NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 7, 2024
The Canucks re-sign Nils Hoglander and acquire Erik Brannstrom, several notable players land on waivers as teams make their final roster cuts for the regular season, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks signed winger Nils Hoglander to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $3 million.
Vancouver Canucks winger Nils Hoglander (NHL Images).
Hoglander, 23, is in the final season of a two-year contract with a $1.1 million AAV. He scored a career-high 24 goals last season.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: The Avalanche traded defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Canucks in exchange for blueliner Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche signed Brannstrom this summer but adding John Ludvig off waivers over the weekend made him expendable. The Canucks have put him on waivers to send him to their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.
Poolman, 31, is in the final year of his contract. He’s suffered migraines since 2022 and is permanently sidelined. The Canucks retained 20 percent of his $2.5 million cap hit but it still provides them with much-needed cap room. It’s expected the Avs will place him on LTIR.
DAILY FACEOFF: Several notable players were placed on waivers Sunday. They include New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray, Buffalo Sabres netminder James Reimer, and Calgary Flames forward Jakob Pelletier.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Isles placing Engvall on waivers raises some eyebrows. The 28-year-old forward’s contract makes him unlikely to be claimed by another club. He’s entering the second season of a seven-year contract with a $3 million annual cap hit. I’ll have more about this situation in today’s Rumor Mill.
Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen believes Holl’s $3.4 million AAV through 2025-26 makes him unlikely to be claimed by a rival club.
The move leaves the Wings with seven defensemen, opening the door to add a 13th forward. It’s expected they’ll sign Austin Watson, who’s been in training camp on a professional tryout offer (PTO).
The Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson examined why Pelletier is on waivers The 23-year-old winger was the Flames’ first-round pick (26th overall) in the 2019 draft. However, he’s struggled to nail down a full-time roster spot, bouncing between the Flames and their AHL affiliate over the past two seasons. Pelletier carries an affordable $800K cap hit and could become a tempting option for a rival club.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Utah Hockey Club signed Kailer Yamamoto to a one-year, two-way contract after the 26-year-old forward played well during his professional tryout offer.
TSN: The Carolina Hurricanes released Sam Gagner from his professional tryout offer.
SPORTSNET: Monday’s preseason game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning was canceled due to Hurricane Milton’s approach. This game was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 but was postponed because of the effects of Hurricane Helene.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The approach of Hurricane Milton forced the Panthers to cancel their public Stanley Cup ring presentation ceremony at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
Interesting article on an NHL coach’s ability to hang onto his job
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/tough-business-nhlers-on-the-leagues-volatile-coaching-carousel
Trying to understand the Avalanche and brannstrom trade? He didn’t play well in preseason but hardly anyone has? Is something coming or are Avalanche just stockpiling defenseman?
tommy boy … the fact that Vancouver has already ticketed him for their AHL club by placing him on waivers should tell you his overall assessment in the league.
Looks to me like Sakic wanted some minor league depth at the RD position in getting Poolman (who didn’t play 1 NHL game last season), but the deal sealer was the 4th round pick.
Poolman won’t play another NHL game, his migraine issues are long-term concussion-related. From the Canucks perspective, this trade was all about cap management. Shedding most of the Poolman contract will help the team stay out of LTIR so that they can accrue cap room for a pickup later in the season. Brannstrom’s just a bit of extra depth for the team.
I presume the Avs don’t need Brannstrom but can get some flexibility out of Poolman’s $2 m in LTIR. They have a complicated salary cap situation with Landeskog and Nichushkin.
Perhaps you are correct George O! However, Chris Mac Farland is the GM not Sakic. It is good, the Avalanche are acquiring some more draft picks because they need to. I think sam malinski will make the team based on his training camp and preseason action. So, perhaps you are correct. I sense something else is coming but I could be wrong.
Of course, seeing Poolman as a depth player at any level is a stretch if he’s no longer able to play tommy boy … he will start the year on IR … just as he was for the past year in Vancouver … so MacFarland’s thinking has to be in a completely different direction (seems a weird way to acquire a 4th round pick)
https://thecanuckway.com/posts/canucks-update-tucker-poolman-status-for-2024-25-season
Thank You for that link, George O! It sounds like a win for both teams if that article is accurate.? In other words, Vancouver got some cap relief & brannstrom and the Avalanche got the potential of placing someone on LTIR in addition to a 4th round draft pick. Does that give the Avalanche more room to make a trade or sign someone as a result of more cap space? In addition, a 4th rounder? Not bad!
Off topic, but I noticed this: Artyom Levshunov (right foot) and goaltender Laurent Brossoit (right knee) placed on injured non-roster for Chicago.
How dos IR “non-roster” work (and who is eligible)? How are they not part of the NHL roster but on IR?
Good question foleyd7 considering the explanation of a non-roster player under Section 16.12 is such that the player must be unavailable for reasons other than injury or illness. Apparently there is no time limit and it’s up to the Central Registry and/or Commissioner to okay it or deny it. As with the Injured Reserve, these players can be replaced. I’m not aware of any other reason why both are out other than injuries.
Just one more “clear as mud” NHL rule.
When you put a player on IR, it opens a roster spot, so a team can fill it with a call up. With IR a team doesn`t gain any cap space and the player who went on IR can be returned to active duty at any time. It`s used for minor injuries or if a team isn`t sure how long a player might be out. A team can transfer a player from IR to LTIR. IR doesn`t give a team cap relief, just opens a roster spot
I get the freed up roster spot for an IR player, but this injured, non-roster appears to be something different than regular IR. And they don’t count against the cap and are not counted against the roster limits either.
The article I noticed this was from a few days ago.
https://sports.yahoo.com/blackhawks-place-1-player-injured-131152776.html
I see Toronto signed Pacioretty and Lorentz and put 5 players on the LTIR to give them enough cap space to open the season. Looking at Puckpedia they show Toronto at -4.34 million, which isn`t the case right now (boy do I miss Capfriendly). I`d imagine Boston will sign Tyler Johnson, so a number of pto`s have earned contracts this year. We might even see a couple of more signings today (Shattenkirk and Schultz)
Heh. Yeah, with Puckpedia you almost have to be a Philadelphia lawyer to figure things out.
I see they also extended Marlies D Cade Weber for 2 years.
You hearing something on Shattenkirk and Schultz? I was surprised nether got a p.t.o. sniff … assume they’ve been working out privately somewhere.
Nothing on Shattenkirk or Schultz so far, but both were tied to the Oilers along with Travis Dermott. Vancouver still seems to be interested in another RHD
A potential alternative to puckpedia may be Cap Wages. Think I read the host wanted to emulate CapGeek as closely as possible. https://capwages.com/
Thanks AK Bender I like the set up
When teams are using LTIR that doesn’t lower their cap hit. It allows the team to go over the cap that amount. Teams using LTIR will show that they are above the cap. The amount of LTIR used will be equal to the amount that the team is over the cap. It’s the same way CapFriendly showed it.
On PuckPedia looking at the Leafs I see them over the cap by $4,344,999 and LTIR used $4,344,999 which gives them 0 cap space.
What gets into the confusion is the Dewar situation, some have Dewar on LTIR already and some still have him on IR. What adds to the problem is that Toronto is one of the slowest teams to update it`s roster info. Even Puckpedia has a tweet suggesting such a move. I think Berube likes to keep people guessing when it comes to injury status, see Hakanpaa. He`s close, he`s skating, he`s looking good, he`s on LTIR. But you`re right Kevjam, this is definitely a Toronto misinfo thing than a Puckpedia mistake
Roster vs Non-roster Players
All players on the NHL Roster have their cap hit count towards the team’s cap hit.
Players who are not on the NHL Roster (in other leagues) do not count against the cap up to the burying threshold. Non-roster players who have a cap hit above the burying threshold carry a cap charge for the excess.
The team’s cap hit each day includes players who are on the NHL Roster as of 5pm Eastern.
Players assigned to the minors must clear waivers if they are not waivers exempt.
Thanks Uwey …. I think 🙂