NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 2, 2024
Clayton Keller looks forward to Utah’s upcoming season, Patrik Laine arrives in Montreal, Dylan Holloway talks about the Oilers’ reaction to his offer sheet from the Blues, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
ALLCITY NETWORK: Craig Morgan reports Clayton Keller believes Utah Hockey Club’s offseason additions will push his team in the right direction.
After relocating from Arizona to Utah in the spring, the club bolstered its blueline by acquiring Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and Ian Cole.
Utah Hockey Club forward Clayton Keller (NHL Images)
“All the guys that we traded for and signed are great players and guys that have won Stanley Cups or been in those high-pressure situations,” said Keller. He believes his team is ready to take the next step and wants to win. “I think we’re a fun team to watch.”
The 26-year-old winger looks forward to showing what he can do in postseason competition. “I’ve had some decent seasons, but I haven’t really proven anything really. When you really make the noise is in the playoffs; when you’re in those high-pressure situations.
Keller’s father, Bryan, dismissed rumors claiming his son was upset over moving from Arizona to Utah and wanted a trade. “That’s 100 percent BS”, he said, adding his son “can’t wait” for this season after seeing the excitement and support for the team in their new home state.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Keller was his club’s best player over the past three seasons and should continue in the role for the foreseeable future. Utah’s crop of emerging young talent combined with their recent veteran additions should make them a better club this season. Nevertheless, Keller will be looked on to lead the way.
TVA SPORTS: Patrik Laine arrived in Montreal last week to begin skating with his new teammates before training camp starts in mid-September. The Canadiens acquired the 26-year-old winger from the Columbus Blue Jackets last month. He will wear jersey No. 92.
RG.ORG: Speaking of the Canadiens, an opportunity to get a second-round pick from the New Jersey Devils could be dashed because of the conditions in the Jake Allen trade between the two clubs in March.
The conditions state that the 2025 third-round pick the Devils owe the Canadiens would become a second-rounder if Allen plays in at least 40 games this season and the Devils (or another team he’s traded to) qualify for the playoffs.
However, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald indicated his club intends to lean heavily on offseason acquisition Jacob Markstrom as their starting goaltender. It’s unlikely that Allen will reach the 40-game plateau backing up Markstrom.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: David Staples cited former Oilers winger Dylan Holloway claiming his former club was aware of the St. Louis Blues’ intention to sign him and teammate Philip Broberg to offer sheets well before the pair received them.
Appearing on the “Hockey Sense” podcast, Holloway said his camp was trying to get a deal done with the Oilers and wasn’t asking for “anything crazy at all.” He claims they explained to management that an offer sheet was an option but was still hoping to stay in Edmonton. He said it was “weird” how the Oilers handled it, leaving him no choice but to accept the offer.
Holloway said it was bittersweet leaving Edmonton and doesn’t expect to get a warm reception from Oilers fans when he comes to town with the Blues. However, he said his former teammates understood his decision.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers management hoped no rival club would exploit their salary-cap constraints by signing Holloway and Broberg. They gambled and lost.
THE PROVINCE: Latvia national team goalie coach Arturs Irbe said Arturs Silovs should be fully recovered from his knee inflammation soon enough and ready to start the 2024-25 season with the Vancouver Canucks. Irbe said the inflammation was caused by Silovs overtraining in preparation for joining Latvia for their Olympic qualifier.
OLYMPICS.COM: Speaking of Latvia’s men’s team, they qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics along with Denmark and Slovakia.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen has officially retired as a player to pursue a new career as a player agent.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Koskinen, 36, was drafted by the New York Islanders in 2009 and played four games with them in 2010-11. He spent six seasons in the KHL from 2013-14 to 2017-18 until joining the Oilers in 2018-19, where he spent four seasons before finishing his career in Switzerland.
Koskinen’s NHL record was 85-60-13 in 168 games with a career goals-against average of 3.01, a save percentage of .906 and six shutouts.
Really looking forward to see Utah s inaugural season! They finally have some stability to that organization,which was badly needed! Keller has paid his dues playing in a college rink his entire pro career!
The more I look at that roster, Sr, the more I lean towards them as a factor in the West.
Last season they had 5 among their Forwards with 20 goals or more (Keller 33, Schmaltz 22, Bjugstad 22, Cooley 20, Crouse 23 and 2 more within hailing distance – Maccelli 17 and Guenther 18 (and he only played 45 games!).
Withe the additions made, notably Sergachev, their D will be solid.
And they still have $9,920,357 in cap space so they could be a player if and when the 5 teams currently shown as over or right at the cap by varying amounts (Washington, Vegas, Montreal, Philadelphia, NYI) and the 9 with less than $1 mil in cap space (Seattle, Carolina, Vancouver, NYR, TB, Minnesota, Florida, Pittsburgh, Edmonton) decide to make moves designed to give them a bit of a cushion (some, of course, will utilize LTIR options).
I should also have mentioned big C Barrett Hayton, limited to just 33 games last season due to injury. The season before he had 19g in 82gp so, if he returns healthy, they have a potential * Fs capable of 20 goals or more
the top 9 in Utah with NHL defensemen will be a factor in the West i agree. also Hayton could be Keller’s center
George,
LTIR for both LHP & Price will is over $11.5 mill , so Montreal will have approximately $9.5 mill cap space to start the season.
As I posted a week or so ago, since Laine wasn’t going to get # 29, it seemed logical he’d go for # 92 to maintain those two digits.
I recall that I bet you to that prediction! 😉
*beat
Heh – ya – by about 40 seconds – we were simultaneously thinking along the same lines Johnny Z
This is standard “Hockey 101” kind of stuff, and happens all the time with transacted players. Was there ever any question whether he’d take 92? (It would have been noteworthy if he HADN’T taken 92.)
My comparison for Laine if he stays healthy, Thomas Vanek!
Habs I think will be pleased with the Laine addition. Smart trade!
Still big worries in Penguinland
No signature from our Captain
Only 2 right Handed D
Only 5 top 6 players
A weaker, slower squad with less grit than last year
As at now: Older/shorter/lighter (very slightly but true) 23 man roster to start game 1 this year; than the 23 man roster that started last October
And last year’s squad finished out of playoffs; while Division rivals bettered themselves
Many teams signing still available pieces at/near league min Sal or signing PTOs of some merit.
Sign Gustav Lidstrom (RHD) at league min and send down to WBS either Shea or Aho; zero change in Cap space
Zadina still available. Sign him; send Accairi down to WBS (buries $1.15 M)
Just those two moves, improve Pens a fair bit.
The 2 ex-Wings you mention that are busts will improve your beloved Pens…. I feel for you.
Lindstrom was drafted one pick before Jason Robertson, and Zadina one pick before Quin Hughes. The Wings would be a completely different team had they picked those 2……….. Now you can feel for me. 😉
I know what your saying from a Wings perspective and re where they were drafted and what you could have
For us, regardless of what they have done since draft day or just recently ;
Accairi AND one of Shea or Aho down to WBS; with Zadina and Lidstrom IN…. Significant improvement
Penguins as is; are not playoff bound
Our Captain id fully award of that… no wonder that he’s still not put pen to paper
Wings former draft disappointments would be s boon for us
Montreal with the addition of Laine and a healthy Dach, it’s like adding two thirds of a second line.
With continue growth of Caufield and their defense. Maybe Montreal can be relevant this season.
On paper they stack up pretty good against Ottawa, who didn’t really do anything this off season. I full season of Josh Norris will help, Ottawa need to commit to playing a different system playing a more defense structure game.
I would say both Montreal and Ottawa had a better group of forwards then Boston, really outside of Pastrnak there isn’t much, Charlie Coyle at the young age of 32 scored the most goals of his career with 25, Marchand is 36 and played all 82 games scoring 29 goals.
The difference in Boston is they’re built from the net out and deploy a game plan based on their strength.
Buffalo, Ottawa almost at a stand still, Montreal is closing the gap.
Hey Caper,
Ottawa did add where it was Needed Most……
1
> A 30 yr old who Won Vezina Trophy a couple of years ago…⁉️✅
2
> A Stay at home RD/man Nick Jensen for the 2nd pairing in a two years time big 6.ft3 & 200lb Carter Yakemchuk arives in a couple of years✅
3
> 3rd & 4th line players that can produce more offence and can play good defence also
Whats that 6 new players on the Sens ALL up grades
and if Big LD/man Kleven makes the team=7✅ 👏
The New GM did very well i would say..
Puckpedia shows the Bs at $25 million for their top 4 D.
A quick check of the teams I consider contenders shows a few teams (NYR, Canes) top $20 million but fall well short of the $25 million mark.
I am not sure why the Bs thought Zadorov was a must have when, as you correctly say, they don’t have much scoring past Pasta. Their model hasn’t worked for them for the past three years in the playoffs, and yet they’ve doubled down again this year.
As for the Habs adding Dach and Laine, yes it is like they have a new, potent second line. Except that both players appear to be injury prone and will be trying to shake off significant rust. If they can’t get going quickly and stay healthy the Habs could be out of the playoff picture by the US long weekend. Again.
I wouldn’t say Ottawa “really didn’t do anything this off season” Caper.
They got rid of an inconsistent goalie who would have cost them $4 mil per for 4 more seasons while withholding just $1 mil per, and a 4th line C with no noticeable defensive or offensive skills and brought in a very good goaltender.
They got rid of 6 players whose stats revealed defensive shortcomings compared to the rest and brought in replacements seen as better, and also totally revamped the coaching staff.
Only time will tell if the changes bear fruit, of course … but whether they do or not, it’s a far cry from nothing.
Would you say until your core is 25-27 yrs old, if they haven’t made any noise, it’s time to regroup or are you on the side to wait or cut bait now?
This coming season, will be another season, the 3rd one in a row now, most people have given the Sens one of the final playoff spots only to again come up short. If they fall short again, do you revamp that core, or stay the course?
Good question Ron. And one I’ve contemplated since the season ended.
I’ve seen just enough changes to be cautiously optimistic and so decide to wait until mid-December in order to see if they were the right moves. Mainly because they didn’t involve just a couple of changes.
The first thing I’ll watch for once the season gets under way is how the team performs the defensive side of the game. The system used by D. J. Smith was a “system” in name only. It HAS to be better, They may have gotten rid of the two worst minus players from last season (Chychrun and Kubalik – both minus 30), but there can be NO repeat of Stutzle’s -17, Giroux’ minus 14 and Batherson’s -9.
They have to be better. That’s where the new coaching staff comes in, and if there is no discernible overall improvement in that regard (augmented by supposedly better goaltending and defense pairings, not to mention the 5 new Fs noted for their 2-way play, it will show in the mid-December standings.
If it’s the same old same old, this franchise will be on shaky legs insofar as remaining in Ottawa is concerned.
In short, by mid-December they must be somewhere in the thick of the playoff scene, not 14-18 points behind.
Ron Moore,
If the core of your team is 25-27 and has missed the playoffs for 6+ consecutive years, they are done and a culture of losing has set in.
At that point its either a regroup OR a serious coaching change.
TML has playoff issues but hired a motivating coach who has a limited shelf life but should succeed.
Sens hired a coach with a history of being lost behind the bench and underachieving is an expectation not a surprise..
It’s hard for a new coach to turn around a franchise of losers.
So Ron, this Ottawa fan has given you as honest a viewpoint as I can on the repeated playoff failures of the Senators and, I should add, total agreement with what Habfan30 has pointed out re the core settling into a culture of losing.
You had to know, then, that there would be some quid pro quo 🙂 – lol. How about divulging the views of a devoted Leafs fans as to the overseeing guidance of Brendan Shanahan, hired as president in April 2014 to put an end to their yearly struggles and, ultimately – as is the supposed goal of every team – win a championship that had, to that point, avoided their grasp for 47 years.
In the 10 years since there have been 4 different GMs, starting with Nonnis, then Lamoriello followed by Dubas and now Treliving and, with the start of this season, a 4th coach, Berube, who follows Keefe, Babcock and Carlyle. Now, while the team did reach the stage where they have become a solid regular season presence, they also had several years of bowing out in the first round of the playoffs until the 2023 series when they won the opening round. If that pattern continues and they come up short again, do you advocate a change at the top?
Hey George when looking at the Leafs you have to include their history and state aka the status quo, of what Leafs were like before Shanahan.
I believe Shanahan did better than I expected. The effect of COVID played its part with cap and prospects. To ignore or dismiss COVID’s affect on all teams doesn’t discount some teams have been harder hit early and some later.
Having said all that, we haven’t seen anything that happened in the room but Dubas was given too much rope and I think Shanahan was blindsided by Dubas’ vision as one could see this after Dubas’ dismissal presser clearly showed. With the exception of Nylander’s contract, they were all too much too soon Covid or no Covid. A gamble but the players did perform to their contracts as this Shanahan team will be one of the best top teams of all time for a 100 yr old franchise and these young big dollar players’ names will be topping of most of the team’s record books.
None of this has resulted in a cup… yet. Haven’t missed the playoff and been out of the top ⅓ of the league since they put this core together. That’s big and quite frankly not the rule (after a rebuild) but really an exception. In the playoffs they have lost just about every series which all went the distance no sweeps no bad loses except maybe to Montreal but no one else could either except Vegas, so…🤷🏻♂️Besides not being the optimal result for the post season, it too is much better than expected especially when considering we are talking about a young and inexperienced core…and more impressive considering the naysayers and critics.
As you may know, these complex problems have no one solution nor do we have all the pieces to be able to solve these issues with absolute certainty but so far, like many fans think when they come to qualify their team’s performance or state, I think in general they have done a great job but that job isn’t done. If it’s this guy or that, which takes the team over the hump or not until we try it right?
In short, and I apologize for the long post, the team hasn’t looked better in my lifetime and the closest was those Sundin teams that had to beat the better Sens teams to move on which they always seem to do…this team, nothing…yet.
Patrik Laine is saying all the right things on looking forward to playing in Montreal, the pressure of being the focus of attention., just like the last player who came to the Habs , Jonathan Drouin.
Drouin even hanged his number after a few years hoping for better fortune.
Hopefully and makes the jersey number attractive and not cursed.
Conditions on trades are just that: conditions. If NJD are serious about making the playoffs Allen would never be getting 40 starts unless some crazy injuries happen.