NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 16, 2025
A notable hat trick by Predators winger Filip Forsberg, the Ducks’ Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba return to New York, the Sabres make a management change, the three stars of the week, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF MONDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: A hat-trick performance by Filip Forsberg carried the Nashville Predators to a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Roman Josi and Ryan O’Reilly each collected two assists for the 13-15-4 Predators, who have won seven of their last 10 games. Dalibor Dvorsky netted both goals for the Blues, who dropped to 12-15-7.
Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Forsberg picked up his 11th career hat trick, tying Markus Naslund for the second-most NHL hat tricks by a Swedish player. Kent Nilsson is the leader with 14.
Before this game, the Blues announced that winger Dylan Holloway would miss at least six weeks with an ankle injury.
Anaheim Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier scored twice, and goalie Lukas Dostal stopped 26 shots to defeat the New York Rangers 4-1. Ryan Poehling had two assists for the Ducks (20-12-1), as they ended a two-game losing skid. Matthew Robertson replied for the Rangers (16-14-4), who have dropped four of their last five games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was the first game back in New York for former Rangers Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, who received ovations from the fans at Madison Square Garden during tribute videos for both players. Both were traded to the Ducks in separate trades last season.
Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad was benched from this game for missing a team meeting.
Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart tallied two goals in a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots for the 17-13-2 Panthers, who’ve won five of their last six contests. Brayden Point had two assists for the Lightning (18-12-3), who hold first place in the Atlantic Division with 39 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning forward Brandon Hagel left this game in the third period after a questionable hit by Panthers defenseman Seth Jones. Earlier in the day, the Lightning announced that defenseman Emil Lilleberg will miss several weeks with an injury, while sidelined goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy could return to the lineup before Christmas.
The Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings by a score of 4-1. Mikko Rantanen, Matt Duchene, and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist, and Casey DeSmith made 27 saves for the 22-7-5 Stars. Andrei Kuzmenko scored for the Kings (14-9-9), who are 0-1-2 in their last three games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury following a collision with Rantanen.
An overtime goal by Brady Tkachuk gave the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Tim Stutzle had three assists, and Jake Sanderson scored the tying goal late in the third period for the Senators (15-13-4). Neal Pionk and Logan Stanley replied for the 15-15-2 Jets, who have three wins in their last 10 games.
HEADLINES
TSN: The Buffalo Sabres fired general manager Kevyn Adams, replacing him with Jarmo Kekalainen on a full-time basis.
Adams was in his sixth season as the Sabres’ general manager. He was criticized for mismanaging the team’s assets, his inability to secure a franchise goaltender, and his failure to address a lingering leadership void within the team.
In June, Adams hired Kekalainen as a senior advisor. He spent 10 seasons as general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A recent report in The Athletic indicated the Sabres were internally discussing replacing Adams. During his tenure, the Sabres’ postseason drought stretched to a league-record 14 seasons and counting. His two biggest blunders were trading Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights and Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers. Both players flourished with their new teams, becoming Stanley Cup champions.
Adams lacked management experience when he was hired for the job. He did his best, but he had no business being in that role. It was yet another example of the ineptitude of the club’s ownership, which has gone through five general managers, eight head coaches, 28 goaltenders with more than one game played, and seven team captains since 2011.
Kekalainen has considerable management experience. He guided the Blue Jackets through their most successful period in franchise history from 2016 to 2020, reaching the playoffs in four straight seasons. However, things fell apart soon afterward, leading to his firing last year. Whether he fares better than his four predecessors remains to be seen.
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson, and Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek are the league’s stars for the week ending Dec. 14, 2025.
CHICAGO HOCKEY NOW: The Blackhawks placed center Connor Bedard (upper body) on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 12.
DAILY FACEOFF/DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane will miss the next two games with an upper-body injury. The Wings also placed forward Jonatan Berggren on waivers.
TRIBLIVE.COM: Former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak joined the Pittsburgh Penguins’ active roster after resolving their immigration status over the weekend. On Friday, the Oilers traded Skinner and Kulak to the Penguins for goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: The Sharks placed forwards Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev on injured reserve.
TSN: The Vancouver Canucks agreed to a two-year contract extension with center Max Sasson. He will earn an average annual value of $1 million.
RG.ORG: Prospect winger Gavin McKenna is hoping for redemption at the 2026 World Junior Championship. He was part of Canada’s junior team that failed to medal last season.
McKenna believes his move from the CHL to the NCAA with Penn State University this season has improved his decision-making, defensive play, and physical growth. He thinks those attributes will help his performance in this year’s tournament.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McKenna said his focus is on winning gold, and he’s not looking at this tournament as an opportunity to elevate his status in the 2026 NHL Draft. Nevertheless, he has slipped from the top spot in some recent draft rankings. A strong performance at the WJC could help him regain that placement.
Would Torts be the new head coach in Buffalo?
Unless ownership gets out of the way, nothing will change in Buffalo. Owners are not hockey people.
Toronto St. Pats: Actually, Terry Pegula IS a hockey guy. He was a big fan of the Sabres since the 1970s, and he and his wife were season-ticket holders before purchasing the team in 2011. However, that love of the Sabres hasn’t prevented him from running this team into the ground. The only positive thing I can say about Pegula as an owner is that the Sabres haven’t been at risk of relocation, unlike under their previous owners.
Lyle: Loving hockey isn’t the same as being a hockey guy when you are the owner.
You will likely have more insight into what might be described as a perverse blend of meddling and indifference – at least in the articles I have read which describe denuding the team of scouts and training staff, and cheating out on staffing other positions. Then there was the organizational refusal to let Eichel go ahead with his operation, a monumental red flag to every other player in the league.
And then there was the impact of the now deceased Kim, his wife, on hockey operations; when one hears of an owner’s spouse having their oar in the water, it says much and none of it good.
I’d welcome hearing about what you have heard on the inside track, or if you disagree.
LJ I agree with you that being a big hockey fan doesn’t make someone a hockey guy in the sense that it’s someone who can manage a hockey team.
Correction about Kim Pegula. She is not deceased. She’s been incapacitated by a stroke but she’s still alive.
The owner has also been a major contributor to Penn State hockey program.
My meaning was more along the lines of being educated enough to make NHL decisions. He hired two very under qualified general managers, who have made terrible hockey decisions. Any good owner knows enough to step back and let the hockey people make the moves. The 14 record speaks for itself.
Thanks for the clarification, St. Pats.
For those who misunderstood my reply: I’m certainly not defending Pegula and have been very critical of his decisions as Sabres owner. It’s very clear that his meddling has been directly responsible for the mess the franchise is in today.
Lyle – I think your response had merit, especially when you talk about relocation. Pegula seems committed for the long term.
Considering the season to season struggles of the Sabres the Adams firing certainly doesn’t come as a surprise. But that alone is not going to make any immediate changes in their on-ice performance and you have to wonder if … and when … a coaching change follows, coupled with a trade (or two) engineered by Kekalainen.
Exactly one year ago, the Sabres sat 15th in the Eastern Conference, having played 31 games with an 11-16-4 26 points record (a .427 % pace), scoring 92 goals while giving up 104 for a differential of minus 12. They were 6 points out of the last WC slot.
This season, on the same date, they sit 15th after 32gp with a 14 14 4 32 points record (a .500 % pace), scoring 98 goals and giving up 109 for a differential of minus 11. And 6 points out of the last WC slot.
So, overall, not much difference. I think we can look for some fairly fast changes by Kekolainen who has nothing to lose by being bold.
I meant to say “So, overall, not much difference when you factor in the better improvements made by most of the teams that were between them and that last WC spot last season.”
They should hire DeBoer
Would he accept? The money might be worth it, but it would have to be very substantial!
Yeah, that would work out well….
Kekalainen’s fate was never replacing Bobrowsky with another # goalie (Elvis never entered the building nevermind left it), so he has a similar history to Adams in terms of finding a top goalie. Some organizations think you can get by without a top goalie, thinking they can just outscore other teams. But it’s these same teams always missing out on a playoff spot. Let’s see if Kekalainen has learned from his mistakes
Bring back the Dominator!
Not sure how big of a mistake it was mikep. Bob was leaving, he couldn’t control that, and it’s not like you can go to the local Canadian Tire and pick one from the goalie aisle.
Top tenders don’t get traded from contending teams, like ever. OTT got Ullmark because BOS couldn’t afford to keep both, so you kind of need to bounce when the opportunity comes and it isn’t every year, or take a chance on a youngster like Bussi or Vladar (who I was pitching on here for the Oil). But long way to go to know if they are legit starters long term.
And now Ullmark is struggling, so who the F knows. Last year Swayman sucked, and now he’s back to playing great?
Or you draft them, which BUF has been trying as well. But they are crap shoots too most of the time. Seems like you throw as many darts as possible and try to hit one.
EDM just gave up a quality NHL D-man, starting tender and a 2nd RD pick for a tender that was barely better this year than the one they had. Jarry has played only 8 playoff games in his career, and his playoff #’s are worse than the guy they sent back to Pittsburgh.
If that doesn’t work out for Bowman? Wow. Jarry better play well come the spring is all I have to say.
I think jarmo k will do a good job with buffalo. He is a good GM . let’s go buffalo ! The team I root for when not rooting for the Avalanche. Pegula’s stay out of his way and let him do his job.
Jarmo is a good GM. His problem is when he resigns players it’s too soon and too much money. But that being said maybe he can pull a trade and Take Elvis off our hands. He signed him for too much money here so let’s right the deal Jarmo
Aside from the Buffalo situation in record comparisons from Dec 16, 2024 and this season, here are the 10 teams reflecting the biggest points gains in the same comparisons:
Colorado +17
Anaheim +15
Montreal +13
Detroit +11
Dallas +11
Chicago +10
NYI +10
San Jose +8
Nashville +8
NYR +7
At the other end of the scale, these teams reflect the largest drop-offs in points to the same stages of each season
Winnipeg -13
Vancouver -10
Toronto -7
New Jersey -6
Calgary -5
Florida -4
Washington -4
and a bunch at a minimal -2 (St. Louis, Vegas, L.A., Edmonton, Seattle)
Shocked but pleased to read the Habs have any marker in the + category, George. Thanks for this, wouldn’t have come across this elsewhere.
Glad it was at least informative, LJ. The Habs, in fact, are the only Canada-based team to show any appreciative improvement when comparing the 2 seasons (so far). Ottawa is the only other one with a + – albeit a minimal 2.
The other 5 all show varying degrees of regression, led by Winnipeg (although that should start to show steady improvement with Hellebuyck back). Edmonton’s comparison – much like Ottawa’s on the + side – is minimal to this stage.
As for the rest, joining Buffalo with a 6-point improvement over this same time last year, are Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, followed by
Tampa +5
Carolina +5
Boston +3
Columbus +3
Ottawa, L.A. & Washington +2
Minnesota +1
On the subject of franchises who can’t do anything right, the Canucks finally made a great hockey trade,
They fleeced Minnesota in the Quinn trade, getting a great C in Rossi and a stud D kid in Buium. I don’t know anything about Ohgren other than his being a mid 1st round pick and a 1st round pick in this year’s draft for a guy who is UFA and not planning to re-sign,
A little early to evaluate a trade after one game isn t it? What if Minnesotawins a cup in the next 2 years? Their record in playoff hockey is 36-66 lifetime. Guerin had todo something and Theyare playing in the toughest decision in hockey.
The Canucks are a basket case, and I know you like Rossi. I just don’t see why. He has 4 goals this year. Maybe a slow start, but Sr has a point: we are three days into this trade.
As of this morning, the top 10 teams in terms of goals scored are:
Colorado – 128
Anaheim – 118
Dallas – 115
Edmonton – 110
Boston – 109
Carolina – 108
Utah – 106
Tampa – 106
Washington – 106
Montreal – 105
Just behind them are
Detroit – 104
*Florida – 103
Toronto – 102
Ottawa – 101
NY Islanders – 100
Pittsburgh – 99
Minnesota – 99
Winnipeg – 98
Buffalo – 98
New Jersey – 97
At the start of the year, if someone would have told me Boston would be 5th in goals for in the entire NHL, I would have thought you were on glue.
Please be the real Morgan Geekie.
He is on pace for more than 50 goals, and better than a point/game player.
Yeah, Ray, the much despised Bruins are proving to be surprisingly resilient. As is that rat on skates Marchant in Florida (who will briefly morph into a talented and much admired player in February).
Imagine if the Bs had resigned him.
Back to the other end of the scale, here are the top 10 most goals against teams
St. Louis – 123
Edmonton – 114
Montreal – 113
Vancouver – 112
Columbus – 112
Nashville – 111
San Jose – 110
Buffalo – 109
Detroit – 109
Anaheim – 108
Just behind them are:
Boston – 105
Ottawa – 104
New Jersey – 103
Toronto – 102
Florida – 101
Utah – 101
Winnipeg – 99
Chicago – 98
Calgary – 97
Pittsburgh – 96
Last … but not least … are the top 10 stingiest teams in terms of goals allowed
Colorado – 74
Washington – 83
L.A. – 86
Minnesota – 87
Tampa – 88
Philadelphia – 88
Dallas – 90
Carolina – 90
Vegas – 90
NY Rangers – 92
Right below them are
NY Islanders – 93
Seattle – 93
Pittsburgh – 96
Calgary – 97
Chicago – 98
Winnipeg – 99
Florida – 101
Utah – 101
Toronto – 102
New Jersey – 103
Ottawa – 104
GeorgeO all your stats bear out that the east is and will be a cluster FFF all year.
Trending that way for sure, Sr.
By the way, the reason I put an asterisk beside Florida in the lists of the Top 10 in goals scored is that their 103 – 25 back of league-leading Colorado – has been accomplished without the services of two notable goals-scorers in Barkov and Tkachuk.