NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 31, 2025
Oilers GM Stan Bowman begins contract discussions with Connor McDavid’s camp, possible adjustments for the Maple Leafs and Rangers for 2025-26, the Jets avoid arbitration with Dylan Samberg, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
TSN: Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said he’s “very encouraged” by the early discussions he’s had with Connor McDavid’s agent about a contract extension.
The 28-year-old Oilers captain is in the final season of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent next July. Bowman indicated that they haven’t had detailed talks yet, but expects to have further conversations soon.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid is in the prime of his NHL career. If he and the Oilers fail to agree to a new contract, he would become the biggest name in next summer’s UFA market. However, most observers believe McDavid will sign an extension with the Oilers, making him the league’s highest-paid player starting in 2026-27.
TSN: Travis Yost recently examined the potential effect of Mitch Marner’s departure on the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially team captain Auston Matthews.
Yost believes the Maple Leafs remain a very good team despite Marner’s absence. Matthews is a superstar who should continue to produce with just about anyone as his linemates.
Matthews will have power forward Matthew Knies at left wing. Finding a suitable fit on right wing could be challenging, but Max Domi and recently acquired Matias Maccelli should get significant opportunities.
The Leafs should continue doing well at even strength. However, their power play suffered a downturn midway through last season and into the playoffs. If it persists, it could become a problem.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marner’s departure will put the Maple Leafs under a brighter spotlight this season. They could attempt to address any offensive concerns via the trade market, but they have few expendable assets to use as bait.
NEW YORK POST: Ethan Sears looked at the issues the Rangers must address before the start of the regular season.
How well players like Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, and Alexis Lafreniere rebound from their disappointing performances last season is among the crucial factors. Their depth at center could be another, especially if Zibanejad remains on the wing. Fox’s season will depend on how quickly he and recent addition Vladislav Gavrikov can establish chemistry on the top defense pairing.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Like the Leafs, the Rangers will be among the more closely scrutinized teams this season. General manager Chris Drury has been retooling his roster since December, and he could end up on the hot seat if his efforts fail to pan out.
THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: The Jets avoided salary arbitration with Dylan Samberg, as the two sides agreed to a three-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $5.75 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s a big raise from the $1.4 million AAV of Samberg’s previous contract. It’s also much closer to the $6 million cap hit he was seeking when he filed for arbitration, and well above the $2.5 million the Jets originally sought.
The Jets, however, had little choice. Samberg emerged last season as a solid top-four defenseman. Had this gone to arbitration, he would’ve become eligible for unrestricted free-agent status next July. They want to keep this roster intact as much as possible as they pursue the Stanley Cup.
This agreement leaves Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nick Robertson as the only restricted free agent still scheduled for arbitration. His hearing will take place on August 3 unless he and the Leafs agree to a contract before that date.
CALGARY SUN: The Calgary Flames signed forward Martin Pospisil to a three-year contract extension beginning in 2026-27. PuckPedia indicates the 26-year-old will earn an AAV of $2.5 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pospisil is currently in the final season of a two-year deal with an AAV of $1 million. A versatile physical forward who can play center or left wing, his hard-hitting style has made him a fan favorite in Calgary.
RG.ORG: Jimmy Vesey is considering offers from KHL teams. SKA St. Petersburg is viewed as the front-runner for the 32-year-old forward’s services.
Vesey’s future in the NHL is uncertain after the Colorado Avalanche declined to re-sign him. He’s spent nine seasons with the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and the Avalanche.
THE ATHLETIC: Carter Yakemchuk is hoping to crack the Ottawa Senators’ roster this season. The Senators need depth among their right-side defensemen, something the 19-year-old Yakemchuk hopes to address. A skilled puck-mover, he’s been working on improving his defensive game since last season.
KARPAT.FI: Former NHL defenseman Markus Nutivaara is staging a comeback with Finnish team Karpat, signing a one-year contract with his hometown club. The 31-year-old retired two years ago due to hip surgeries. His last game was with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22.
Suggesting replacing Marner with 8 goal scorer Matias Maccelli and suggesting a Domi resurgence can make a difference to the Leafs shows just how thin hockey news is in the summer.
And looking at the Leafs draft picks, they currently have only 3 draft picks in 2026, starting in the third round, and have no first round picks for the next two years.
Albeit we are in the middle of summer, I wonder what Leaf fans see going forward. Anyone?
Not a Leaf fan, but I see that Berube will get a better defensive effort from this group and the Leafs could benefit by being a better counter punching team off the rush!
I think Domi will have chemistry with Matthews and set career highs in all offensive categories.
Knies will be one of the best deals in the league provided he avoids injury.
Domi is inconsistent .Id rather not give him over 15-16 minutes of ice time. A more stable RW will end up with Knies+AM imho.
It’s not surprising to see that once the Leafs broke up the “core four” people are clamoring on how to find a suitable replacement for one of the core who happens to be a 100pt player.
Well, if the goal was to break up the core and redistribute that cap space to shore up weaknesses found elsewhere in the line up, then looking for a “replacement” isn’t in the cards, right? You’re more thinking along the lines of balance where your team isn’t as dependent on only two lines outta the four.
As a team that desperately needs more of a spotlight on it, I think many who write about this team, missed that boat. This team looks and plays very different than they have played previously under both Keith and Babs. These changes are reflected in the players they have currently signed.
Unfortunately for teams that are on their cup drive, they tend to drain their prospects pool adding players to “take them to the next level”. Unfortunately for the Leafs, it was a bunch of one and done, for a good asset…ie the previous regime handed out picks and prospects like candy and so few acquired assets that would of been great if they would of stayed, left either to cap or the fit wasn’t there.
I think there’s quite a bit to do for them especially if they’d like to return to the top of the standings next season, a task I doubt they’ll come close to doing. They have one RFA who I doubt will remain with the team thus losing another young, fast 20 goal scorer. It will be year two of Berube hockey and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out especially which players can play it and which can’t…see Rielly.
Rangers only question at center is 3C. JT is locked into 1C, Trocheck as 2C and Carrick as 4C.
So the question is do you run Parssinen at 3C (with Zib on JT’s wing) or do you move Zib to 3C.
Based on how Zib responded to playing wing with JT, I think the Rangers start the year with him there again.
If Parssinen can’t handle the 3C role, the Rangers can plug in Brodzinski and/or look for a minor trade later in the year.
Hard to figure out what Rangers will do with lineup. Disappointing year all around and new coaching staff coming in.
Not sure Zib stays at wing, nor do I see him dropping to 3rd line. Trochek didn’t exactly light it up playing with Panarin.
Heck, I’m not sure that Drury is done with moves.
EK to Leafs could help with the PP however it’s a question of who blinks first to make it possible. Leafs start bad or Dubas wants a shot at McKenna and worries EK gets hurt
Still think it’s a good fit though
Not sure what the leafs could offer. As Lj mentioned the cupboards are super bare. Even with Erik coming relatively cheap they don’t have much to offer especially with the pens needing to hold significant salary.
A bag of pucks is an overpayment, even at 5 mill. Can’t see EK ever playing Berube hockey and for the 2 or 3 minutes a game, where he may or maynot help the PP, EK isn’t worth much. Karlsson is a liability and he looks great in a Pittsburgh jersey
Man… that cup dry spell has really instilled a losing mentality in some of the fan base. You’re also the one that wanted Mathews traded away after the playoffs. It’s ok bud. I promise you… winning cups is fun.
Chrisms, reading your last comment burst out laughing 😂
Chrisms at least make a feeble attempt to tell the truth. Up to this point you and 8787 are trying to make a career out of trying to trade EK to whomever. You’re stuck with the bum, because he’s of little value to a contender. Would I trade Matthews, sure would, for McDavid or McKinnon in a heartbeat, for Draisatl two heartbeats, for Sid and a couple of unprotected 1st, maybe not
You were ready to ride mathews out of town. Now I realize it was fresh off the loss. Some frustration working itself out. I’m not making a career out of trading anyone. I think Erik is likely here till the deadline and depending on season and how many teams he allows a trade to his value will vary. But defensive deficiencies aside, his talent will attract gms looking to load up for a run. History validates that. Man still had 11 goals and over 40 assists in a down year. Find me a time a player like that was available at the deadline that didn’t bring back some Decent value…. Thomas vanek maybe? Pens in no way have to move him. They can wait. It’s not like he’s demanding a trade publicly and pens can’t find takers.
Now your a flat out liar Chrisms. After Toronto lost I didn’t say anything until after they did their extit interviews and even then I never said that he should be traded. You wanna try again 3 lies for a buck
That wasn’t you who talked about how he wasn’t a leader and he wasn’t taking ownership for the loss and you’d be happy to see him go? Ok then. Must have been boo-boo. My bad.
Now you’re trying to change what you said. You claimed that I wanted him traded, which is your 1st lie. Did I critisize Matthews after the exit interviews dam rights I did. Matthews Marner all of them for not showing up. I gave Matthews and Marner extra criticism for throwing their teammates under the bus. But I never said trade him which makes you a liar. These days we don’t expect much from
You keep saying liar… that’s seems aggressive. But neither of us is going to put the effort to go back to posts in the days after the leafs lost to find where you wanted them gone. But they exist. The infernet never forgets. If anyone cared they could look it up. Fact.
Yogi. Maybe you were in your cups. We’ve all been there. Well…many of us have been. Our Stanley cups.
Boom.
It seems you don’t watch the Flames much. Pospisil has spent most of his two years playing RW but can play all three forward positions.
Last year most of his minutes were played playing the tight side with Hubs and Kadri. the year before with Zary(lw) and Kadri,
Last year he was one of the best values in the NHL with 25 points and 301 hiys
You’ll find most people don’t watch much hockey outside of their fav team. A 5 minute highlight package is more than enough to tell them what every player is like and how a game went