NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 29, 2025
The Panthers advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year, Oilers winger Zach Hyman’s postseason is over, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: For the third straight year, the Florida Panthers are going to the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 5 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final.
Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe (NHL Images).
Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe snapped a 3-3 tie at 12:21 of the third period and Sam Bennett scored the insurance goal into an empty net to clinch the victory. Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk each had a goal and an assist, while Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each collected two assists.
Sebastian Aho tallied twice and Seth Jarvis had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who the Panthers have eliminated from two of the last three Eastern Conference Finals.
Reinhart returned to action after being sidelined since Game 2. His teammates Niko Mikkola and AJ Greer also rejoined the lineup after suffering undisclosed injuries in Game 3. Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen left this game in the first period with an undisclosed injury, but he is expected to be fine for the upcoming Stanley Cup Final.
Hurricanes defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Sean Walker missed this game. Chatfield’s been sidelined since Game 4 of their second-round series with Washington, while Walker’s been out since Game 2 of this series.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Carolina took a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Florida quickly rallied in the second to go up 3-2. Jarvis tied it for the Hurricanes in the third before Rodrigues and Bennett put it away for the Panthers.
The Hurricanes are a talented team, but they can’t match the Panthers’ roster depth and grit. They’re also lacking a game-breaking talent like Barkov and a reliable starting goalie like Sergei Bobrovsky, who doesn’t get rattled when opponents get physical around his net.
The Panthers’ victory prompted some observers to take to social media, calling for the league to address the so-called advantage that teams in tax-free states supposedly enjoy. The Panthers had two advantages this season, but they had nothing to do with being in a tax-free state.
One is the shrewd management of GM Bill Zito. Since being hired by the Panthers in 2020, he turned a perennial laughingstock into a three-time Stanley Cup Finalist, with the potential to win the Cup for the second straight year.
The other was Tkachuk going on long-term injury reserve over the final two months of the regular season, enabling the Panthers to use the cap flexibility to acquire impact players like winger Brad Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones.
The Panthers cannot be faulted for doing as other clubs have done in the past, but LTIR is an issue being discussed in the current CBA negotiations.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers winger Zach Hyman will undergo potentially playoff-ending surgery to repair an undisclosed upper-body injury (believed to be his right shoulder). He’s expected to be sidelined for the rest of the postseason.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hyman is fifth among the Oilers’ scorers this postseason with 11 goals in 15 games. His absence is a big blow to their scoring punch and will test their forward depth for the remainder of their playoff run.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars need more of an edge to their game if they hope to stave off elimination against Edmonton when the two clubs face off for Game 5 on Thursday in Dallas (8 pm ET). They’ve struggled to match the Oilers’ aggressive physical style.
WINNIPEG SUN: Jets captain Adam Lowry will miss five to six months after undergoing hip surgery on Tuesday. The timeline suggests the earliest he’ll return is late-October, meaning he’ll miss training camp and the opening weeks of the 2025-26 regular season.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning assistant general manager Stacy Roest has parted ways with the club. He was the head of player development and general manager of their AHL affiliate in Syracuse since 2013.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is the second significant front-office departure for the Lightning. Earlier this week, former assistant general manager Mathieu Darche was named GM of the New York Islanders.
TSN: The Seattle Kraken signed forward John Hayden to a two-year, one-way contract extension.
Interesting. I’m not a Leaf fan by any means…but last watching Bennet pull that same crap (if not worse) on a goalie…..I’m now convinced.
That’s some dangerous stuff.
TSN had an article the day after Stolarz injury with a neurologist. He said that the way Stolarz shoot his head after he took the puck to the mask was a sign of a concussion and he should have been pulled from the game at that point. And that bump to the head just from Bennett just compounded the issue even further.
I’m not a Bennett or a Leafs fan either, but when Bennett bump Stalorz is something that happens a lot in the NHL that doesn’t end in an injury let alone a concussion.
After taking a shot off a mask, goalies will shake their head if he thinks his mask is loose or the strap is broken. The goalie mask is designed to deflect the force of the puck hitting it. If you go back and watch Stolarz`s exit interview, Stolarz says there was no signs he suffered a concussion. Bennett`s elbow to his head was the only reason he had a concussion. My guess is that Stolarz might have talked to a doctor or two before he made that statement. The fact that Bennett tried the same thing on Andersen shows that the elbows were intentional and meant to hurt the goalie. The fact the NHL looks the other way speaks for itself
Sixth straight season Stanley Cup Finals play in Florida.
Speed Kills: That’s a testament to the outstanding management of those two teams. However, the salary cap led to the Lightning’s fall from championship contention, and it will inevitably catch up the Panthers as well, perhaps as early as next season if they lose Bennett and Ekblad to free agency.
Lyle, I believe Zito will retain Bennett. He’s a UFA coming off an expiring cap hit of a very cap friendly $4,425,000 and only turns 29 next month.
Zito has $19 mil in cap space with 15 players committed to next season – so 8 to sign. His only RFA is Mackie Samoskevich, coming off an ELC of $925,000 and a decent – if not exactly eye-opening – season of 15g 16a 31 pts. He’ll likely sign a 2-year bridge at around $2.5, leaving $16,5000 to sign 7.
I can see Bennett re-upping at a modest increase to around $7 mil, which would still give Zito $9,5 mil to sign 6.
More than enough to bring in adequate replacements for (probably) departing UFAs Nate Schmidt (exp. $800,000), Nosek (exp. $775,000), Sturm (exp. $2 mil), and Vanecek (exp. $3.4 mil).
However, with Jones now a cap fixture to 2030, Ekblad and his expiring $7.5 mil cap his is assuredly gone. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him somehow resurface in Tampa or even Vegas.
I see it the other way. I see Florida resigning Ekblad before Bennett. Eblad is their captain and is harder to replace on the roster than Bennett is. If I was a GM I would be leary of signing Bennett to a big contract. I would be scared that I would be getting the Bennett that played for the Flames than the Bennett that has been playing for the Panthers. Plus with his style that he plays his body is going to start to break down sooner than later.
Kevjam, Barkov is the Captain
The prevailing theory is that Florida will end up resigning 2 of Bennett, Ekblad and Marchand. George Richards was asking that very question and answered it the same way.
Zito is rumored to have offered Bennett the same contract Verhaeghe is on (8yrs x $7M with a NMC for the first five). If Bennett is unwilling to take that, it’s likely that Zito will pivot to resigning Marchand instead and backfill with Lundell taking the 2C spot.
In terms of cap needs (and flexibility for further needed moves) Jones has made Ekblad expendable.
One thing you can say about social media. It’s exposed how many stupid people there are. The Panthers are going to the SCF for the 3rd straight year? The reason absolutely must be Florida’s lack of an income tax. Ignore the fact that Nashville has never won the Cup despite Tennessee also lacking an income tax. Ignore that the only team in a no income tax state is on the brink of elimination. Ignore the fact that, until 5 or 6 years ago, Florida was effectively eliminated on the first day of training camp. It must be the so-called no income tax advantage.
Is it any wonder that, the older I get, the less hope I have for humanity?
To be fair, Tennessee scrapped their state tax in 2021. Nevertheless, it hasn’t garnered them any significant advantage. They signed three of the best UFAs last summer in part because they were in a no-tax state, but they finished 28th overall and now one of those players (Marchessault) reportedly might welcome a trade. Proving, once again, that it is shrewd management, not a perceived advantage of being in a no-tax state, that makes the difference.
I have been reading the back and forth about state taxes for a while now. My 2 cents is that many teams have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to signing players. I won’t go into all of the myriad of potential advantages or disadvantages teams have. My point is simple, being in a state with no income tax IS an advantage. If a player is choosing between 2 equal contracts and have determined that the balance of the pros and cons of signing with one team or the other are the same, who isn’t going to go to the team where they take home more of their contract. I do however agree, that just because you have no state tax it doesn’t mean you will automatically be a yearly contender. Go back to the days before there was a salary cap, lots of teams spent huge money with little or no success, but having more money to spend WAS an advantage.
The only way being in a no-tax state gives a club an advantage is if they’re signing top talent for much less than market value without it adversely impacting their roster. However, that isn’t the case.
It still cost the Panthers and Lightning and Stars and Predators a lot of cap space to sign those players, for rates that are only slightly less than market value. Meanwhile, the cost of doing so depletes their roster depth, which is why the Lightning have gone from consecutive Cup finalist and champion from 2020 to 2022 to a team that has been eliminated in the first round in every postseason since.
The Lightning were bleeding roster depth following their 2020 championship, and it caught up with them after the 2021-22 season. In fact, the case can be made that it caught up with them by the 2022 playoffs, as they no longer had the depth they once had by that point to win the Cup for a third straight year.
What little advantage teams in no-tax states garner is lost to the salary cap. It’s the great leveler, and why it is so difficult to maintain a contender for a long period of time.
It hasn’t garnered Seattle an advantage either.
But the real point here is that there is no such thing as a “no-tax” state. What people keep neglecting in this debate is that the states do get their money. It’s just not coming directly off a paycheck in the form of income taxes.
In Nevada, they get it from higher sales taxes (“sin” taxes on booze, gambling, etc). In Washington, it’s sales taxes as well as higher property values as well as a very high capital gains tax rate.
In Texas, the property tax values are much higher than average. In Florida it’s also higher than average sales and property taxes.
How about the fact that when two of the best players in the NHL became UFA’s they decided to stay with their current team instead of signing in a no income tax state. People underestimate the level of sacrifice, obsession, and relentless drive that fuels a professional athlete’s desire to win. So much so they will leave money on the table (including taxed money) if they believe where they are signing will get them to their ultimate goal.
With Roest leaving Tampa, the inevitable speculation will start about him possibly joining Darche as AGM on Long Island.
It looks to me that the cup is Floridas to lose. They are relentless. Last night s game was about as fast paced as it can get Excellent hockey al around. 3 screws in row. Pretty impressive. I think they will repeat as champs and they deserve to. Team will look much different next year. Will be interesting to see how they address next years roster
There are always excuses that are made stating supposed unfair advantages but they are just that, excuses.
Solid management, scouting, player evaluation, player development, pro-scouting, putting together the right mix of players to establish a champion culture as well as top notch capologist.
Taxes are just one of many factors that go into where a player wants to play and we as fans have nothing but our own projection to go on.
I’d play in any Canadian city before accepting a trade to the USA for example.
Habfan30 i,you would be in the minority .
Right about now … no. he would NOT be in the minority. Not amongst Canadians anyway.
Barkov is superstar. Maybe the most underrated player in the league. The guy does everything.
Zito used Tkachuk on the IR to his advantage. could they have fit Jones and Marchant without that?
Can we now admit teams in the Metro aren’t very good, ie in comparison to the teams they eventually face. It seems every year we are sold on how good the Canes, Devils, etc are to only bow out quickly when they face a better team in the east not in the metro division.
Taxes aren’t the reason they win, it shrewd management and the willingness to take advantage and exploit the loopholes of being able to add to your roster before playoffs by having a big cap consuming players on LTIR. So far teams who have done that are batting, if I’m correct, 100.
Other advantages teams have that can’t be controlled are things like
Being an original 6 team and the allure of that
Size of the city as some players really want big metro others not so much
Weather in the state
Population dynamics- example of panarin wanting to go to ny due to a higher Russian population
Those are just a few. If the nhl were to address the tax “issue” how does it level the playing field with the rest of these advantages?
Excellent management and talented players maximizing their abilities during the playoffs is obviously the primary reason for any teams success, but to suggest that the lack of state income tax has nothing to do with building a very deep roster is disingenuous.
Yes, it’s an advantage, but like Chrisms said above, it’s no more than location, weather, or the allure of playing for an original 6. Also, like I said above, don’t underestimate the level of sacrifice, obsession, and relentless drive that fuels a professional athlete’s desire to win. If the player doesn’t think they can win, no matter the advantages of that city, the player will probably not sign there.
Florida was a joke for 20 years, until Zito got there. It’s a wonder what great management can do.
It has very little to do with it. The amount of savings are minimal because re-signing core players remains expensive, taking a big bite out of the salary cap, resulting in depleted depth that weakens the club. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a prime example.
Again, the Panthers have been a no-tax state throughout their existence. Nevertheless, they were a league laughingstock for decades before they finally brought in shrewd management that built them into the club they are today. If being in a no-tax state were an advantage, they should’ve been a much better team long before now. It certainly hasn’t helped the Nashville Predators or Seattle Kraken. It didn’t help the Dallas Stars when they missed the playoffs in eight of ten seasons from 2008-09 to 2017-18.
The only reason this has become an issue is some pundits seem to have their knickers in a twist over the once-lowly Panthers becoming a perennial Cup contender. State tax was never an issue when the Lightning were winning Stanley Cups. For them, the complaint was LTIR.
One other point, these players only benefit from their no income tax when they play at home or in another state that has no income tax. When the Panthers play in Edmonton they pay Alberta taxes because that is the place they are working in at that time.
Yes Joel, it’s an advantage pure and simple.
No one has ever made given an explanation as to why having extra cap space due the lower tax situation, isn’t an advantage.
Just like LTIR, the advantage is cap space.
Is it the only advantage and sole reason for the success? Of course not. Not arguing it is.
Is it an advantage? Of course it is. How isn’t extra cap space not an advantage?
Riddle me that.
How much of an advantage is it really, Ray? A million or two here or there per season? It didn’t prevent the Lightning from roster depletion due to cap constraints.
In 2020, they lost Carter Verhaeghe, Kevin Shattenkirk, Zach Bogosian and Cedric Paquette to free agency or cost-cutting trades.
In 2021, Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Johnson, David Savard, and Luke Schenn were gone, with Gourde an expansion draft casualty.
In 2022, they bid farewell to Ondrej Palat, Patrick Maroon, Ryan McDonagh (reacquired two years later) and Jan Rutta.
In 2023, Alex Killorn, Ross Colton, and Corey Perry.
In 2024, it started cutting even deeper, with captain Steven Stamkos and top-four defenseman Mikhail Sergachev sent packing.
All were moved due to cap constraints. Whatever little advantage they gained from signing their core players for less than market value was lost to the salary cap.
Sweeney contract extension… the Bruins had two choices fire Sweeney and hire a new GM or extend Sweeney … they would’ve had a hard time bringing in a new HC knowing that if Sweeney didn’t improve this team this offseason he was probably a goner and the new GM would likely bring in his own HC …
Tocchet was offered the job may 14th before Sweeney was extended may 20th and he turned the job offer down due to long term stability of the Bruins FO .. after this happened the Bruins had to extend Sweeney
Joe it looks like they can t decide on a head coach with or without Sweeney. Look what Waddell did in Columbus. He was hired in May and he signed Dean Evason as his coach in July I believe.That worked out pretty well for them.Don t make Sweeney so invincible. They will be naming a new coach with not much or any NHL experience because they are cheap.All the other top coaches left for way more money.
Sr,
I may or may not be in the minority, as I said we fans tend to project our thoughts on the players without any real knowledge.
Best ice in the league is in Montreal, Edmonton and Winnipeg that may be a more important factor.
Hockey in Canada is the number one sport whereas it’s behind or lower interest than many other sports in the US.
Hockey players come from all walks of life, heavily weighted to smaller towns and playing Junior in small towns.
No matter where they play they make a lot of money and it is just one of many factors.