NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 17, 2026
The qualification round of the Olympic Men’s hockey tournament goes on Tuesday, the Hurricanes sign goalie Brandon Bussi to a new contract, the Sharks terminate Jeff Skinner’s contract, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
OLYMPIC MEN’S HOCKEY NEWS
NHL.COM: The qualification round for Olympic Men’s ice hockey goes today. France takes on Germany, Italy faces Switzerland, Denmark meets Czechia, and Latvia faces off against Sweden.
The winners of this round advance to the quarterfinal on Wednesday. France or Germany will go on to face Slovakia, Italy or Switzerland will meet Finland, Denmark or Czechia will play Canada, and Latvia or Sweden will go up against the United States.
Czechia winger David Pastrnak (NHL.com).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Most media predictions have Germany, Switzerland, Czechia, and Sweden advancing to the quarterfinal.
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Czechia winger and Bruins star David Pastrnak said he felt that his performance must be better as his club entered the qualification round. Pastrnak had a goal and two assists in the preliminary round as Czechia went 1-0-1-1. Avalanche winger Martin Necas led Czechia with two goals and three assists.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Czechia needs more production from Pastrnak if they hope to win a medal in this tournament.
DAILY FACEOFF: The boards at Santagiulia Arena will be a lighter color when the men’s qualification round begins Tuesday. This color change comes following feedback from teams and national Olympic committees.
The previous darker color of the boards may have contributed to United States goaltender Jeremy Swayman giving up a goal from center ice during his club’s game against Denmark in the preliminary round.
SPORTSNET: The French Ice Hockey Federation suspended defenseman Pierre Crinon of France from further competition in this tournament, citing his “provocative behavior” during France’s 10-2 loss to Canada on Sunday.
Crinon fought Canadian winger Tom Wilson during that game, resulting in both players receiving match penalties. They did not receive supplemental discipline for their actions from the International Ice Hockey Federation.
A statement released by Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, president of the French Ice Hockey Federation, claimed that Crinon’s actions were “a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”
NHL HEADLINES
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Carolina Hurricanes signed goaltender Brandon Bussi to a three-year, $5.7 million contract extension.
Bussi, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers at the start of this season. He’s become one of the biggest stories of the regular season, sporting a record of 23-3-1 with a .908 save percentage and two shutouts.
To celebrate Bussi’s new contract, the Hurricanes have made a $10,000 donation to the Autism Society of North Carolina. Bussi’s younger brother, Dylan, has autism.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bussi became the fastest goaltender to win 20 games in an NHL season, doing so in 24 games.
The average annual value of his new one-way contract is $1.9 million. That’s an affordable move by the Hurricanes while still giving Bussi a nice raise over the $775,000 cap hit on his current two-way deal. This is also an insurance move, given that oft-injured starter Frederik Andersen is UFA-eligible this summer and questions over Pyotr Kochetkov’s development.
TSN: The San Jose Sharks placed winger Jeff Skinner on unconditional waivers on Monday with the intention of terminating his contract by mutual agreement. Skinner, 33, will become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers on Tuesday.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Skinner signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Sharks last summer. He has 13 points in 34 games this season, and has been a healthy scratch since Jan. 15. It will be interesting to see if he lands with another NHL club.
If I were to make a bet on which game today could result in an upset, I’d pick Denmark over Czechia.
Imagine how many games Tom Wilson would have missed if the Canadian Ice Hockey Federation suspended him for provocative behavior. After viewing the tape the French player had the upper hand in the dust up!
Better their goon confronting our goon than going after MacKinnon, McDavid or Crosby. for example.
It was Crinon’s elbow to MacKinnon’s head that led to the altercation with Wilson, who was holding back because he didn’t want to risk a suspension, something Crinon evidently wasn’t concerned about.
I think it was due to after the separation where Crinon was still taunting well afterwards with the whole “bring it” hand gestures. At least that is my guess.
That may well be so, Lyle. But were I the French Ice Hockey Federation I would not have suspended Crinon. The values laden French statement explaining why is quite something, no?
Maybe Crinon has a rep?
Suspending him seems like overkill IMO.
Not sure his elbow was intentional or careless. But if the IIHF has already ruled that he won’t be, then what are you doing?
It might just be me but, “provocative behavior” seems to be considered an asset in the NHL vs a liability.
It must have driven Wilson crazy not being able to let it rip against him.
The French Ice Hockey Federation to Crinon: “we need more surrender from you.”
GeorgeO for the record I never considered Wilson a goon as his hockey skills have certainly improved over the years!
Goons with hockey skills, like Probert, Olivier, and Pronger.
Never forget John Ferguson.
Wilson has been, is, and always will be, a goon.
If Jeff Skinner played against the Habs for every game in his career he’d be a superstar.
27g-20a-47 pts in 43 games.
That isn’t a typo.
Skinner is just one of those guys that love the game and simply does not want to walk away from it.
I think his NHL days are done.
Struggled with two very different teams the past two seasons and his skill set doesnt present well for a bottom 6er