NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 2, 2025
The Kings defeated the Devils in the first game of the New Year, the three stars and rookie of the month are revealed, plus updates on Auston Matthews, Kirill Kaprizov, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
KINGS SHUT OUT DEVILS
NHL.COM: Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves to shut out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in 2025’s first NHL game. Andre Lee’s first-ever NHL goal was also the first goal of the New Year while Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who picked up their eighth straight home victory. Jake Allen stopped 21 shots for the Devils as they dropped their third consecutive game.
Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Devils (51 points) remain second overall in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Washington Capitals. The Kings have won three straight and sit second in the Pacific Division with 49 points.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, and New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom are the NHL’s three stars for December 2024. Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson is the league’s Rookie of the Month for December.
Forwards Shane Doan, Clayton Keller, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson highlight the Arizona Coyotes’ quarter-century team.
Doan, Keller, Ekman-Larsson, bluliner Keith Yandle and goaltender Mike Smith were part of the Coyotes’ First Team. Hall-of-Famer Jeremy Roenick, forwards Nick Schmaltz and Martin Hanzal, defensemen Teppo Nunminen and Zbynek Michalek and netminder Ilya Bryzgalov formed the Second Team.
TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is uncertain that his nagging upper-body injury will be sufficiently healed before the end of this season. That could affect Matthews’ participation in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews missed nine games in November and five straight since Dec. 20. He’s resumed skating with his teammates but there’s no timetable for his return to action. I’ll have more about this situation in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
PUCKPEDIA: Speaking of the Leafs, they placed defenseman Jani Hakanpaa (lower body) on long-term injury reserve.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 23.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Marc-Edouard Vlasic has been practicing since mid-November but there’s no timetable for his return. The long-time Sharks defenseman has been sidelined since the beginning of training camp with an upper-back injury.
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He’s already missed 13 games this season because of a nagging lower-body injury but it’s uncertain if this injury is related to the previous one.
SPORTSNET: Nashville Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux will have a hearing for his slew-foot of Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon on Tuesday.
NEW YORK POST: Rangers defenseman Zac Jones vented his frustration over being a healthy scratch in four of the last five games. “It f***ing sucks,” said Jones, adding that he felt like he was “rotting away a little bit.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jones’ remarks could lead to him getting traded if the Rangers become sellers by the March 7 trade deadline.
COLORADO AVALANCHE: placed defenseman Oliver Kylington on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 27.
DAILY FACEOFF: Former NHL superstar Jaromir Jagr will need dental work after losing several teeth in a recent game for Rytiri Kladno against Mountfield HK in the Czech Extraliga. Jagr, 52, also had two assists as Kladno won the game 4-2.
The Leafs took a worthy gamble when they signed Hakanpaa to that $1.47 mil deal. They knew he had knee problems going back a while, but if that latest surgery he had in Dallas had solved the problem the big physical RD was worth a shot.
I guess at 6′ 7″ 230 lbs the strain is just too much.
I don’t blame Jones at all. Schneider/ Jones have been a solid pairing for NY, and Jones has been solid every time he’s been asked to step in.
He played great last year when injuries were piling up to Fox , Lindgren and Trouba.
It’s really difficult to understand what Laviolette and Drury are trying to accomplish. And even more difficult to understand how they can possibly salvage this team / season.
They’ve made two trades in which they didn’t get better. Pissing off Jones and losing yet a third trade is just insanity!
The number of disgruntled / disinterested players grows by the day. Yet nothing is changing in the culture other than for the worse.
I think it’s time to cut the head off this mess. Fire Drury and Laviolette and start thinking about next year and beyond.
I hear ya. While my primary target in commenting here are the Senators, I do watch and follow the moves of other teams as much as I can and, at times, will join discussions when they are part of the day’s topic.
But when it comes to the NYR and their play and moves over the past year, not to mention their performance, the best I can come up with is WTF?
It seems ever since the discussions began over Shesterkin’s alleged or real contract demands things have gone from bad to worse.
It seems to go further back than that, to Drury unceremoniously putting popular checking-line forward Barclay Goodrow on waivers in June.
Months ago I questioned under what hypothetical scenario would the Rangers let Shesterkin walk (or be traded). Sure he’s signed now, but I didn’t see this train-wreck coming.
Yeah, Lyle, that Goodrow move was a head-scratcher all right, but that seems to follow him around wherever he goes. As an undrafted player following a pretty good Major Junior career in Brampton/North Bay, he was signed by San Jose and from 2014-15 to 2019-20 played 268 games for them with 26g 45a 71pts, establishing himself as an effective checker.
Tampa got him in a deal at the trade deadline of 2019-20 along with a 2020 3rd round pick for a 2020 1st round pick and some RW named Anthony Greco who has played all of 2 NHL games. For the Lightning he played in just 63 games in the 2019-20/2020-21 seasons scoring 6g 16a 22 pts and was part of their back-to-back cup teams.
His cap hit in Tampa was $925,000 and as a pending UFA it looks like he got caught up in their cap crunch at the time so they traded him to the Rangers for a 7th Round pick – so, from getting a 1st rounder he’s suddenly worth no more than a 7th?
The Rangers obviously liked him at the time and gave him a 6-year $3,641,667 per deal to start 2021-22, complete with a 15-team no trade list, and in the 241 games he played for them, did his primary checking job quite well while contributing 28g 48a 76 pts. Seems like they didn’t like that dip in production in 2023-34, however (4g 8a 12 pts in 80gp) and when put him on waivers he was grabbed up by his first team, San Jose (a team on his no-trade list). He was also bitter over the fact the Rangers didn’t inform him he was to be put on waivers until the very last moment.
If this was all about Goodrow, then I’d be switching the bulk of the blame on the players.
I liked Goodrow, but the fact he was being paid 3.64 x 6 with ANY type of trade protection was ridiculous to begin with. A problem Drury created himself but it’s still awful.
Are the players that hurt over freeing up cap space? Doubtful. It’s a business, and even on an awful SJ team, the guy is a 4th line plugger. 4 points in 35 games -21. This year. Regardless of how he accomplished getting rid of Goodrow, it was the right thing to do for the organization.
I believe that NY ultimately screwed up the “rebuild” by signing Panarin, trading and re-signing Trouba etc. not to mention the many gaffs created by Gorton leading up to Drurys tenure.
They were in the ECF’s 3 -4 years into a rebuild which automatically put them somehow in “win now mode”.
If these players are that sensitive to business decisions, perhaps they should all have taken pay cuts (the ones needing to be re-signed ) or agreeing to take pay cuts going forward in order to keep an aging 4th liner around.
Re-signing Shesterkin, which a lot of folks thought was necessary was also a huge mistake. The problems in front of shesterkin have been around for 3 years. How do you fix those problems with an 11.5 million dollar goaltender that isn’t an everyday player?
The many gaffs by Gorton … the same Gorton whose moves were largely responsible for getting the Rangers to where they were last year?
I have no idea what the deal is with the Rangers but I’d be looking at moves from the recent past, when the wheels started to come off.
As for Panarin, he has had 96, 92 and 120 points the last three seasons. That’s a problem 31 other teams would like to have.
The many gifts by Gorton?
By no means am I spitting on Panarin. The guy is a top 5 player in the league for the last 5 years.
But a bit odd on the timing. Do you see many rebuilding teams sign 2 players to 20 million 1 year into a “rebuild “?
And that’s exactly my point on their early success. A bit of smoke and mirrors. They’ve made the ECFs twice in the last 3 years. But I do not believe the younger players were really ready to make that jump.
As for Gorton? Miller / Mcdonagh trade? Buchnevich trade? Brady Skjei trade? Neil Pionk? Hmmmm if only NY had two -three young players who literally were progressing along every year playing 3rd line minutes that actually fit right into a rebuild?
So let’s look at his draft history in NY.
Lias Andersson? Bust!
Kravstov? Bust!
Miller, looks awful! I won’t say bust yet, but it’s shaping up that way.
Chytil, solid but injury prone.
Lundkvist traded because he was stuck.
Kakko, didn’t live up to his draft position (although I liked his recent progression.)
Laffrienere, fell in Gortons lap! He getting credit for that?
Fox, demanded NY and NOWHERE else after spurning Calgary and Carolina. He get credit for that?
Panarin, turned down Columbus more money and term because he wanted NY and NOWHERE else. Gorton get credit for that too?
Yes, Gortons many gifts just keep giving!
I get you’re a Montreal fan and are hoping for the best. But to say he did good things for this organization is a huge stretch!
Hell, I like Fox. But imagine this team with Miller, Buchnevich, Skjei , Seider or Boldy?
As much as I like Fox, I’d make that trade straight up!!!!
Buchnevich was actually traded by Drury he year he was hired as GM.
I’ll scratch that off Gortons list. Well kinda, he was a cap casualty.
CO, it’s not that I am a Habs fan that prompts me to question your assessment of Gorton.
You have pointed out some questionable moves (I never did understand why McDonagh). Ok, fair.
Every GM swings and misses. Ultimately one judges them by team success. You seem to criticize Gorton for moves that didn’t work out while not giving him credit for any positive decisions. How, I wonder, did the Rangers have such a strong season last year founded on a GM who made so many bad calls?
If you were critical of the Rangers last year, then bonus points for insight. Were you?
Or were you, as most Ranger fans seemed to be, happy about the direction of the rebuild then? Your answer tells you whether the fissures occurred under Gorton’s watch, don’t you think?
Many times last year and beyond I was calling the Rangers success a bit “fraudulent “.
This is a team that has struggled 5v5 for a couple of years. A team that has relied on an absurd amount of come from behind wins. And a team that ultimately relied way too much on goaltending.
I’m struggling to find the good in Gorton for his time in NY. As I pointed out, Fox, Panarin and Laffrienere literally fell in his lap. And even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Trading JT Miller AND Mcdonagh for basically nothing should have been a firing on its own. I get Mcdonagh, but Miller, in the same trade? How could he not be considered a core piece for a rebuild?
So my question to you LJ is where are these positives?
As far as the rebuild, again I was very vocal that I did not believe NY was doing it right from the get go. Panarin and Trouba are / were fantastic players. But fantastic for a rebuilding team? Probably not. I can’t think of one other “rebuilding “ team committing nearly 25% of the payroll to 2 players? Can you?
As I stated then and reiterate now, it “confused the rebuild process”.
Rebuilds are long and painful. See Edmonton, Buffalo, Ottawa, Chicago, Detroit etc. Apparently most NY fans and the organization itself didn’t have the stomach for a true rebuild.
But where did that get them? Free falling into the bottom of the standings , 90% of the fan base blaming every player , coach, gm and screaming (ironically) for a rebuild? And trading everyone for anything! lol. Classic!!
Last few years success aside. This team is no easy fix today.
A while back I read an article that stated that Drury is acting on the rules that the Rangers owner gave him. Dolan is supposed to have a set of rules that he wants all his teams to follow. One would have to follow all the teams Dolan owns to know whether any of that is true. Wasn`t Drury directly hired by Dolan?
I see both sides, Ray.
Yes, players are people, feelings get hurt, and decisions based on family are very important.
But Trouba knew the team wanted to move him. As I understand it, a key issue was his wife’s having a residency at a NY hospital.
Ok, but the team is saying we don’t want you any more. Why not accept a trade to a team where his wife could continue with her residency — which in the US would be a lot of places. Ultimately the issue became what is best for the wife, not the team.
There is as much an annoyance as a player staying when he isn’t wanted as there is with an abrasive GM moving popular players.
The other part is dressing room chemistry, as the Canucks are showing us. Unhappy campers don’t win Cups.
But being a pro means more than just getting paid. If segments of a team start moping they are ultimately messing their own bed.
Troubas case is a bit unfortunate. He basically was signed prior to the emergence of Fox. The writing was on the wall for a few years that he’d ultimately be a cap casualty. And became even more evident with Schneider coming into his own.
I don’t necessarily like Drurys tactics, and 100% he was threatened with the ultimatum of take this trade or you’re on waivers.
Not a new tactic by any stretch. Tampa did this same exact thing to Boyle and Mcdonagh. It didn’t seem to have this same ripple down effect for them either time. And today, Mcdonagh is right back in Tampa.
It’s hard to fathom, pro athletes are this sensitive. Not every decision is a popular decision. NY has traded their last 3 captains. Life should go on.
The problems in NY are much bigger than Goodrow, Trouba and Drury.
Laviolette seems to have lost this team. His insistence on playing 1-3-1 which NY is NOT built to play is beyond odd that he’s sticking with it.
I will say that trading Trouba now for a lesser return was a bit odd. Originally I thought there had to be something behind that trade utilizing the cap space for a position of need. But it seems like a trade just for the sake of making a trade.
Seems a bit like Drury was pandering to the mob of angry fans that wanted to use Trouba as a scapegoat (playing injured) for last years ECF loss to Florida.
One things for certain, NY didn’t get any better for trading Kakko or Trouba. IMO, they definitely got worse.
LJ, ya I kinda get it from management’s perspective too, but to Captain’s point, they are not a better team without those guys.
It’s not like the players don’t know that. They know exactly what impact these guys have on the team. You’re right, they want to win too. Drury or Dolan, or whoever is making these decisions just made it harder for them to do that.
Not sure if anyone on this string has ever been through a merger or acquisition when there is a lot of change. Good people get let go when companies take advantage of the “synergies” of the deal. That often includes people in leadership roles.
It always goes sideways with regard to moral, and hence performance. At least the ones I have been though or witnessed. How long it takes to turn it around is the question.
We’ll see I guess, but again, if Drury and Dolan are surprised by this, they shouldn’t be. Entirely predictable. Maybe all part of the plan and they simply decided F it for this year.
Oliver Kylington is another D who spends more time on IR than he does on the ice – like Artyem Zub in Ottawa.
On another topic – the schedule – New Jersey became the first team to reach the 41-game half-way mark with their loss in L.A. yesterday, giving them a record of 24 14 3 51pts .622 % pace – 132gf 104ga +28
San Jose will play their 41st tonight, while Tampa, who also plays tonight, will be playing only their 35th.
Everyone else is somewhere in between with most playing in a full slate of games today (shown below with an *):
at 36 games with 5 to go: *NYR, *Dallas, *Vancouver, *Ottawa, *Anaheim
at 37 games with 4 to go: *Detroit, Montreal, *Utah, *Calgary, *Carolina, Edmonton, L.A., *Washington, *Vegas
at 38 games with 3 to go: *Minnesota, *Toronto, *Florida, *Colorado, *Columbus, *Philadelphia, *Seattle, *NYI, *Buffalo, Nashville, Chicago
at 39 games with 2 to go: Pittsburgh, St. Louis, *Boston, *Winnipeg
Looks like it’ll be closer to mid-January before a comparison can be made for all 32 teams at their half-way point.
Zub is back in tonight in Dallas as the RD alongside Kleven on the 3rd pairing, after missing 16 games with a foot fracture, and Forsberg is scheduled to start in goal tomorrow in St. Louis. Slowly getting back the walking wounded. The hope is, Ullmark will be ready to go next Tuesday in the final game of this long road trip in Detroit.
That leaves Amadio and Perron still gimpy.
The Arizona Whozawhats?
Boston/ NYR should be an interesting game tonight! Just have Frederic and Kreider change uniforms before the game! Tell the NY fans to behave themselves so the Bruins don’t t end up going into the stands to fight with them! Hockey Purists know what I am talking about!
If your going to the game bring an extra pair of shoes.
There are 5 teams each with fewer than 100 goals allowed so far, and Ottawa faces the 2nd stingiest tonight in Dallas in the first of another back-to-back (tomorrow in St. Louis) – showing opponents tonight:
Winnipeg – 39gp 96ga 2.46 per game – @ home to Anaheim
Dallas – 36gp 91ga 2.53 per game – @ home to Ottawa
Los Angeles 37gp 95ga 2.56 per game – do not play
Washington 37gp 96ga 2.59 per game – @ home to Wild
Tampa 34gp 97ga 2.85 per game – @ San Jose
George O so the score will probably be 5-4!
LOL. You’re probably right!