NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 31, 2025
The Oilers and Panthers prepare for their upcoming Stanley Cup Final rematch, the Senators will begin contract talks with Claude Giroux, the Sabres add Jarmo Kekalainen to their front office, the Islanders make two signings, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said his club spent seven months preparing for this return to the Stanley Cup Final. While they’re proud of what they’ve accomplished thus far, Knoblauch indicated they’re focused on the ultimate goal of winning hockey’s greatest prize.
“We said last year right after Game 7 that we’d be back,” said winger Corey Perry. “And we’re back.”
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (NHL Images).
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl knows what his club has to deal with facing the defending champion Florida Panthers again. “We know what they’re about, we played them seven times,” he said. “They’re a good team. We’re a really good team, as well. It’s nice to get a shot at getting some revenge, but we’re a long way from that.”
Knoblauch pointed out that his team must play its best hockey to achieve a different result from last season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Zach Hyman was the first player following Game 7 to guarantee they would return to the Final this season. His prophecy came true, but an injury suffered in the Western Conference Final has sidelined him from the Cup Final.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk praised the Oilers during his appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, calling them “a hell of a team”. He believes the rematch between his two clubs will make for “an incredible series”, calling the two clubs the best in the NHL.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: We have to wait several days for that series to begin. Game 1 is Wednesday, June 4, in Edmonton. Game 7 (if necessary) will be in Edmonton on Friday, June 20.
OTTAWA CITIZEN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators will sit for face-to-face contract discussions next week with Claude Giroux.
The versatile 37-year-old forward is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Both sides have already found common ground because he wants to stay in Ottawa and the Senators are interested in keeping him.
Garrioch cited insiders suggesting Giroux’s next contract should have a base salary of $3 million with achievable performance bonuses that could take him up to between $4.5 million and $5 million. The biggest decision could be whether he gets a one or two-year contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I’ll be surprised if they don’t get a deal done. Giroux is eager to complete his career in Ottawa, and the Senators appreciate his skills, experience and leadership.
THE BUFFALO NEWS: The Sabres hired former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen as a senior advisor to GM Kevyn Adams.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kekalainen has the most experience of anyone in the Sabres front office. He should be a valuable addition as they attempt to improve their roster and bring an end to their 14-year playoff drought next season.
NYI HOCKEY NOW: Mathieu Darche made his first two contract signings as Islanders general manager, inking winger Kyle Palmieri to a two-year extension and defenseman Adam Boqvist to a one-year deal.
Palmieri will earn an average annual value of $4.75 million. He also has a full no-trade clause for 2025-26 and a 16-team no-trade clause for 2026-27. Boqvist will earn $850K next season.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Carolina Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis revealed he reaggravated the right labrum/rotator cuff injury he suffered last season. He’s leaning toward another summer of rehabbing the injury rather than undergoing surgery, explaining that the procedure wouldn’t do much for his game. It would also sideline him for an extensive period.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jarvis played through the injury this season, scoring a team-leading 32 goals.
Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield confirmed he suffered a hip injury midway through the second-round series with the Washington Capitals. He won’t require surgery and will be ready for the start of the season. Blueliner Sean Walker reaggravated a shoulder injury in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final.
SPORTSNET: The Seattle Kraken signed defenseman Josh Mahura to a two-year, one-way contract extension with an AAV of $907,500.
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: The Flyers signed blueliner Helge Grans to a two-year, $1.575 million contract.
TSN: Francois Gagnon will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. Daryl Reaugh will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. They will accept their awards at the Hockey Hall of Fame NHL Media Awards Luncheon in Toronto on Nov. 10.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to Gagnon and Reaugh for their well-deserved awards.
Should be an epic Stanley Cup final. I wonder if the number of games played the last 3 years for Fla. and the number of guys that played in the 4 nations tournament might catch up to them.They did do the right thing holding out Tkachuk to heal up from injuries and the trades of Marchand and Jones brought in 2 hungry blue chip players to add to the mix.
Panthers in 6 IMHO
The Cup is being shown on TRU/MAX here in the states. how many people do not have either service?
terrible
Would’ve been good for league to start Sunday afternoon. By Wednesday folks will have forgotten season is still going on
Right? It’s Saturday and we have to wait 4 more days???
ds, don’t know where you’re living but in my area all the games are on TNT as the primary and Tru and MAX as alternatives. I’m just grateful none are on ESPN.
Agreed. Espn sucks. Their play by play guy talks way too much and keeps repeating things we already know. I miss Doc!
Funny to read TURK’s about the espn play-by-play guy. I totally agree, dude seems to feel a need to fill every moment with his comments… which are not great. And the yelling… I don’t think I could take another game of that voice this year. My problem is I’ve always liked Ray Ferraro, who you can’t hear unless you suffer the play by play guy. That said, I never really liked Doc, either.
Agreed. Ferraro is the only talking head who adds value. ESPN’s hockey coverage is insufferable, always has been.
Oilers in 6 ….
For those of you that don’t watch the Stars on a regular basis or at all, even when your team plays the Stars ( your probably watching it listening to your teams feed)….Daryll Reaugh is the best color commentator in the business. Not only is he knowledge about both teams playing, and the game in general, but his vocabulary and ways of describing the play are second to none. (Since I’ve run radio stations my whole life, I know the difference between good and bad broadcasters, and he is phenomenal.)
Congrats Razor!!!!
Starsfan: what are you hearing with respect to Duchene and Granlund?
There’s no real news about Duchesne. For the last few years, he’s said, “it’s not about the money, I like it here in Dallas”…after losing in the WCF for the past few years, that may change and he may want to play for a team that can win it all. Who Knows?…But, you do have to remember that he’s going to get 6 million again from Nashville this year…so playing for less money in Dallas again may not be out of the question.
As for Granlund, I just don’t see how they can keep him. There’s not enough money to go around.
They’d have to trade Seguin to have any decent money to work with, and I don’t think any team would take Seguin at 9.75 million.
Reaugh says some pretty off-the-wall and/or totally inane things at times. He’s also pretty terrible with the homerism, e.g. quick to gripe about opponents committing penalties going uncalled while ignoring it when the Stars get away with one. I still think their broadcast overall is pretty solid, but if it’s the best in the business, that’s a pretty suspect business.
He’s entertaining. Not in disagreement with your assessment, but EVERY broadcaster shows favoritism to the team that paying their salary.
And it’s WAY better than watching, or listening, to the tools from Boston, or Torchetti…those guys are painful to listen to. If I see Torchetti on the NHL channel, I just turn it off…how one man can butcher the English language like he does is a travesty.
Sorry, that wasn’t supposed to turn into a rant, just an easy door to walk through when talking about broadcasters.
Jarmo brings improved credibility to Sabres’ front office after 14 years of futility.
Darche is an excellent hire for the Islanders. He has a huge challenge with the Isle’s aging and stale roster. The team has to get younger.