NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 4, 2024
Recaps of Thursday’s preseason action, injury updates, the Golden Knights get cap relief from Robin Lehner’s contract, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THURSDAY’S NHL PRESEASON RECAP
NHL.COM: Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield tallied a hat trick to lead his club to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at Centre Videotron in Quebec City. Kevin Fiala collected two assists for the Kings.

Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield (NHL Images).
The Toronto Maple Leafs blanked the Detroit Red Wings 2-0. Nick Robertson scored both goals and Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves for the shutout. Cam Talbot turned aside 23 shots for the Red Wings.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry stopped 33 shots, including 14 in the third period, in a 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets forward Dmitri Voronkov played one shift in the first period before leaving the game with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blue Jackets also placed forward Gavin Brindley (broken finger) on injured reserve earlier in the day.
The Philadelphia Flyers nipped the New Jersey Devils 5-4. Anthony Richard and Emil Andrae each had a goal and two assists. Kevin Labanc picked up a hat trick for the Devils, who were playing a split-squad game as the rest of the team was in Czechia for the upcoming NHL Global Series with the Buffalo Sabres.
An overtime goal by Jordan Kyrou lifted the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars. Philip Broberg and Kaspari Kapanen each scored and collected an assist. Logan Stankoven tallied twice for the Stars.
The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1. Justus Annunen stopped 21 shots while Logan O’Connor had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche. Jack Eichel replied for the Golden Knights.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche released Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from his professional tryout agreement earlier in the day
HEADLINES
THE GAZETTE: Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine decided not to undergo surgery on his sprained knee after getting “some good opinions” from “a couple of doctors.” He’ll be sidelined for two-to-three months undergoing rehab.
Laine was injured on Saturday during a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare. He refused to criticize Pare, saying he put himself in that situation while calling it “an unfortunate play.” Laine also thanked Pare for reaching out to him after the game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Pare received some death threats and abusive comments on his social media accounts following that hit on Laine, forcing the Maple Leafs’ security group to intervene and disable his accounts.
SPORTSNET: New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin missed practice on Thursday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered during Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
NEW YORK POST: Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin practiced with his teammates for the first time since undergoing offseason back surgery. It remains to be seen if he’ll be in the lineup for their season opener on Oct. 10.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Vegas Golden Knights will get salary-cap relief from Robin Lehner’s contract this season following an agreement between the team, the league, and the NHL Players’ Association.
The 33-year-old goaltender hasn’t played after undergoing hip and shoulder surgeries following the 2021-22 season. He has a year remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $5 million and an actual salary of $4.5 million.
Lehner was in violation of his contract by missing his mandatory medical before training camp. He claimed the team knew in advance that he wouldn’t be there due to personal reasons.
The Golden Knights felt they had a strong case to terminate his contract but they didn’t want to go that route, seeking only the salary-cap relief. The PA, meanwhile, wanted to ensure Lehner would still receive his salary for this season, resulting in the settlement.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some fans complained on social media that the NHL showed favoritism to the Golden Knights. That’s not the case.
The Golden Knights could’ve pursued contract termination against Lehner, meaning he would’ve lost his salary for this season while removing his cap hit from their books, but they would’ve had a fight on their hands with the NHLPA. Instead, they chose an easier option in which Lehner still gets paid by the club but it doesn’t count against their cap.
CALGARY SUN: The Flames signed defenseman Tyson Barrie to a one-year contract worth $1.25 million. Barrie, 33, earned his new deal after attending Flames training camp on a professional tryout offer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Barrie will be an affordable veteran depth option for the Flames this season. They could also shop him at the March 7 trade deadline if they’re out of playoff contention by then.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning forward Conor Geekie received a one-game suspension from the NHL department of player safety for leaving the bench on a legal line change to start a fight with Florida Panthers winger Josh Davies during Wednesday’s preseason game.
YARDBARKER: Former NHL player Gabriel Bourque announced his retirement. From 2011-12 to 2019-20, he played 413 regular-season games with the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets. The 34-year-old winger finished with 40 goals and 63 assists for 103 points. He also had eight points in 36 playoff games.
Really? Death Threats??? Just goes to show that society remains permeated with s^%t-for-brains.
Doesn’t the Lehner relief deal smack of favoritism. How many other teams would like to move a bad contract?
Are there any other cases of teams getting cap relief for a bad contract.
Simple solution allow each team once every 5 years an amnesty buyout where they have to pay 1 years full salary and then allow the player to either become a FA or retire.
No, it doesn’t smack of favoritism.
This is a unique situation, but every club in similar circumstances would have the opportunity for the same outcome.
It’s not because Lehner’s contract is “bad”.
The report indicated Golden Knights believed they had a strong case for contract termination. However, they knew the NHLPA would fight them tooth and nail. They also know that Lehner is in the throes of bankruptcy and probably didn’t want to make things worse for him. Rather than go through the hassle, the settlement was the best solution all around.
That’s the way I read it. And Lord knows, I’m no fan of Vegas (for other reasons)
it looks like either way the contract was going to come off the books. So, it seems legit. At least this way Lehner gets his money, assuming he deserves to.
At least this way legners creditors get the money.
Pretty much, yep.
Sorry, I still don’t understand the Lenher situation???
A player can take a leave of absence from a team & not count towards the Cap???
He cannot go on LTIR unless he shows up for evaluation with the rest of his teammates which he didn’t, so he is not on LTIR.
He is not in the Players Assistance Program, which again would be a legit reason.
Does that now mean, let’s Brendan Gallagher gets injured this season & decides next he isn’t going to show up for training camp because he doesn’t feel well enough & is having financial difficulties, that Habs can still pay him, but not show up on their Cap hit???
Setting more terrible precedent for deep pocketed teams IMO.
Maybe it’s Jacob Trouba next season with the Rangers?? Rangers management says stay home this season & we will just pay you not to play!!!
If Lehner & the Knights do not have to follow league, why would Trouba & the Rangers or Gallagher & the Habs??? The precedent will already be set.
Lehner isn’t taking a leave of absence. He’s been permanently sidelined since undergoing hip surgery over two years ago.
Even players on LTIR must undergo a team medical before training camp. Lehner didn’t show up and claimed that he informed the Golden Knights that he wouldn’t be there for personal reasons.
The Golden Knights had legitimate grounds to terminate his contract but they didn’t want to go that route, largely because they knew the NHLPA would fight them on it by filing a redress. That led to the two sides meeting with the NHL where it was agreed, given the uniqueness of Lehner’s situation, that the Golden Knights would pay him but it wouldn’t count against their cap.
Using your example regarding Gallagher, yes, if he were in similar circumstances as Lehner, he would be paid the final season of his contract but it wouldn’t count against the Canadiens cap. The key factor here is he’d have to be in the final year of his contract like Lehner. I daresay if Lehner had two years or more left on his contract, they wouldn’t have arrived at a settlemenet.
The Trouba scenario you envision wouldn’t happen. The Rangers can’t just tell him to stay home next season and they will pay him not to play. Again, the circumstances would have to be similar to Lehner’s situation.
The Golden Knights did nothing wrong here. They followed the CBA which allows for bargaining between the team, the league and the NHLPA to reach a settlement in an unusual situation. That’s what the LA Kings did a decade ago with Mike Richards (remember him? Look it up).
I get that Lyle … but to the average fan it’s as clear as mud … wouldn’t it help to have some mainstream outlet like The Hockey News, and TSN, Sportsnet, Hockey Night In Canada or the like lay it out in simple terms as you just did rather than allow the amateur blogs to distort the issue?
All those outlets already did that, George, or at least they did in my opinion.
Lyle,
In Richards case it was a termination but a % of his cap hit was applied to the Kings salary hit.
From the Hockey News;
As Richards’ contract was terminated so early in a long-term deal, the Kings will still be responsible for a cap recapture penalty of $1.57 million over the next five seasons, with an additional $1.55 million to be paid out in 2015-16.
https://thehockeynews.com/news/report-kings-will-be-paying-mike-richards-settlement-until-2031-32
So Vegas walks away scott free!!!
Yes, Vegas walked away “scott free” because he only had one year remaining on his contract. Richards still had several years left on his. Had Lehner had more time remaining on his contract, it likely would’ve been a situation somewhat similar to Richards’.
Well, I.m sure he didn’t venture out to deliberately put himself in a bankruptcy situation.
As they say, there is no cure for stupid … but then again, you can’t condemn someone because they are.
Some people can only learn the hard way.
What does bankruptcy have to do with this???
I’m sure Evander Kane would be interested in this answer!!!
Actually, that was misplaced … it was in response to WhalerCane’s post above where he said ” At least this way Lehner gets his money, assuming he deserves to.”
On the subject of p.t.o’s -I wonder how many get offered NHL contracts? Have there been any so far other than Barrie?
This article, dated Sept 22, 2023, reported that, over the previous decade, 510 players attended NHL camps on a p.t.o. basis with just 90 eventually getting contracts – either with the p.t.o. team or another franchise – which amounts to 17%
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/the-savviest-nhl-ptos-of-the-last-decade-124701607.html
As of this morning there are still 18 hanging around, down considerably from the 42 or so that started out at the opening of camps:
Anaheim – Mark Pysyk & Gustav Lindstrom
Boston – Tyler Johnson
Carolina – Sam Gagner & Rocco Grimaldi
Detroit – Austin Watson & Isaac Ratcliffe
Edmonton – Travis Dermott
New Jersey – Kevin Labanc, Andy Welinski & Jacob Zboril
NYI – Matt Martin
Ottawa – Calen Addison & Dustin Tokarski
Tampa – Tanner Pearson
Utah – Kailer Yamamato
Vegas – Tanner Pearson
Washington – Jakub Vrana
I’m sure Pacioretty and maybe Lorentz get offered deals in Toronto, and perhaps Johnson in Boston and Yamamato in Utah. I also read somewhere that a player can stick around, still on a p.t.o basis, even after the season begins.
Found this – last updated Oct 3
https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/08/2024-professional-tryout-tracker.html
Tanner Pearson, a p.t.o. in Vegas, just signed a 1 year $775,000 deal.
I think Boston would be smart to give Tyler Johnson a contract!
George O. ,Heinen did that in Boston where he didn t get a contract right away! Boston would be smart to sign Tyler Johnson! Heinen parlayed that into a nice 2 year deal in Vancouver!
Yeah, thanks Sr … I knew there was one recently … couldn’t pin down the player
And he had a pretty good season – 17g 19a 36 pts n 74 gp, which turned out to be his best season since his rookie year with the Bruins, way back.
Too bad they didn’t have the cap to retain him.
Gustav Lindstrom and Mark Pysyk were released from their P.T.O. with Anaheim.
Jack Campbell has left the Detroit camp to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.
To use the vernacular of the kids these days… some people REALLY need to touch grass.
People are so out of touch with the real world and so chronically online, they have no idea how INSANE it is to actually threaten a life online.
I hope their accounts were taken offline.
A few months in a detention centre might also smarten them up.
Maybe, but you’re the guy who wanted Xthekaj’s bell rung, so how are you any better?
When and where did I ever say that LJ?
George, not you, I was referring to the Saint.
Lerner decided to not attend for team physical. Consequences are predetermined by RULES agreed too by NHLPA and NHL. VEGAS decides, because they didn’t want an issue with the NHLPA, that they could possibly loose, to be nice and CIRCUMVENT the rules by paying LEHNER and asking BETTMAN for an exemption. BETTMAN decides to give VEGAS “A SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE” exemption.
FAVOURITISM YOU BET.
BETTMAN HAS TO GO!!! What’s the point of having negotiated rules if BETTMAN does whatever he wants.
Only in VEGAS.
Richard,
Exactly how I see it as well!!!
Uwey, the fan displeasure is certainly wide
https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/nhl/news-cheating-usual-cap-circumventing-extraordinaire-nhl-fans-irked-vegas-golden-knights-getting-cap-relief-pay-robin-lehner-s-4-4-salary
Seems like assumptions are being made about the Lehner situation. I haven’t read anything other than this site, so I also don’t know the answers, but methinks you would need to know the following before slagging the NHL, Vegas or even Lehner.
1 – Did he inform the team he could not make the appointment? Was he willing to reschedule?
2 – Due to the hip injury, can he play or not? Do we know? He obviously failed last year, and year before.
3 – Someone mentioned Player Assistance program and was he in it. Doesn’t sound like it, but could he enter today? Does mental illness count? Could he enter it for that? I think he can, but don’t know.
4 – Can he sue for point #3 if his contract was terminated? Maybe?
Is #4 what Lyle was referring to when he said similar circumstances/player situation, without actually saying it.
Unless you folks can answer #’s 1 thru 4, not sure we can make a judgement on this. Maybe you can, I know I can’t, and honestly don’t care. Pretty unique situation, with some obvious shades of grey. Make the deal and move on, guessing other teams get it.
Richard, it was reported the Golden Knights believed they had a solid case to terminate the remainder of Lehner’s contract. They didn’t want to go that route, largely because they would face the hassle of a redress from the NHLPA that could go against them. Instead, the team, the league and the NHLPA agreed to this settlement as the best solution for all parties.
There was no favoritism here. Every team has the same opportunity here under a similar circumstance. Think back a decade to when the Kings, the league and the NHLPA agreed to a settlement that ended Mike Richards’ contract. While not the same thing as Lehner’s, it was still a unique situation that was sorted out by a settlement.
Listen, I think Bettman’s been in the job long enough and should step aside. He’s made his share of blunders. However, you’ll find that, under the CBA, this situation still would’ve taken place regardless of who sat in the commissioner’s chair.
Lyle, maybe it’s something else … I certainly hope so … but lately, every time I see him on TV he gives all the signs of someone in the early stages of Parkinson’s.
Real Hab fans hate the knee on knee from Pare on Laine and scoff at his turtling, but Hate?? No.
Habs made a statement a bunch of players made statements that Pare should be left alone.
Internet warriors basking in their anonymity love to flex their small mindedness and need to lash out.
Are you anywhere near Old Montreal? That’s just so sad to see.
For those unaware
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fire-notre-dame-bonsecours-old-montreal-restaurant-1.7342546