for next season,
      Ty Emberson will play with Nurse on the 2nd pair, 3rd pair Kulak, Brown or Troy Stecher

      There is no harm in bringing in PTO d/men to see what they are like…Justin Schultz and or
      Kevin Shattenkirk….
      In a perfict world a player who can play RD/LD….❓

      from the farm in Bako….
      1st, LD, Markus Niemalainen
      1st, RD, Connor Carrick with 240+ NHL games..
      RD, Beau Akey our top d/prospect
      or
      RD, Max Wanner
      No Rush from a d/man centanly Not Dermott❗️

      • Come on williew, let’s get real here. There’s a reason the Oilers farm ranks 25th out of 32 with Akey the only D included among their top prospects … and I’ll bet you right here he goes back to Major Junior for one more season.

        Carrick has been up and down like a yo-yo in playing his 242 games in the NHL, sprinkled around 350 in the AHL. In other words, a short-term all up for the most part.

        Niemalainen has all of 43 NHL games since he was drafted 8 years ago, playing mostly in the AHL.

        Wanner, since being drafted in Round 7 in 2021 has yet to get a sniff in the NHL.

        Dermott, on the other hand, has played only in the NHL the past 6 seasons except for 1 AHL conditioning game.

        Like him or not, he’s head and shoulders above the 3 older players you mention.

      • If the Oil sign another D-man it will be for depth only. 8th D, so likely play in the minors if the Oil’s current 7 D are healthy.

        If it was me, and they do get another D, pick the guy who they think can defend the best out of the group, and can kill penalties. They lost 2 guys this off season, who did a bunch of that for them last year. Hence Brown, and reupping Stretcher.

        Schultz and Shattenkirk do not fit the bill.

        But that’s just me, not sure what the Oil are thinking.

        What I think I know is they will get as close to salary cap ceiling as possible, with Kane not on LTIR, so they can put him on after season starts and accrue his salary.

        They have room for 1 guy, whatever position he plays.

  3. A reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune has said that Laine did not want to go to Minnesota. Seems the Wild were on his no trade list. Renaud Lavoie indicated soon after the trade was made that Laine wanted to go to Montreal. His actions since the trade certainly back that up. It’s great to see a top level player want to play with the Habs. And despite his recent injury issues, Laine is a top flight player.

    • Worst case scenario Laine doesn’t pan out and the Habs got a 2nd round pick for a D-man that was in a logjam .

      It takes a certain type of player to thrive in Montreal, Laine is saying and doing all the right things.

      We’ll soon see if it was a good trade or a great one.

      • habfan30 As i said, Laine will score 30 plus goals this season.

      • I hope it work out for Laine and the Habs.

      • I think this (Laine acquisition) will turn out to be a very good decision for Habs

        I will not be surprised if he gets North of 35 goals

  4. Vancouver might have missed on a situation they have in goal! Looks like Demko is still questionable with injury history! They may have missed out on goalies that could have helped them! Their young goalies are still not really proven yet!

    • Sr, among UFA goalies still looking for deals are

      Kevin Lankinen – 28 y/o 6′ 2″ 190 lbs who, this past season, played in 24 games for Nashville with a 2.82gaa w 11 L 6 with 1 SO a 0.908 save % and, in 112 career games played with Chicago and Nashville, has a 3.07 gaa and 0.905 save % and 3 SO

      Antti Raanta – 35 y/o 6′ 195 lbs who, this past season, played 24 games with Carolina a W12 L7 2 record with 1 SO a 2.99 gaa and 0.872 save % and, in 275 career gp with Chicago, NYR, Arizina and Carolina, has a 2.48gaa a 0.915 save % and 20 SO

      • George O. They need to do something fast!

  5. Saku Koivu will show Laine the ropes. The Finish (not French) connection . Might get 15 on the pp alone