NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 28, 2025
A 15-game schedule for Friday, evaluations of the 32 teams, the latest on the attempted sale of the Penguins, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The return of Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk from injury and the Colorado Avalanche’s pursuit of their 11th straight win highlight Friday’s 15-game schedule.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk (NHL Images).
Tkachuk has been sidelined since Oct. 16 following surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb. He’s making his return in his hometown of St. Louis against the Blues.
The Avalanche sit atop the overall standings with a record of 17-1-5 (39 points). They have an opportunity to win 11 straight games for the second time in franchise history. Center Nathan MacKinnon leads all NHL scorers with 18 goals and 39 points, while defenseman Cale Makar leads all defensemen with 30 points.
Meanwhile, the “Black Friday” tradition continues as the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers. In California, the Anaheim Ducks host the Los Angeles Kings as the two rivals jockey for first place in the Pacific Division.
CNBC: Michael Ozanian made his annual evaluation of all 32 NHL franchises.
The Toronto Maple Leafs once again top the list at $4.30 billion, followed by the New York Rangers ($3.8 billion), Montreal Canadiens ($3.4 billion), Los Angeles Kings ($3.15 billion), and Edmonton Oilers ($3.1 billion).
The Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, and Detroit Red Wings round out the top 10 franchises.
The Columbus Blue Jackets ranked 32nd ($1.4 billion), with the Buffalo Sabres at 31 ($1.42 billion), the Ottawa Senators at 30 ($1.44 billion), the Winnipeg Jets at 29 ($1.46 billion), and the San Jose Sharks at 28 ($1.55 billion).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Being in two of the NHL’s smallest markets partly accounts for the Senators and Jets’ placement. The Blues Jackets and Sharks have been rebuilding in recent years, while the Sabres have missed the playoffs for a league-record 14 years.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: There are conflicting reports regarding the sale of the Penguins.
Pittsburgh sports radio host Mark Madden claimed the attempt by current owner Fenway Sports Group to sell the team to the Hoffman Group was off. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the negotiations remain more difficult than expected, but the Hoffman Group remains within its exclusive negotiating window and is moving forward.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As Friedman said, “We will see.”
TSN: Edmonton Oilers winger Kasperi Kapanen appeared to suffer an injury during practice on Thursday. He has been sidelined since Oct. 19 with an undisclosed injury and only recently rejoined his teammates in practice.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Speaking of the Oilers, winger Jack Roslovic is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken after blocking a shot during Tuesday’s loss to the Dallas Stars.
MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: The Canadiens reclaimed forward Sammy Blais off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs and sent him to their AHL affiliate in Laval.
Good luck to the Hoffman group in buying the Penguins. Poor John Henry with a report that he is worth 5.7 billion will be looking for the best deal. He must be getting tired of owning sports affiliated businesses such as the Boston Red Sox,Fenway Sports Group and the Liverpool Football Club.
One thing that team “evaluation” demonstrates clearly is that, being ranked at or near the top doesn’t translate into success on the ice. 🙂
So, in the end the basic reaction is “so what?”
Well, for one thing, George, it would set the fee for potential expansion franchises. It also helps set the value for a potential sale of an existing franchise. Those valuations are also indicators of which clubs would have an easier time of spending to the cap ceiling each season.
Hmmm…….🤔
“So there!” 😉
Heh. I guess I’ve been “put in my place quite succinctly. But although I do understand all that reasoning, having an “easier time of spending to the cap” can – and is often – countered by willingness/ability to do so by deep-pocket owners in the smaller markets.
With the exception of Columbus who currently have a cap reserve of $16,767,037 and a projected one of $12,225,957, here’s how the “bottom 5” compare in that regard to the top 5:
first total current – second total projected – according to Puckpedia
Bottom 4
Buffalo – $2,681,920 – $1,855,202
Ottawa – $3,134,663 – $2,800,000
Winnipeg – $4,103,333 – $2,992,014
San Jose – $5,985,833 – $2,673,948 OVER
Top 5
Toronto – $303,847 – $285,201
NY Rangers – $43,866 – $433,822 OVER
Montreal – $3,592,188 – $2.619,304
Los Angeles – $3,845.939 – $2,893,966
Edmonton – $139,167 – $2,-40,136 OVER
Yes, the Leafs, Rangers and Oilers are smack up against the limit – and two of them eventually over – but their disregard of the wisdom of allowing for “wiggle room” also makes trades to improve somewhat problematic in that any deal almost has to involve equal cap going in and out.
Or am I out to lunch there as well? – lol