NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 2, 2024

by | Oct 2, 2024 | News, NHL | 33 comments

Recapping Tuesday’s preseason action, the Canadiens get some good news on Patrik Laine’s condition. notable news from the latest Board of Governors meeting, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines

RECAPS OF TUESDAY’S NHL PRESEASON GAMES

NHL.COM: The San Jose Sharks lost to the Utah Hockey Club 3-1 and lost promising center Macklin Celebrini to a lower-body injury. Celebrini, 18, crashed hard into the end boards during the second period. He played one more shift before leaving the game. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky had no update on the youngster’s condition following the game.

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (NHL Images)

New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin left in the first period with a lower-body injury during his club’s 5-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Kevin Labanc had two goals and an assist for the Devils.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said Panarin was still be evaluated following the game. It’s the second time in this preseason that a lower-body injury has sidelined the high-scoring winger.

Ottawa Senators forwards Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk suffered injuries during their 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens. During the second period, Stutzle was on the receiving end of a late blindside hit by Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj. Tkachuk was hurt during the subsequent tussle with Xhekaj, who received a match penalty for the second straight preseason game. Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot left in the third period for precautionary reasons.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stutzle, Tkachuk, and Chabot will all be re-evaluated on Wednesday. The injury news overshadowed the return of defenseman Artem Zub and oft-injured forward Josh Norris to the Senators’ lineup for this game.

Xhekaj was fined for his actions against Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare following his knee-on-knee hit on Canadiens winger Patrik Laine. He could be suspended for his dangerous hit on Stutzle.

Speaking of the Canadiens, they got some good news on Laine as what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury was a sprain that will sidelined him for two-to-three months. Considering the circumstances, Laine was lucky to avoid a more serious injury.

Canadiens prospect defenseman David Reinbacher also suffered a knee injury during that Leafs game. He didn’t get off as lucky, facing a five-to-six-month recovery following knee surgery.

The Boston Bruins got a tie-breaking goal from Tyler Johnson in the third period to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1. Bruins captain Brad Marchand played over four minutes in his preseason debut before leaving the game with an illness.

Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and three assists as his club rolled to a 7-2 drubbing of the Chicago Blackhawks. Jared Spurgeon tallied twice and Mats Zuccarello collected three assists for the Wild. Connor Bedard scored the Blackhawks’ second goal.

Detroit Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson tallied the go-ahead goal late in the third period to lift his club to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goaltender Ville Husso kicked out 43 shots for the Red Wings.

The Columbus Blue Jackets got two assists from Adam Fantilli to down the St. Louis Blues 3-1. Blues goalie Joel Hofer stopped 32 shots.

Zach Aston-Reese scored twice for the Vegas Golden Knights as they thumped the Colorado Avalanche 6-1.

HEADLINES

THE ATHLETIC: Pierre LeBrun provided highlights from the latest NHL Board of Governors meeting.

League commissioner Gary Bettman said he’d be happy if negotiations for an extension to the collective bargaining agreement were completed by the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. However, he said there’s been no discussion with the NHLPA regarding a timetable for those talks.

LeBrun indicated that Bettman recently said CBA talks could start as early as November, though he noted both sides still had homework to do. The commissioner also believes the relationship with the PA is “in a good place.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The current CBA expires in September 2026. There’s plenty of time to negotiate an extension and little apparent rancor between the two sides. Fingers crossed it stays that way once they start getting down to serious discussions.

Bettman also made an early projection on next season’s salary cap, suggesting it could come in at $92.5 million. This season’s cap is $88 million.

The commissioner also said the topic of expansion never came up during this meeting, saying it is not a front-burner issue.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: LeBrun believes expansion is eventually coming down the road “to Atlanta and maybe Houston.” He also didn’t rule out a return to Arizona. “But not quite yet.”

SPORTSNET: The NHL and NHLPA have agreed that the Columbus Blue Jackets will not need to reach this season’s $65 million salary cap minimum by the roster deadline of Oct. 7. This exemption comes with the expectation that the Blue Jackets will rise about the cap floor “in a reasonable time.”

The death of winger Johnny Gaudreau removed his $9.75 million annual average value through 2028-29 from their payroll. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports the Jackets are expected to be under the cap minimum by $1.4 million when the season begins.

RG.ORG: Jimmy Murphy reports Anaheim Ducks head coach Greg Cronin expects more of a competitive effort from Trevor Zegras this season. The 23-year-old forward struggled through an injury-shortened 2023-24 campaign. Cronin acknowledged Zegras’ offensive skills but wants to see a better effort from him battling for pucks along the boards and in front of the net.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Zegras’ willingness to “get his nose dirty” was questioned before last season. His performance this season could determine whether he still fits within the Ducks’ long-range plans.

CBS SPORTS: Speaking of the Ducks, winger Troy Terry missed practice yesterday with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day.

THE SCORE: Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella didn’t mince words when asked about the state of his goaltending. “It scares the crap out of me,” said the outspoken Flyers bench boss.

Tortorella praised Samuel Ersson but pointed out that this is his first full season as their starter. Backup Ivan Fedotov is also beginning his first full NHL season. There’s also uncertainty as to where Aleksei Kolosov fits into the equation.







33 Comments

  1. Preseason injuries have been plentiful the last few days. I can only hope that coaches are pulling players out of games early as a precaution.
    I could make a great fantasy hockey lineup with all the preseason injuries (Laine, Panarin, Tkachuk, Stutzle, Celebrini….)
    would love to see the preseason shortened, but not at the expense of adding regular season games. The season needs to be shortened to the point that the Stanley Cup is awarded in May.
    Unfortunately, the owners and PA are not going to eliminate revenue opportunities (preasason or reg season tickets).

    • Then you have McDavid reportedly looking for more ice time in the preseason, asking to play in both of the final 2 games…or so i read.

      To each their own i guess.

  2. The Habs-Senators game last night was – to say the least – “chippy.” LOL

    Both sides demonstrated that they will not tolerate cheap hits on their players.

    Grieg’s hit on Dach was dirty, and that drew a response, especially later when Dach got the best of Grieg in a one-on-one.

    Xhekaj’s hit on Stutzle was dirty and dangerous and that got Tkachuk immediately involved, banging his head in the process, with the result being both Stutzle and Tkachuk leaving the game and not returning. Then Chabot demonstrated that his renowned brittleness is not exaggerated when he, too, left the game for some non-obvious reason (as usual), leaving the Senators with a depleted bench.

    The “good” news for both sides included impressive games by Jake Evans (that kid can skate!), Struble, Dach and Kapanen for the Habs and for the Senators, the rookie Yakemchuk who continues to make a case for himself to stick around, some nice saves by Ullmark – who faced 29 shots compared to 16 for Primeau, and complete games by Norris and Zub (with probably a dozen or so fingers-crossed back of the bench and up in the press box).

  3. It’s not often when a player missing two months is considered good news but the Habs and Laine really caught a break. Hopefully he’ll be back soon after the US Thanksgiving.

    On a different note, Happy and Healthy New Year to all of my Jewish brethren on this site. May the new year bring peace, happiness and good health to the good people of the world of all faiths, races, colors or creeds.

  4. Whether you like him or not, if you’re as tired as I am from hearing endless quotes from the “Book Of Cliches” you have to love his direct answers to direct questions.

    Back when he was coach of Tampa and asked what he would like to see from his goaltending his answer was “a save would be nice.”

    Now, in Philadelphia, instead of some carefully-worded “politically correct” mumbo-jumbo beat-about-the-bush BS when asked about the state of his goaltending he said flat out the “it scares the crap out of me.”

    Like it or not – both answers summed up perfectly his true feelings on the issue. Give us more like him, please.

  5. Two games in a row with match suspensions for dangerous hits?

    Xhekaj should never play another game. This shows an INSANE tendency for dangerous play and possible intents to injure. No place for that.

    The only reason I would like to see him play again is for some minor leaguer to ring his bell.

    I just cannot STAND players like this.

    • Maybe if the refs take control of the game early then these things don’t happen. What do you have to say about the shots to Laine & Dach, guess they are ok. What Xhekaj did was careless but if teams are taking shots at your star players and nothing is done about it, unfortunatley things will get out of hand.

      • Montreal is as dirty as any other team in the NHL if not the worst, so please quit the whining. Laine and Dach star players that`s a good one. But that might explain why they`re at the bottom of the standings

    • He’s a saint compared to Tom Wilson, and yet…

      • Ok Yogi lol, you are showing your bias, what is your team? Maybe the reason they are at the bottom of the standings is becaus ethey are in a rebuild lol

      • Speaking of “showing your bias” … isn’t that exactly what you did to start with Premier?

        What “star” did a Senator target to provoke Xhekaj’s deliberate attempt to injure?

      • @Premier that`s funny, if I`m showing my bias how come you can`t figure out which team I cheer for. But, if you want to talk hockey, leave the whining at the door

    • There is no place for deliberate head shots. CTE is real, and ugly.

      Equally there is no place for comments wishing one on a player, especially after claiming to wish no injury on a player.

      You make yourself sound like a hypocrite, saint. What is your position now: against dangerous hits, or for them on a player you don’t like.

    • Saint,

      If Montreal was to waive Xhekaj, Ottawa would have a claim in on him in a heartbeat along with probably no less than 25 other teams.

      & once in a Sens uniform, he would automatically become a fan favorite.

      IMHO, had Greig taken the challenge from either Pezzetta or Struble for his cheap shot on Dach it may not have happened.

      That said, Sturtzle had hacked Xhekaj in the back of the legs & I thought to myself, OHHHH, that’s playing with fire!!!

      • That said, Sturtzle had hacked Xhekaj in the back of the legs “a few shifts earlier” & I thought to myself, OHHHH, that’s playing with fire!!!

      • Doesn’t a player has to be good at hockey in order to desirable to other teams if he was suddenly to become available? Xhekaj has we used to go before that happens.

  6. The Avalanche looked awful last night. I know the lineup was full of guys who won’t make the team but it was tough to witness. I don’t see any good compete level compared to Vegas who were very good. Only bright spot was kovalenko and innala but he is ticketed for the AHL. I guess it is preseason but as an avalanche fan , was less than impressed with the defensive effort. They give up such easy goals that are not the goaltenders fault. Just get outworked so easily

    • I admitted Xhekaj’s hit was careless .Greig took a late high shot at Dach,in your opinion he might not be a star but to the Habs players he is. Do you think Xhekaj would have made that hit if Greig didn’t target Dach?

      • Well, the Greig hit on Dach, while indeed a cheap shot, wasn’t anything like the one Xhekaj delivered on Stutzle.

        Greig got a penalty for his infraction … Xhekaj will likely get suspended.

      • Xhekaj got 5 minute major for interference and George its already been reported that there is no hearing.

      • Thanks for the update Premier. I only surmised that since it came on the heels of being fined $3,375 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Just goes to show – you never know how the NHL’s discipline department is going to react to anything.

        Anyway, it’s over and done with … I just hope it doesn’t boil over next Saturday in Ottawa or once the season starts.

        BOTH sides should play hockey and leave that crap out of the game.

  7. George I hope this stuff is over as well and both teams can play a great game.

    • It isn’t over because Greig is another Ken Linseman and will always be stirring like a rat.

      Post game interviews with Dach describes the hit as interference and a punch to the jaw, seems Greig replicated Sam Bennett’s hit on Marchand a check with a hidden hook to the jaw.

      It’s just the kind of player he is knowing that usually retribution is penalized more than the initiating action.

      • Have to admit, he can be a bit of a s^%t-disturber and that can become as much of a problem for his own team as much as for the opposition when his actions screw up the game plan.

        In that regard he does remind of Linesman, as well as players like D’Arcy Tucker and, believe it or not, Hall Of Famer Stan Mikita.

        Many among today’s generation of fans are likely unaware that, from 1959-60 to 1964-65 he was among the “sneaky-dirtiest” to ever play the game, logging over 743 PIM over 6 seasons with some vicious stick work.

        By 1967 and 1968 he was winning the Lady Byng!

        So there’s hope for Grieg 🙂

  8. Xhekaj not getting at least 5 games is terrible for the league. Predatory head focus and from the other D side.

    • The only contact that was made with Strutzle’s head was his own stick, thus the reason they change the major call to interference from contact to the head.

      There is a video on X that shows the face onto Strutzle. Xhekaj hit his arms & the so-called chicken wing came up after contact.

      Strutzle needs to tighten his bucket. That was the second time it came off during the game which made it look far worst. The first time was when he hit Gallagher along the boards in the Sens zone.

    • I dunno ds. I’ve been following hockey for a long time and I’ve seen a lot like him over the years, and while his actions can naturally rile the opposition fans, the message is “don’t take liberties with my teammates or I will return in kind.”

      What I don’t see is a bone dirty player like Tom Wilson or Matt Cooke. What I DO see is a big – bloody big – exuberant kid ready and willing to hit anything that moves in the opposition colours, especially if one of his teammates has been clocked in the game.

      For some reason I can’t dislike the kid … Hell, love to have him on our side and I think he’ll quickly learn there are other ways to use his size and aggressiveness to better advantage. Much like Larry Robinson did.

      As for Greig, he too has to learn that you can’t go running around taking cheap shots … he’s too talented in other areas to keep up with that crap which only hinders his own team in the long run.

      I hope I’m wrong on Stutzle – another very talented F – but so far he appears to be too steeped in the European soccer tactic of looking like you’ve been felled by a sledgehammer one minute … and then up and moving about in the next.

      • Well said George but Xhekaj has to learn the crossing the line part and putting your team in a tough situation just like last night where Ottawa scored 3 PP goals on his 5 minute major.

      • It’s all part of the learning curve Premier … some do (and I truly hope Xhekaj is one of them) … and some never do, such as Ulf Samuelson, Steve Downie, Chris Simon, Todd Bertuzzi, Matt Cooke, Dale Hunter

      • Radus Gudas is a perfect example. Definitely reckless & overzealous when younger.

        Now captain of the Ducks & every team in the league would love to have a player like him in the lineup.