NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 8, 2026
Sharks center Macklin Celebrini extends his points streak, remembering the late Glenn Hall, the Mammoth will host the 2027 Winter Classic, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini extended his points streak to 12 games by rallying his club to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Celebrini had three points, including the tying goal and assisting on William Eklund’s game-winner for the 22-18-3 Sharks. Alex Turcotte and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist for the Kings (18-14-10).
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Celebrini is third in the NHL scoring race with 67 points. The Sharks (47 points) hold the first Western Conference wildcard berth, sitting one point out of first place in the Pacific Division. Kings winger Corey Perry missed this game as he’s been granted leave to deal with an illness in his family.
Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 32 saves, and Clayton Keller collected two assists in a 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators, improving their record to 21-20-3. Ridly Greig replied for the struggling Senators (20-17-5), who have two wins in their last seven games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the league announced that the Mammoth will host the 2027 Winter Classic against the Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. A date will be announced at a later time.
The Dallas Stars snapped a six-game winless skid by defeating the Washington Capitals 4-1. Sam Steel had a goal and an assist, and Casey DeSmith stopped 23 shots for the Stars (26-10-8). Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 915th career regular-season goal as his club (22-16-6) has one win in its last four games (1-2-1).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars forward Matt Duchene collected an assist to record his 900th career NHL regular-season point. Before this game, the Capitals announced that winger Aliaksei Protas was placed on injured reserve.
Montreal Canadiens winger Alexandre Texier had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. Cole Caufield had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who improved their record to 24-13-6 to sit one point out of first place in the Atlantic Division. Joel Farabee scored for the Flames (18-21-4) as they’ve lost three straight games.
The Chicago Blackhawks picked up their fourth straight win by dropping the St. Louis Blues 7-3. Oliver Moore, Landon Slaggert, Connor Murphy, and Louis Crevier each had a goal and an assist for the 18-18-7 Blackhawks. Blues rookie Otto Stenberg scored his first NHL goal as his club dropped to 17-19-8.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall passed away on Wednesday at the age of 94.
Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall holds the league record for consecutive games played by a netminder with 502 (552 including playoffs), and was the innovator of the butterfly style of goaltending.
Hall played 906 regular-season games with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues from 1952-53 to 1970-71, winning 407 games with a career 2.50 goals-against average and 84 shutouts. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 1960-61, the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1955-56, the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1967-68, and the Vezina Trophy in 1962-63, 1966-67, and 1968-69.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hall was among the greatest goaltenders in NHL history and a star with the Red Wings, Blackhawks, and Blues. Given the way the position has changed, his consecutive games record for NHL goalies will never be broken. My condolences to his family, friends, and former teammates.
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, and Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle are among the NHL players selected to Germany’s 2026 Men’s Olympic Hockey team. Others include Utah Mammoth forward JJ Peterka, Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm, and Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer.
Switzerland’s Men’s Olympic roster will include Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, New Jersey Devils forwards Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, Los Angeles Kings winger Kevin Fiala, Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niedereitter, St. Louis Blues center Pius Suter, San Jose Sharks winger Philipp Kurashev, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman JJ Moser, New Jersey Devils blueliner Jonas Siegenthaler, and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid.
Carolina Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Oliver Bjorkstrand, Ottawa Senators center Lars Eller, Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, and Senators netminder Mads Sogaard were named to Denmark’s Men’s Olympic team.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers center Adam Henrique was placed on injured reserve and isn’t expected to return until after the Olympic break in February.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets winger Mason Marchment (upper body) was placed on injured reserve and is listed as week-to-week.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Winnipeg Jets placed defenseman Haydn Fleury on injured reserve with a broken nose and bruised back.
CBS SPORTS: Anaheim Ducks goaltender Petr Mrazek (lower body) was placed on injured reserve.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Penguins forward Rutger McGroarty has been diagnosed with a concussion and is on injured reserve. They also returned defenseman Harrison Brunicke to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
what a sad state of a affairs the ottawa senators have become…..clearly Brady isn’t 100%. I don’t think it’s the thumb I think it’s his hip still. He looks slow. So…sure. Rest up for the Olympics because you’re clearly not pushing yourself for the Sens. WHO hold no first round pick should they find themselves outside the dance later on this season.
Back around last year’s draft time when Staios decided to keep that pick and instead forfeit this year’s, that was the worse-case scenario I said could very well happen this, especially with the East closing in on complete parity.
Those over-paid Fs can decidedly hold the edge in play and so outshoot the opposition (as they did in losses to Detroit and now Utah), but they couldn’t find the hole in a donut.
Add in goalies ranked at the bottom of the save % stat and it’s a perfect recipe for mediocrity. Which is what we have.
With send not having their 1st. It will basically be giving every team who finished worse than them a 1st one pick higher So I am hoping for leafs and bruins to finish just below Sens😛
GeorgeO surprising he did that knowing that the 26 draft had better players and was deeper.Watch out for the Brady trade rumors!Wonder how Toronto fans feel after Marchand dropped them under the bus!
All of these follow ups are a big YUP. And yakemchuk looks like a bust too….though I’d call him up now. Why not. You need an offensive spark.
Set Jensen or Klevin or someone heck…put him in nets
Dark G. I think it’s a bit early to call Yakemchuk a bust. He’s young, has some offensive upside, but needs work on the defensive end like many young D. I wouldn’t give up on him yet.
I’m still not giving up on the league holding our first, but yes, looking back, George, it may have been more prudent to lose that pick.
There’ no doubt the team’s in a slump. You can tell they are frustrated too, and it’s not for lack of trying. Sometimes you get into these slumps though. They played well (again) last night, but hit 3 posts and Pinto. That is sports. Confidence is everything in professional sports.
I agree with Brady not looking 100. If so, you have to give him a break. It’s hard coming back from any hand injury and if something else is bothering him, it is what it is.
With Ullmark out, and Levi not able to keep the puck out, their most pressing need is an experienced back up. The problem is, we are not the only ones and there is an extremely short supply.
You can’t change past decisions, you can only work towards the future.
Dark G and Owen, if Ottawa spirals down into lottery range in the overall standings, and Bettman holds firm to that penalty despite the fact it was committed by Dorion who Andlauer “inherited” when he bought the team – and so lose out on a bid to draft a franchise player – I can see him saying “enough with this Mickey Mouse s^%t” and decide to sell.
And let Bettman and the NHL try to deal with their demand that any new owner must agree to keep the team in Ottawa. Especially if prospective new owners are from Houston or Atlanta!
It was ridiculous that the penalty was not disclosed before the sale of the team. Would the Andlauer dare? That would be a great power move!
He probably didn’t get to be a billionaire by being reticent.
On top of the Arizona fiasco, that would put a dent in Gary’s “legacy.”
But, realistically, we can get some first back at the trade deadline if we miss the playoffs. Perron, a cup winner, could fetch a late first. G for sure…I’d hate to say it, but would he be open to going to the Habs….any team would jump at the chance to add G for a cup run…Habs are close by, but that might be too close and too painful for the boys. G might be a guy who would be open to coming back the next year…he’s one of my favorite Sens.
Jensen I think would fetch a first or a top prospect too. RD is an extremely hard position to fill and he’s got lots of experience. Cousins might not get a first, but he’s a great bottom 6 with grit, skill and pestiness. Definetly a second rounder. Ellers? maybe he’d be keen too. Another cup winner…so even though we don’t have our first, we have the ability to add draft capital even if our season is lost.
I know it’s too early to say this, but will anyway, is Celebrini the best young player to come into the NHL since McDavid was drafted?
Sure starting to look like it. It’s not just his scoring either, which is elite. SJ is a negative goal differential team, and a lot more minus players than plus players. He is plus 17 and the next closest guy is his linemate Smith at plus 5. I know that plus/minus has it’s flaws, but when you compare inside your own team, that is a telling stat. By all accounts he is already responsible defensively and good at it.
He has more than twice as many points as the next Shark, again his linemate Smith.
Other than PK, and why would you have him do that, and face off’s, the guys is good at everything. He’s 19. Crazy.
Good for Shark’s fans.
I was lucky to see every home game and whatever road games that were televised of Glenn Hall’s Blues career. He was so good and very athletic for his size. I saw a post yesterday of a play he made leaving the ice on a delayed penalty where he got the puck just outside the blue line passed it to Terry Crisp who then scored. His goaltending was elite especially in the cup finals against Montreal and Boston where he took an expansion team and allowed them an opportunity to compete against superior competitors.
He was also, and more importantly, a first class gentleman at all times. Hearing his interviews on the radio the main source of information in those days you couldn’t help but admire and respect him. And yes he threw up before every game from nerves. Hard to believe he played over 500 consecutive games with all that stress.
Many Blues fans never appreciated the fact that the goalie tandem of Hall, the innovator of the butterfly style and Jacques Plante, the innovator of the mask played together with the Blues. Throw in Al Arbour as a player and coach, Scotty Bowman in his coaching beginning, the Plagers, Doug Harvey, Camille Henry, Dickie Moore and a long list of others provided the Blues with a strong foundation and tradition that still exists today despite this year’s lame performance.
I also have seen many posts on Hall expressing how sad it is he has passed. For me it is the opposite. I believe he should be celebrated as a man that lived to 94 without a blemish on his career or character. RIP legend.
Snold49, well do I remember that 1968 Cup final when the Blues became the first of the 6 expansion teams to reach the finals. Although the powerhouse Habs won it in 4 straight, every game was a 1-goal game (3-2, 1-0, 4-3 and 3-2) all due to Hall’s brilliance in nets.
R .I.P. man.
I was lucky enough to meet Mr Hall twice.
We are from the same hometown. First was when I was 7 and they opened an addition (lobby and new dressing rooms) to the old Leo Parker Arena. I got lucky and got to be one of the 4 ribbon holders. He spent time talking to the four of us youngsters.
2nd time was a Flames Alumni game in Calgary and I was still coaching Bantam. Minor Hockey got some of the money raised and our job as volunteers was to pick up the players from the airport in vans, haul their gear, take them back the next day. So we were in the rooms after the guys were cleaned up, and Hall was in there, introduced myself, and where I was from and we chatted, he knew my dad a little bit and other members of our extended family.
We stayed at the same hotel downtown as the players, were in the lounge having a beer, he came in saw me and sat next to me and chatted. I asked how to coach tenders, as I didn’t have a clue what to do with them in practice other than put them in the net to save pucks. He drew 3 drills on napkins and explained them to me.
He stayed for 2 beers, wife came down and told him it was probably time to go to bed. He did.
Solid guy. RIP.
Sr, yesterday you posted “those teams with almost half of their roster with trade protection could be headed for trouble. Especially those teams that are retooling and want to move some veterans” – and Snold49, you pointed out the situation in St. Louis, saying “For instance the Blues players that would create the most interest, Binnington, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Faulk, Parayko, Schenn and most of all Thomas all have various forms of trade protection.” Agree totally, and as Ray Bark suggested “If you don’t want to give an available UFA a NMC/NTC don’t agree to it and roll the dice to see if he signs with you. If you have a good player who will be a UFA in a year and he won’t sign an extension without one, then trade him, or again roll the dice and try to sign him as a UFA, and still don’t give him one.”
To put the current extreme situations in a one-stop nutshell for comparison purposes, here are those teams with 12 to 14 players having some sort of protection (and in a few cases some even have 2 categories of protection, as noted). Making a move of any consequence in each case is highly problematic:
Carolina (14)
NMC: Aho, Ehlers, Hall, Jordan Staal, Carrier, Slavin, Chatfield, Andersen.
Mod. NTC: Svechnikov, Kotkeniemi, Martinook, Robinson, Walker, Gostisbehere, *Andersen (in addition to NMC)
New Jersey (13)
NMC: Meier, Bratt, Palat, Hamilton, Markstrom
NTC: Brown, Dadinov, Pesce, Dillon, Kovacevik,
Mod. NTC: Hischier, *Palat (in addition to NMC), Noesen, *Dadinov (in addition to NTC ???), *Hamilton (in addition to NMC), Stegenthaler.
Vegas (13)
NMC: Marner, Eichel, Stone, Pietrangelo
NTC: Smith, Saad, Theodore, Hanigin, McNabb
Mod NTC: Hertl, Karlsson, Barbachev, Hill
NY Islanders (13)
NMC: Sorokin
NTC: Horvat, Palmieri, Duclair, Pulock, Mayfield
Mod. NTC: Barzal, Lee, Pageau, Drouin, Engvall, Pelech, Varlamov
Tampa (12
NMC: Point, Guentzel, Hedman
NTC: Cirelli, Paul, Gourde, Ceernak
Mod. NTC: Kucherov, Bjorkstrand, McDonough, Girgensons, Vasilevskiy
Edmonton (12)
NMC: Draisaitl, McDavid, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkings, Frederick, Henrique, Roslovic, Nurse, Walman
NTC: Mangiapane
Mod.NTC: *Roslovic (in addition to NMC), Janmark, Jarry
Toronto (12)
NMC: Natthews, Nylander, Tavares, Rielly, Tanev
NTC: McCabe
Mod. NTC: Domi, Joshua, Jarnkrok, Ekman-Larsson, Carlo, Stolarz
Seattle (12)
NMC: Stephenson
NTC: Eberle, Montour, Larsson
Mod. NTC: Schwartz, McCann, Gaudreau, Dunn, Oleksiak, Lindgren, Grubauer, Daccord
Columbus (12)
NMC: Monahan, Coyle, Werenski, Provorov
NTC: Severson
Mod. NTC: *Coyle (n addition to NMC), Marchment, Jenner, Olivier, Wood, Heinen, Gudbranson, Merzlikins
The 1 with 11 and 5 with 10 players with various types of protection
Colorado (11)
NMC: MacKinnon, Landeskog, Toews
NTC: Nelson
Mod. NTC: *Landeskog (in addition to NMC), Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Colton, O’Connor, Manson, Burns, Blackwood
NYR (10)
NMC: Panarin, Zibanejad, Miller, Fox, Gavrikov, Shesterkin
NTC: Borgen
Mod. NTC: Trochek, Sucy,Quick
Vancouver (10)
NMC: Elias Petersson, Boeser, DeBrusk, Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Myers, Lankinen
Mod. NTC: Kane, O’Connor, Blueger
Boston (10)
NMC: Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Arvidsson, McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm
NTC: Jeannot, Zadorov
Mod. NTC: Zacha, Jokiharju, Korpisalo
Los Angeles (10)
NMC: Fiala, Kopitar
NTC: Perry
Mod. NTC: Kempe, Foegele, Doughty, Ceci, Dumoulin, Edmundson, Kuemper
Florida (10)
NMC: Barkov, Tkachuk, Reinhart, Bennett, Verhaeghe, Marchand, Jones, Ekblad, Forsling
Mod. NTC: *Reinhart (in addition to NMC), Bobrovsky
There’s gotta be more than a few listed in the two posts above where you look at it and ask “why would a GM agree to that?”
Dadonov jumps to mind. Arvidsson? Frederick? Roslovic?