NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 11, 2025
The three stars of the week, updates on Sidney Crosby and Mikko Rantanen ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko, and Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk are the NHL’s three stars for the week ending Feb. 9, 2025.
Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby (NHL.com).
TSN: Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby declared himself good to go for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The status of the 37-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins center was in question after he suffered an upper-body injury last week. He was skating on a line with Mark Stone and Nathan MacKinnon during Canada’s practice on Monday.
SPORTSNET: Finland forward Mikko Rantanen is joining his compatriots in Montreal for the upcoming tournament. The 28-year-old Carolina Hurricanes winger missed Saturday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club with a lower-body injury.
TSN: Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was centering a line with Tampa Bay Lightning winger Jake Guentzel and New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes during Team USA’s practice on Monday.
DAILY FACEOFF: Former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jesse Puljujarvi signed a tryout agreement with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Puljujarvi cleared unconditional waivers and agreed with the Penguins to terminate his NHL contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Checkers are the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Whether this tryout leads to him landing a role with the defending Stanley Cup champions remains to be seen.
THE TENNESSEAN: The Nashville Predators claimed Andreas Englund off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.
SPORTSNET: Loui Eriksson announced his retirement on Monday. The winger spent 16 NHL seasons with the Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, and Arizona Coyotes from 2006-07 to 2021-22, tallying 253 goals and 360 assists for 613 points in 1,050 regular-season games and 14 points in 44 postseason contests. His best performances were with the Stars, exceeding 70 points in three straight seasons from 2009-10 to 2011-12.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Former Toronto Maple Leafs PA announcer Paul Morris passed away at age 86. He was with the Leafs from 1961 to 1999, calling 1,585 consecutive games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Morris’ low-key announcing style was an iconic part of the experience at Maple Leaf Gardens – my condolences to his family, friends, and the Leafs organization.
Further to yesterday’s posts on team comparisons, here are three more lists showing how the 32 teams stack up against each other – first at the half-way mark … then the games since … and third showing the current configuration. Check out Vegas and Minnesota in the middle list along with Detroit, Columbus, Ottawa and NYI as examples of teams seemingly headed in opposite directions.
At The Half-Way Mark (41 Games)
1. Vegas 28 10 3 59 .720 143 111 +32
2. Washington 27 10 4 58 .707 150 109 +41
3. Winnipeg 27 12 2 56 .683 147 104 +43
4. Minnesota 26 11 4 56 .683 127 111 +16
5. Dallas 27 13 1 55 .671 134 101 +33
6. Edmonton 25 13 3 53 .646 135 114 +21
7. Los Angeles 24 12 5 53 .646 121 100 +21
8. Toronto 26 13 2 54 .639 129 113 +16
9. Colorado 25 15 1 51 .622 146 131 +9
10. New Jersey 24 14 3 51 .622 132 104 +28
11. Carolina 24 15 2 50 .610 137 117 +20
12. Florida 24 15 2 50 .610 136 127 + 9
13. Tampa 23 15 3 49 .598 151 113 +38
14. Calgary 20 14 7 47 .573 110 123 -13
15. Vancouver 18 13 10 46 .561 121 139 -9
16. Boston 20 17 4 44 .537 107 126 -19
17. Ottawa 20 18 3 43 .524 119 118 +1
18. Montreal 20 18 3 43 .524 125 138 -13
19. Utah 18 16 7 43 .524 116 123 -7
20. St. Louis 19 18 4 42 .512 114 123 -9
21. Detroit 19 18 4 42 .512 115 131 -16
22. Columbus 18 17 6 42 .512 141 148 -7
23. Pittsburgh 17 17 7 41 .510 125 152 -27
24. NYR 19 20 2 40 .488 120 130 -10
25. Philadelphia 17 19 5 39 .476 125 147 -22
26. Anaheim 17 19 5 39 .476 105 127 -22
27. NYI 16 18 7 39 .476 112 128 -16
28. Seattle 17 21 3 37 .451 118 130 -12
29. Buffalo 15 21 5 35 .427 126 149 -14
30. Nashville 13 21 7 33 .402 100 128 -28
31. San Jose 12 23 6 30 .366 107 147 -40
32. Chicago 14 25 2 30 .366 105 138 -33
Since The Half-Way Mark
(1) Winnipeg 15gp 12 2 1 .833 55 30 +25
(2) Washington 14gp 9 1 4 .786 46 31 +15
(3) Edmonton 14gp 9 4 1 .679 47 38 +9
(4) Detroit 14gp 9 4 1 .679 45 40 +5
(5) Carolina 15gp 9 4 2 .667 47 37 +10
(6) Florida 16gp 10 5 1 .656 56 38 +18
(7) NY Islanders 14gp 9 5 0 .643 40 34 +6
(8) NY Rangers 14gp 8 4 2 .643 45 38 +7
(9) Ottawa 15gp 9 5 1 .633 39 38 +1
(10) Dallas 14gp 8 5 1 .607 48 38 +10
(11) Tampa 14gp 8 5 1 .607 46 40 +6
(12) Vancouver 14gp 8 5 1 .607 34 27 +7
(13) Columbus 15gp 8 5 2 .600 43 38 +5
(14) Anaheim 13gp 7 5 1 .577 32 38 -6
(15) Buffalo 13gp 7 6 0 .539 45 36 +9
(16) Colorado 16gp 8 7 1 .531 40 43 -3
(17) New Jersey 16gp 7 6 3 .531 43 38 +5
(18) Toronto 14gp 7 7 0 .500 40 43 -3
(19) Boston 16gp 7 7 2 .500 50 53 -3
(20) Philadelphia 16gp 7 7 2 .500 37 45 -8
(21) Calgary 13gp 6 7 1 .500 38 42 -4
(22) Los Angeles 12gp 5 5 2 .500 30 36 -6
(23) Seattle 16gp 7 8 1 .469 51 53 -2
(24) Minnesota 15gp 7 8 0 .467 36 48 -12
(25) Utah 15gp 6 7 2 .467 42 47 -5
(26) Nashville 13gp 6 7 0 .462 44 51 -7
(27) Pittsburgh 16gp 6 8 2 .438 39 49 -10
(28) St. Louis 15gp 6 8 1 .433 40 48 -8
(29) Vegas 15gp 5 7 3 .433 42 44 -2
(30) Montreal 15gp 5 8 2 .400 38 56 -18
(31) Chicago 14gp 3 6 5 .393 44 53 -9
(32) San Jose 16gp 3 12 1 .219 41 69 -28
Current Record
(1) Wash 55gp 36 11 8 .727 196 140 +56 (up .020)
(2) Wpg 56gp 39 14 3 .723 202 134 +68 (up .040)
(3) Dallas 55gp 35 18 2 .655 182 139 +43 (up .048)
(4) Edm 55gp 34 17 4 .655 182 152 +30 (up .009)
(5) Veg 56gp 33 17 6 .643 185 155 +30 (down .077)
(6) Car 56gp 33 19 4 .625 184 154 +30 (up .057)
(7) Minn 56gp 33 19 4 .625 163 159 +4 (down .058)
(8) Florida 57gp 34 20 3 .623 192 165 +27(up .046)
(9) Tor 55gp 33 20 2 .618 169 156 +13 (down .139)
(10) LA. 53gp 29 17 7 .613 151 136 +15 (down .033)
(11) NJ 57gp 31 20 6 .596 175 142 +33 (down .091)
(12) Tam 55gp 31 20 4 .600 197 153 +44 (up .002)
(13) Col 57gp 33 22 2 .596 186 174 +12 (up .065)
(14) Van 55gp 26 18 11 .573 155 166 -11 (down .034)
(15) Det 55gp 28 22 5 .555 160 171 -11 (up .167)
(16) Ottawa 56gp 29 23 4 .554 158 156 +2 (up .109)
(17) Cgy 55gp 26 21 8 .545 148 165 -17 (up .045)
(18) Clmb 56gp 26 22 8 .536 184 186 -2 (up .088)
(19) NYR 55gp 27 24 4 .527 165 168 -3 (up .155)
(20) Bos 57gp 27 24 6 .526 157 182 -25 (down .037)
(21) NYI 55gp 25 23 7 .518 152 162 -10 (up .167)
(22) Utah 56gp 24 23 9 .509 158 170 -12 (down .015)
(23) Ana 54gp 24 24 6 .500 137 165 -28 (up .024)
(24) Mtl 56gp 25 26 5 .491 163 194 -31 (down .033)
(25) St L 56gp 25 26 5 .491 154 171 -17 (down .021)
(26) Pha 57gp 24 26 7 .482 162 192 -30 (up .024)
(27) Pit 56gp 23 25 9 .482 164 201 -37 (down .072)
(28) Sea 57gp 24 29 4 .456 169 183 -14 (up .005)
(29) Buf 54gp 22 27 5 .454 171 185 -14 (up .122)
(30) Nash 54gp 19 28 7 .417 144 179 -35 (up .015)
(31) Chic 55gp 17 31 7 .373 149 191 -42 (up .007)
(32) SJ 57gp 15 35 7 .325 148 216 -68 (down .041)
You really do have a lot of spare time on your hands. Who cares about all this dribble ???
Old hockey guy, fyi, what you wrote is dribble and you do not speak for me or anyone else.
Many of us actually appreciate what he posts and if you don’t care for it, move past it, it’s sooooo easy to.
There’s need for comments like yours. None.
GeorgeO,I enjoy your statistical research!Keep writing,I for one will keep reading!Someone explain to OldHockeyGuy what a hobby is!
Actually Old Hockey Guy, I do happen to have a lot of spare time on my hands, especially since my wife went into ling-term care.
I post those in the interest of generating dialogue – which this site is all about after all.
I care. I care a lot. George saves me time and is generally on point with his posts.
Most contributors strive for the same.
I lead a hectic life, and this place is my refuge to take a time out and see how my internet hockey friends are doing and what they’re thinking.
Be civil, Old Hockey Guy, or at least contribute something other than negative pot shots. That’s what makes guys go dark and quiet.
Believe it or not, I actually need this space for good mental health.
Please avoid trying to stifle folks.
Well said, lads.
SOP: that’s your longest post in some time. Let’s hear more from you, more often.
I would say the vast majority of us care about these posts. A lot of work goes into this and it often helps me assess my team’s performance and/or is just very interesting statistically speaking.
Don’t like it don’t read it. Simple.
I enjoy George`s posts, George is one of the most intelligent guys here. Dribble on George
Shoreorrpark, boy, do I hear you on the mental health relief. Until I saw your comment I hadn’t really thought of it in those terms. But now I realize how much it’s become a way to get my mind off other issues.
Thanks.
I’ll admit I don’t slog through many of George’s stat posts. Not my cup of tea. But I’m certainly not gonna trash talk what obviously took a lot of effort. I mean…. Why?
Yogi, actually I was a pretty good dribbler in my basketball-playing days.
I think what oldhockeyguy meant to say was “drivel” … and I do try to avoid that … lol
George O…LOVE your insight and look forward to your comments each day. Please don’t let some D-bag prevent you from doing what you love.
I truly hope that Lyle is aware of the positive impact that his site has had for some of us.
I’m a simple man. I appreciate the meaningful things in my life. God, my family, my career and Spectorshockey + you folks (internet friends) who contribute and give me something to read to escape the stressors of life (sick wife, Special needs kids, long hitches away from home at work)…even If its only for minutes per day, every day.
Thank you, friends.
Shoreorrpark: I’m always grateful to everyone who follows my site, but especially those of you who regularly take the time to comment on my work or to interact with others here. It’s gratifying to know that it has a positive effect. As always, I really appreciate the support from all of you. Cheers!
PS: If anyone don’t like someone taking a deep dive into statistics or analytics and posting it in the comments section, just skip over their post. I understand that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but nobody’s forcing you to read it. It’s certainly not “dribble” 😉
You’re giving the “Old Guy” crowd a bad name. Many are appreciative of George’s research and perspective.
Having said that…Get off my lawn, and no, you can’t have your ball back!
These stats are wasted on me as I see them changing over the course of the season for a myriad of reasons.
BUT,
The effort going in to compile the numbers isn’t something to mock or trivialize
We can and do disagree on many things but there’s no reason to be trolling here.
If the post isn’t of interest, too long, too short, just move on.
RIP Paul Morris. A true legend.
Growing up in Montreal in the 1970s, my friends and I got to hear a lot of Morris on HNIC telecasts from Toronto. We were used to the super exuberant style of the Habs PA announcer and often made fun of Paul’s low key monotone style. And certainly, in the 1970s, Habs fans had a lot more to be excited about than Leafs fans. But Paul had his way of doing things and he did it well. A memorable voice of hockey.
Unfortunately the Leafs organization treated him very shabbily after Maple Leaf Gardens closed down.
May he Rest In Peace.
I hung out with him during the last game at MLG. I was also working that night for the CBC and he shared many funny stories that night.
He has been and will be sorely missed.
That was a voice that became as familiar as any of the play-by-play types.
Yeah, as soon as I heard about his passing his voice (it was deadpan) played in my head.
Montreal goal, scored by ….
Howard, the 60s were fun though.
You’re right about the way they treated Paul Morris and many, many others.
A fellow at the gym today mentioned Dave Keon; case in point.
BC, I’m know they were. I don’t remember much about the 60s. Just a bit from 1969. Because I was very young, not very high.
Looking at that picture of Crosby above makes me think how good he’d look in bleu-blanc-rouge! 🙂
Habs colours?
Yep.