NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 20, 2025
The 2025 preseason schedule was released, the Red Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91, USA Hockey lists the 44 players invited to their 2026 Winter Olympics orientation camp, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The league announced its 2026-26 preseason schedule. The 15-day, 104-game slate begins on Saturday, Sept. 20, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 4.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Click the link above for the complete preseason schedule.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91 as part of their centennial season celebrations. The ceremony will take place on Jan. 12, 2026, before Detroit’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena.
Hall-of-Famer Sergei Fedorov. (NHL.com).
Red Wings governor and CEO Chris Ilitch released a statement on Tuesday announcing the club’s plan to honor Fedorov, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. “His exceptional skill, relentless drive, and last impact, playing a pivotal role in bringing three Stanley Cup championships to Detroit, make him the perfect embodiment of the qualities deserving of our franchise’s most prestigious honor.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Fedorov was among the greatest players in Red Wings history, spending 13 of his 18 NHL seasons in Detroit from 1990-91 to 2002-03. He won the Selke Trophy twice and is the last Red Wing to win the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award.
Fedorov sits fourth among the Red Wings’ franchise leaders with 400 goals. He’s also sixth with 954 points and seventh with 554 assists.
Interestingly, the Wings chose a home game against Carolina to honor Fedorov. As a restricted free agent in 1997, he staged a contract holdout before signing with the Hurricanes in 1998, a deal that the Wings were forced to match. This changed the relationship between the gifted two-way forward and Wings management, ultimately leading to his departure as an unrestricted free agent in 2003.
USA HOCKEY: Unveiled the 44 players who will attend their 2026 Winter Olympics orientation camp.
The notable stars include goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman, defensemen Quinn and Luke Hughes, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, Brock Faber, Adam Fox and Jake Sanderson, and forwards Auston Matthews, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Patrick Kane, J.T. Miller, Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson and Cole Caufield.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Follow the link above for the complete list. Like Canada’s orientation camp, most of the USA players who participated in February’s 4 Nations Face Off are part of this camp and will likely be part of their Olympic roster.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: The Blues have signed forward Milan Lucic to a professional tryout offer (PTO).
Lucic, 37, has not played in the NHL since Oct. 2023 with the Boston Bruins. He played only four games that season until he was sidelined by an ankle injury and placed on indefinite leave following a charge of assault and battery against a family member. The charge was dropped when his wife declined to testify against him.
A rugged power forward with the Bruins earlier in his career, Lucic was seeing fourth-line minutes during his last full season in 2022-23 with the Calgary Flames. He hasn’t had more than 23 points in a season since 2017-18.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford pointed out that Lucic will be jockeying for a roster spot with Mathieu Joseph (28 years old) and Alexandre Texier (25), who are considerably younger and faster. If he plays well enough but fails to earn a roster spot with the Blues, he could draw the interest of another NHL team.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: cited PuckPedia indicating the Avalanche could sign unrestricted free agent forward Victor Olofsson to a one-year contract. The deal has not been officially announced.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Olofsson scored 20-or-more goals three times in six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres from 2018-19 to 2023-24. He had 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets have signed Brendan Smith to a PTO contract. A 14-season NHL veteran, the 36-year-old defenseman played a depth role with the Dallas Stars last season, collecting six points in 32 games.
No Hutson USA invite . Interesting
Ranked 9 in Norris higher than that in defensive scoring and a top 20 defence man overall last year. All as a rookie
Not saying he is in the top 6-8 but should have had a courtesy invitation at the very least
Maybe someone gets hurt in the gym
Agreed Silver Seven. The thinking is that with Quinn Hughes guaranteed a spot, they don’t want to have two short defensemen. But he has earned a courtesy invite. And as you imply, he may be needed if Hughes is injured.
Absolutely
He’s young, on the rise, so by the Olympics he very well could be in our top 7 D-men
By the same token Noah Dobson didn’t get an invite from team Canada.
I don’t mind that neither of the Habs top 2 D are invited.
They get to rest and nurture chips on their shoulders.
Not inviting Dobson was also ridiculous. But not inviting a Dman coming off a historic rookie year is even crazier.
Congrats out to Sergei
Why did it take so long?
Re Lucic and PTO….. let him battle it out for a spot
I suspect there may be at least a couple more PTO’s next week when ban is lifted on the 5
Do Sens still have rights to Formenton (yes I know he’s been “off skates” for quite a while)?
Yes, because he had signed – when first an RFA – with a team in Europe back at the start of that mess, they retain his rights, and he’s shown among their minor league assets as an RFA at Puckpedia.
But having already stated that he has moved on from hockey to pursue a career in law, I doubt he’ll change his mind at this stage.
For the books, and at the first opportunity to switch from an RFA to a UFA, he’ll disappear from their assets.
Thanks George
Didn’t see that he was pursuing Law; during trial they had mentioned pursuing a career in construction ??
If it’s construction, he’d be wise to try and get back in playing shape
If the Law, then fully understand…. He’d have a Lifetime career beginning in 3 or 4 years
Side note: I truly feel the sorriest (of all 5) for Formenton. Big time sorry for him.
If I’m the youngest of an entire group; not even old enough to legally join my friends at a bar; and I’ve already witnessed a woman (BTW more than 2 years older than I) plead for my teammates to have sex with her; and then she leads me by the hand (for same) into the bathroom… I’m not turning that down.
He most of all, should never have even been charged.
Heh. You’re right 8787. It’s a career in heavy-machine construction. Brain fart.
Depends on where he is in construction. If he’s the owner of an even decent construction company he’s gonna be more loaded than many lawyers. My guess is he has ins to that world and will make a damn good living.
For the record, the 6″ 3″ 195lbs LW, who had speed to burn, only turns 26 next month, and in 22gp in 2022-23 and 24gp in 2023-24 with Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss National League, scored a total of 20g 9a 29pts
8787 Loooch had it made in Boston.Would have went down a hero and probably had a job with the organization when he retired.Let s hope he has seen the light.
Only time will tell
Olofsson signed by the Avalanche probably a good idea; hopefully, make that 3rd line more interesting. Drury centering Colton and Olofsson. Get some production there, not bad! 4th line would be probably Parker Kelly centering kiviranta and O’Connor? Or mixing and matching some elements of that when O’Connor returns from hip surgery. Might present and opportunity for the guy they got from Columbus, whose name escapes me, or Ivan Ivan . One thing I hope the Avalanche do is give 3rd and 4th lines more ice time. They deserve it because at times the top line is too predictable; especially on the PP! More pucks to the net, nichushkin and landeskog type hockey. GO AVS!!!!
Decent signing for sure tommyboy, and for just $500,000 more than his expired $1,975,000 for a 5’11” 180lb LW who, over 370 career NHL games, has 82-game average of 23g 23a 46pts.
Paired with the right line-mates he could easily pot 25 goals, which wouldn’t be at all bad for a 3rd/4th liner.
Certainly, among UFA LWs available, he’s a far better gamble than 36y/o Pacioretty, Gregor or Kovalenko.
And it’s interesting to note he went ahead of Roslovic. I have a feeling his hold-up as a 3rd/4th line RW option is related to term and perhaps more $$ than teams are will to fork over for a guy whose been with 5 teams over the past 5 seasons.
$1,075,000 not $1,975,000
Speaking of Roslovic, this article by Thomas Drance of The Athletic puts to rest any interest in him by the Canucks:
“The Canucks seem to have emerged from that process with a sense of conviction that between a healthy Filip Chytil and the late-season emergence of Aatu Räty, the club has enough at centre to stay in control in the short term if necessary, and that a centre-capable option, like Roslovic, isn’t likely to be the full-time answer the club requires down the middle of its forward group anyway.”
The blurb quoting Drance goes on to say “While still exploring options, the Canucks now see the trade market as a more realistic path to acquire a middle-six center.”