NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 23, 2025
The Panthers stage their Stanley Cup parade, the possibility of stars signing shorter-term contracts, an update on Claude Giroux, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Panthers celebrated their second straight Stanley Cup championship with a beachfront parade culminating with a rally at Ft Lauderdale Beach Park.
They were also unapologetic toward those critical of their style of play and their hearty partying following Tuesday’s 5-1 series-clinching win on Tuesday over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers also thanked their fans for their support throughout the season and expressed their hope for another parade at the same time next year.
THE ATHLETIC: James Mirtle explored the possibility of NHL stars like winger Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and center Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers accepting shorter-term contracts.
Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner (NHL Images).
Marner, 28, is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The 28-year-old McDavid is a year away from UFA eligibility.
With the salary cap projected to rise significantly in the coming years, those players could prefer short-term deals of two to four years, enabling them to return to the UFA market when the salary cap is much higher while still in their playing prime.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rumors are already rampant suggesting Marner and McDavid could consider short-term contracts rather than the maximum of seven years on the open market or eight years if they re-sign with their current clubs before their UFA eligibility.
Marner will be the one worth watching if he goes to market as expected next Tuesday. His camp is expected to take several days evaluating offers and meeting with interested clubs before reaching a decision by mid-July.
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators continue their contract negotiations with Claude Giroux. The 37-year-old forward is UFA-eligible next Tuesday and has been in daily discussions with Senators management.
They’re attempting to agree on a base salary and a bonus structure. The Giroux camp is believed to be using teammate David Perron’s $4 million average annual value as a comparable.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s still enough time for the two sides to work this out. It could take until next Tuesday to get this done.
THE DENVER POST: Corey Masisak believes the Colorado Avalanche must improve their late-round draft record if they hope to extend their Stanley Cup window. They haven’t drafted a player after the first round who reached 300 career NHL games since 2009, when they chose Ryan O’Reilly (33rd overall) and Tyson Barrie (64th overall).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As Masisak points out, the Avs’ draft record beyond the first round hasn’t been great. They also haven’t had much recent success with their first-rounders. Bowen Byram (fourth overall, 2019) was their last notable selection, and he was traded last year to the Buffalo Sabres. Calum Ritchie (27th overall, 2023) shows potential, but they shipped him to the New York Islanders at the March trade deadline for Brock Nelson.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sheng Peng cites speculation suggesting the Sharks could opt for center Anton Frondell of SHL club Djurgardens IF with the second-overall pick over Michael Misa of the Erie Otters.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That would be a surprising development. Misa is considered the second-best prospect in this year’s draft class, with most mock drafts (including mine) having him going to the Sharks. We’ll find out for sure during the opening round of the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday (June 27) in Los Angeles.
NHL.COM: The Avalanche, Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights released their preseason schedules.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The 2025 NHL preseason begins on Sept. 21 and concludes on Oct. 4.
I forgot to include the link to my latest 2025 NHL Mock Draft:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25209091-complete-2025-nhl-mock-draft-after-stanley-cup-final
I think it is one of the very few mocks that doesn’t have the Bruins picking a center. Basically their prospect pool is so limited I go with the best player available philosophy.
Which is what they’ll likely do. I was looking at their prospect depth and which positions were their thinnest.
Ya, it’s a thin prospect group Lyle and C&E. They need some of everything except maybe a tender. They have some C’s, but none seem like legit 1 or 2 C’s IMO. I like Minten, but seems more like a 3C.
Dropping those 2 spots in the lottery changed a lot I would think. The top 4 C’s in the draft will probably be gone after #6, but hey never know.
I still think they take one of Martin, O’Brien or McQueen even if those 4 C’s are gone. I have even seen some mocks where Martone slips to 7 with Philly taking Martin at 6.
The only reason I say that is top 2C’s are such a valuable commodity, maybe they take a positional need. Or maybe they simply think a guy like Martin is a better player, what do I know about their evaluations. C’s and RD’s are gold in the NHL, which makes Mrtka a possibility too. He’s an interesting prospect. I wouldn’t hate that either.
Thanks Lyle. Interesting overall draft prognosis and – from 1 through to 10 at least – I bet you’ll wind up close to 100% bang on. After that I can see all kinds of “surprises” and, at # 21, my hope is that C Braeden Cootes somehow falls a couple of spots and is taken by Ottawa instead of LD Jackson Smith.
When you say “The Senators have Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot as their left-shot, left-side defensemen, but Smith could become a potential replacement for Chabot if he doesn’t re-sign with them when his contract expires in 2028” you are overlooking big Tyler Kleven who, I bet, will be the other top 2 LD beside Sanderson. And, in the system, is another LD – Tomas Hamara – who is improving rapidly in Belleville and could be a fixture at LD in the 3rd pairing.
We’ll see about Kleven. If Smith is available, however, I’d be surprised if the Senators pass on him. But again, these mock drafts are all just making our best guesses. It’s fun to speculate over which prospect could go where, but teams usually have different plans.
Thanks Lyle
Agree 100% on top 4
My guess is could be some order switches in 5-10
I was thinking Lankovic could crack top 10
Hoping that one of Mrtka or McQueen (you have them 8th and 9th respectively) are available at 11th
Both available at 11th AND Rangers opting to send ‘25 – 1st instead of ‘26 1st; would be excellent!
What are your thoughts on top 15 picks moving (traded) up or down?
Top 5 moving up or down?
Anything’s possible regarding top-15 picks being traded up or down, but it’s not a common occurrence. I wouldn’t be shocked if the order remains the way it is.
Thanks Lyle
Hoping (for entertainment sake at least) that there are some trades
Credit to you, Lyle, for not producing a more of the same draft pick projection as with so many other sites. Frondel at # 6? Interesting.
As for the Habs, no one has them drafting Kashawn Aitcheson; 5’10” Cullen Potter over 6’0″ Braeden Cootes — if they are available as options. Yep, fun to speculate but I will spit out my cheerios if the Habs draft a player under 6′ if another comparable player is available.
And I have been thinking along the same lines as Engles, who in his column has pointed out that there are many more buyers than sellers, and not just for centers. Increases the chances of the Habs – and others – having to keep their picks.
I predict a bland free agency day on July 01.
Bruins Sweeney has to go after top tier goal scorers needs to stop signing players that should be playing on the 3rd line
Draft a future center
Trade Korpisalo
Sign DiPierto ( backup )
Sign Boeser
Sign Ehlers
Sign. Fabbro
Sign Geekie to a show me again contract otherwise bye
Pasta
Boeser
Ehlers
McAvoy
Lindholm
Fabbro
Swayman
Is a nice base and gets back into playoffs
Joe, they don’t have the cap space to sign all those guys and the young guys they need to re-up. They only have 12 guys signed that played in the NHL last year.
I have been clear with my thoughts on what Boston should do this year; stay away from high priced UFA’s, sign mid range guys to 1 and 2 year deals that you can move at the deadline. Accumulate picks and prospects, and see where you sit after next year’s draft. Draft as high as possible, so ya, suck next season.
Rinse repeat if necessary.
Call it rebuild, longer retool, whatever. They need high end talent or they ain’t winning anything.
Florida – Ekblad 1st Overall. Barkov 2nd OA, Reinhart 2 OA, Bennett and Jones both 4th OA.
That is what a winning core and depth looks like. You draft them, or need the assets to trade for them when the opportunity presents itself. You can’t force it, but need to strike while you can.
Panthers did both draft and great trades when the opportunities came.
Ray .. if they sign Geekie which isnt a sure thing they will also sign a big ticket UFA winger and a 2nd pairing Dman … if they move Korpisalo they will have 30 million in cap which will allow them to do that and take care of their own .. although it’s still going to leave them without a legit #1 center for next season .. I’m thinking they move Zacha this offseason
Youre right, Ray.
Next July is the time to big game hunting. The free agent market will provide what we need at that time.
Some big names sitting there for next years UFA class SOP, no doubt about that. The 3 biggest will probably be off that list by then? McDavid, Eichel and Kaprizov.
But they aren’t re-signed until they are, but you just know the teams will try and keep them if at all possible.
Deeper and higher end guys at the top of the draft next year, at least from the early reporting, but we really don’t know that either. But is what the scouts are saying to the accumulators.
We just don’t have enough really good players, or just good players for that matter. If we blow our wad this off season, we may end up regretting it for the next 5-7 years.
And our prospect list is one of the worst in the NHL. Hardly a recipe for long term success.
It’s time IMO.
I’m firmly on board, Ray.
Joe, with 15 committed to including the just-signed Mason Lohrei, they have $23,068,333 in cap reserve. Getting rid of Korpisalo and his $3,000,000 cap hit (with no term player coming back) would get them to $26,668.333.
And they still have 4 RFAs to re-up – C Morgan Geekie, who is coming off a $2,000,000 cap hit, C/W Jakub Lauko, coming off an ELC of $787,500; C/W John Beecher, coming off his ELC of $925,000, and C/W Marat Khusnutdinov, same ELC as Beecher, and all 4 have arbitration rights. Once they’re settled they’ll be down to 19 committed to with 4 to sign, which could include one or more of their UFAs – RW Cole Koepke (expiring $775,000); LD Parker Wotherspoon (exp. $800,000); and RD Henri Jokiharju (exp. $3,100,000). Even if none are re-signed, they still need 4 bodies.
Does anyone think Marchand will be one of those 4? They’d certainly have the cap to do it.
Joe, the Bruins were tied with Philadelphia for last in the Conference, some 15 points back of the 2nd wild card team, Montreal.
The changes you suggest MIGHT get them to the playoffs, but only if all 7 teams they’d need to climb over in order to get there cooperate by doing nothing to improve THEIR teams – Montreal, Columbus, Detroit, NYR, NYI, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
And I’m sure the Flyers are going to do what they can to improve as well.
GeorgeO,Don t you think the eastern conference is wide open. It is much easier than the gauntlet out west.Other than Fla. who else is a lock for the playoffs.Do you think it s a lock for Montreal and Ottawa to makethe playoffs? Carolina is uncertain about their goaltending and they will be losing Burns and Orlov from their D corps.
I can’t see the Sharks grabbing Frondell ahead of Misa. Might as well trade down to 4 if you want Frondell and get a little more for the #2 OA.
I don’t see Brady Martin slipping by the Bruins either.
Agree.. Martin is there at 7 have to think the Bruins draft a need ( center )
Johnny Z, did you see my apology yesterday for the misplacement of my comment you thought was directed at you?
Yes, Thank you!
Draft week is upon us and the excitement is building. I think the Sens will snag their RD soon.
I am waiting to find out who the new goaltender or 2 new goaltenders are of the Edmonton Oilers.
So while Florida celebrates I am sitting on tenderhooks, eager anticipation etc, etc,
As everyone knows as well there is nothing out there in the FA market. So is nothing better than what we have? Stay tuned for the Stan/JJ show.
Alan, in a perfect world and a tit-for-tat scenario, Bowman could offer-sheet Hofer of St. Louis, and then try and pry one of Grubauer or Daccord from Seattle.
The fly in the ointment, however, is their cap situation which has them with a pending cap reserve of $11,962,500 and needing to sign 4 to fill out a 23-man NHL roster. Ostensibly very doable – that is, until you consider that the prime unsigned player is Bouchard. Just about all of that will be gone in the flash of his signature. And, to make moves as I suggest above, they would need to find takers for – or at least otherwise purge from their roster – both Skinner and Pickard who each have just 1 season left at cap costs of $2,600,000 and $1,000,000 respectively. But even that wouldn’t leave them enough to bring in two new goalies – of any consequence.
In that regard, it is interesting to note that, among the existing 2-goalie tandems (as of this moment), Edmonton ranks near the very bottom in terms of % of the pending $95.5 mil cap spent on goaltending. Here’s the complete list also showing actual $$ as well as %, with an asterisk (*) denoting 2025 playoff teams:
16% – *NEW JERSEY Markstrom-Daws $14,937,500
14% – NY RANGERS Shesterkin-Quick $13,000,000
11% – BOSTON Swayman-Korpisalo $11,250,000; NY ISLANDERS Sorokin-Varlamov $11,000,000; SEATTLE Grubauer-Daccord $10,900,000; *TAMPA Vasilevsky-Johansson $10,750,000; *FLORIDA Bobrovsky-To Be Determined $10,000,000;
10% – *VANCOUVER Demko-Lankinen $9,500,000; *WINNIPEG Hellebuyck-Comrie $9,325,000; *DALLAS Oettinger-DeSmith $9,250,000; *OTTAWA Ullmark-Merilainen (RFA negotiations);$9,070,000
9% – *WASHINGTON Thompson-Lindgren $8,850,000; NASHVILLE Saros-Annunen $8.577.500
8% PITTSBURGH Jarry-Nedeljkovic $7,875,000; CHICAGO Knight-Brossoit $7,800,000; ANAHEIM Gibson-Dostal (RFA negotiations)
7% – *VEGAS Hill-Schmid $7.125,000; *ST. LOUIS Binnington-Hofer (RFA negotiations) $6,775,000; *COLORADO Blackwood-Wedgewood $6,750,000; DETROIT Mrazek-Talbot $6,750,000; UTAH Vejmelka-Ingram $6,700,000; COLUMBUS Merzlikins-Greaves $6,212,500; *TORONTO Woll-Stolarz $6,166,667; *LOS ANGELES Kuemper-Portillo $6,033,333;
6% BUFFALO Luukkonen-Levi (RFA negotiations) $5,675,000; *MINNESOTA Gustavsson-Wallstedt $5,950,000
5% PHILADELPHIA Fedotov-Ersson $4,725,000; *CAROLINA Anderssen-Kochetkov $4,750,000;
4% – *MONTREAL Montembeault-Dobes (RFA negotiations) $4,075,000; *EDMONTON Skinner-Pickard $3,600,000;
3% – SAN JOSE Askarov-Romanov $2,910,000
2% – CALGARY Wolf-Cooley $1,625,000
In the 8% category above it should read ANAHEIM Gibson-Dostal (RFA negotiations) $6,400,000.
As with other showing “RFA negotiations” the % will increase in accordance with the new contract (or another changes where applicable)
Goaltending is voodoo. Bob was great and was better than either Edmonton tender in the finals. That’s a fact, so I get why folks are talking about it.
Some thoughts to consider if you are Stan Bowman:
1 – Edmonton ,with Skinner ($2.6M) and Pickard ($1M), had the better tending in the series against LA and Darcy Kuemper at $5.25M who was a Vezina finalist.
2 – Edmonton had better tending in the series against Vegas and Hill at $6.25M.
3 – Edmonton had better tending in the series against Dallas and Oettinger at $8.25M. Again.
4 – Skinner & Pickard’s playoff stats are better than Vezina winner and league MVP Hellebucyk at $8.5M
5 – Skinner and Pickard’s playoff stats are better than Vasilevskiy at $9.5M and a Vezina finalist this year.
6 – who is available that you can confidently predict will give you better tending than Skinner and Pickard? What will they cost in $$ and or assets?
7 – Is that the best place to invest big $$ considering above? That money spent on tending takes away from another position on the team.
Would I change it up in net, yep. I would keep Skinner, he’s still young and his best is better than Pickard’s best. You can bury Pickard’s contract if you can’t trade him, but someone will take him in trade or on waivers.
I would take a chance on Vladar, still young, he’s big and very athletic. The tools are there, the question is will he put it all together. He’s at that age when tenders can hit at 27.
Shouldn’t cost too much.
Edmonton could try Toronto for a goalie. Both Stolarz and Woll have expressed their desire to be a #1. Keep Pickard and shop Skinner. Woll or Stolarz would be a better option than say Gibson or the other 5/6 million dollar cast offs
I have an outlier opinion for the Habs #16 and #17.
Blake Fiddler
Logan Hensler
Both RDs.
Lyle you have
Kashawn Aitcheson
Cullen Potter
I would expect Aitcheson to be gone by then and he’s a LD, that the Habs are loaded with
Potter isn’t on my radar
I like Fiddler and Hensler, but I think it would be a little early for the Wings to snag one of them. I think someone will slip down to them that no one expected. Let’s hope it is not another Zadina!!!!!! I wanted Bouchard in that draft.
And my apologies…I have started a streak of posting my comments in the wrong place. The Oiler goalie comment was mean in response to Alan Pinder-Moss.
Not necessary, your post is actually the start of a new thread, not a comment on my post in the thread before, Thanks any-o-hoo.
HF30:
Two D? Who knows, right, but at the least (whoa, hobby horse, steady now) they both have size.
By the by, check out Eric Engels column today on sports net. Surprised Lyle didn’t make any references about it.
That’s because I published today’s updates before Engels’ column appeared.
LJ
I’d take those two because RD is a position of need on both the Habs and the pipeline.
If I took a F it would be Daniil Prokhorov, 6’6 218lb good hands and feet and more importantly a mean streak.
Engels suggests 4 guys, 3 of which are projected to be gone by the time Habs pick.
His logic with Rossi is flawed in the sense of contract . He has more points than Slafkovsky, a bit less than Caufield with less TOI.
His ask would have the Habs locking up 4/6 of the top 6 between $7-7.75 long term. That’s a steal.
While I like Rossi, I’m still game to go for Pavel Zacha, 28y/o 6’3 205. there’s nothing exciting about him.
He’s older, has less offense but costs less and a proven 200 ft player and good on faceoffs. If the Habs can get him for a draft pick and prospect
Yep. This is going to be curious.
First not saying that this is my preference, or that I necessarily agree or even how I would feel but if I was to bet…it will be a Hart/Skinner duo next season.
Of course that is dependent on tomorrow’s verdict and the league’ position as well.
But he is from AB, and the Oilers are getting a notable reputation for acquiring players with past troubles (Kassian, Kane, Perry, and Bowman) so they certainly have experience with the publicity, blowback, and then getting it to work.
I really like the idea of Hofer.
Beyond that not in love with the UFAs. Not in love with Gibson either if they take the full cap hit.
And who knows what else is availible in trade.
Hi 1Oilerfan
I think the verdict comes July 24th, not this week.
That said, I do believe IF (using capitals on purpose) there is an aquittal(s) then Bowman picks up phone (next day) to call his agent.
8787
You are correct about the date. Not sure why flipped from July to June haha.
Reguardless what the verdict is, Hart being from the Edmonton area may be the exact reason why Hart stays away from Edmonton
Regardless there will be a lot head scratching from that verdict regardless. If the Jake Virtanen verdict taught us anything, even if they win they might not get a sniff of the NHL after.
It made for some interesting fireside chat at the cottage. I was surprised by the competitive hockey mom’s opinions on this. They were quite distrusting of EM’s motives and her credibility. (which I found curious)
….we shall see.
Bruins sign Dman Lohrei to a 2 year 3.2 million per ..33 points in 77 games with five goals and 28 assists. He also had a league-worst plus/minus of -43.
He got a good show me deal for himself
Joe,did they sign him to include him in a trade?
Will a Lohrei .. Zacha & #7 pick bring back Dobson & Horvat
Joe I keep hearing about a Bruins/ Islander deal!
Much like Kleven in Ottawa – 2 year “show-me” bridge … both have lots of upside. Good signing in Boston.
Yes, a good signing. Because of injuries to McAvoy & Lindholm, and the Carlo trade, Lohrei was forced to play too high in the line up.
Akbender,so did Zadorov also.
I hate to even bring up the Hart situation. But if found innocent there will still be baggage in my opinion. I am very curious on how well you posters feel he will do with a year off. George I get most likely unprecedented but you do have lots of numbers and opinions that I enjoy reading ?