NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 15, 2025
Panthers center Sam Bennett returns from a memorable summer, former Stars coach Peter DeBoer regrets singling out Jake Oettinger following the club’s playoff elimination, the Flyers trade goalie Ivan Fedotov to the Blue Jackets, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: After a memorable summer, Sam Bennett is excited about the upcoming season with the Panthers.
Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett (NHL Images).
The 29-year-old center won the Conn Smythe Trophy (the first player to do so in franchise history) as he led the Panthers to their second straight Stanley Cup championship. He then signed a new eight-year contract with the club and married Zoe, his partner in Humane Society adoptions.
Bennett isn’t concerned about the short offseasons that he and his teammates have had since reaching the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. “You get to stay in shape a lot easier,” he said. “You don’t have as much time to get out of shape.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers enter this season hoping to become the first team since the 1982 New York Islanders to win three straight Stanley Cups. That team would win four straight from 1980 to 1983.
However, winning their third straight Cup could be the most challenging for the Panthers. The toll of those long seasons and shortened summers could catch up with them, plus they’ll be without left winger Matthew Tkachuk until January as he recovers from injuries incurred during last season. As of July 1, the Panthers also had one of the oldest rosters heading into 2025-26.
NHL.COM: Former Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer said he doesn’t regret pulling goaltender Jake Oettinger early in Game 5 of the 2025 Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers. However, he regrets how he handled the narrative after the Stars were eliminated following a 6-3 loss to the Oilers.
“Listen, we were all to blame for coming up short again, and it starts with me,” DeBoer told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. “It was on me, it was on the coaches, it was on all the players, it was on the organization as a whole. We all created the disappointment. We were all to blame, not just one guy.”
When all the postgame questions were about Oettinger, DeBoer felt he should’ve redirected the topic to stress that it wasn’t about the goaltender, but the entire team.
After losing that series, the Stars fired DeBoer, replacing him with Glen Gulutzan. However, DeBoer remains one of Canada’s assistant coaches for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: DeBoer has a strong regular-season record and also guided the 2011-12 New Jersey Devils and the 2015-16 San Jose Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final. He’ll land with another NHL team in the near future, perhaps a little wiser from his mishandling of the situation during his final game with the Stars.
THE ATHLETIC: The Philadelphia Flyers traded goaltender Ivan Fedotov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The Jackets are taking on his full $3.275 million cap hit, though he’s owed just $775K in base salary.
Aaron Portzline writes that Fedotov is being brought in to add depth to the Jackets’ goaltending position. It’s expected that Jet Greaves will back up starter Elvis Merzlikins. Kevin Kurz reports the move clears a logjam between the pipes for the Flyers, who added Dan Vladar with a two-year contract earlier this summer.
ESPN.COM: Greg Wyshynski reported Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love was placed on a team-imposed leave of absence pending results of an NHL investigation.
Wyshynski indicated that an NHL source stated the league received a letter detailing allegations related to Love’s personal conduct during his interviews for coaching jobs with rival clubs during the offseason. Two of the teams with whom he reportedly interviewed received similar letters. The allegations predate his tenure with the Capitals.
Yes short offseason
Yes one of the older teams
Yes, without Tkachuck until Jan
BUT,
—They’ll make playoffs with or without T-Chuck ; and he will be back for the playoff run
—They still have basically the same team
—They are still motivated
So I’m not going to be surprised if there is a 3-Peat
I’m not saying “yes it’s hapennin’ “
Just saying that they should not be discounted as doing this because of shorter off season, age, and missing a key contributor for 3 months
8787: I’m not discounting the Panthers. They’re two-time Stanley Cup champs for a reason. I’m merely pointing out the issues that could make it more difficult to win that third straight Cup.
I fully agree
I wasn’t at all discounting your points; just me leaning a little more (on the needle side) towards 3-Peat; than against it.
Certainly a much longer shot at a Cup in ‘26 (than this past spring) because of the reasons you posted; BUT not impossible
Just from the standpoint of roster (they will have Tkachuck for playoffs);as at now, to me, they should be the favs for representing the Atl Div in the ECF.
I also have more confidence than not re them beating Canes
Gut feeling; they’re back in the SCF.
Who represents the West????
If it is the Oilers; then I lean (as at now) to Oilers.
Not confident though in Oilers getting back to SCFs
If it’s not Oilers; and Panthers rep East; as at now; I’m leaning towards a 3-Peat vs choosing any other team
Dark horse—Hughes makes a couple of huge moves and Habs get on a roll—- hmmmm (thinking back to Kings’ first cup)—- like the Bits ‘N Bites commercial: “whole new ball game”
I wonder where Deboer will end up with his next coaching job. He has been a coach for 18 years in 5 organizations including Fla,SJS,NJD,Vegas,and most recently Dallas.The old boy network is still alive and well in the NHL.
Well, Deboer is a very good coach and any team that fires their coach next will have him as their first candidate to replace that coach.
Round and round again, it is the circle game
… Joni Mitchell
No doubt Johnny Z … and one who has learned a hard lesson about singling out one player as a scapegoat for failure.
Over 1,328 career games as head coach – a possible 2,656 points – his teams have compiled 1,460 points which works out to an overall .550 % pace. Pretty solid by any standards.
Which makes it hard to fathom why that unctuous bunch in Vegas saw fit to fire him after compiling a record of 98 50 12 there – earning 208 out of a possible 320 points – a sparkling .650 % pace!
What the Hell were they expecting – a .750 pace? They were never that good no matter who was behind the bench.
I’d love to see them spiral down out of sight.
GeorgeO, kind of like Don Sweeney firing Bruce Cassidy who went on the next year to win a cup in Vegas and Jim Montgomery who s team recorded the best regular season record in NHL history.Marco Sturm doesn t have a chance unless he wins the cup.
Bruins are a great example of upper management scapegoating the coach as a cover for their bad player choices.