NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 12, 2026
The Canadiens nip the Senators, the Flyers defeat the Capitals, the Mammoth re-sign Nick Schmaltz, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Fowler made 32 saves for a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, ending the latter’s seven-game points streak. Demidov snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period for the Canadiens (36-18-10), who’ve won three straight and sit third in the Atlantic Division with 82 points. Drake Batherson tallied twice for the 32-23-9 Senators (73 points), who remain five points out of the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Juraj Slafkovsky also scored for the Canadiens, setting a franchise record for the most points by a player before the age of 22 (164 points), passing Hall of Famer Henri Richard.
Recalling Fowler from the farm team in Laval and naming him the starter for this game was a surprising move by the Canadiens. It’s a clear sign that the Habs have run out of patience with struggling Samuel Montembeault, who lost his role as starting goalie to Jakub Dobes
Canadiens winger Cole Caufield missed this game with the flu, ending his consecutive games streak at 227.
The Philadelphia Flyers tallied four unanswered goals to defeat the Washington Capitals 4-1. Owen Tippett had a goal and an assist for the 30-23-11 Flyers. Ryan Leonard replied for the 32-27-7 Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flyers winger Travis Konecny celebrated his 29th birthday with a goal, marking the second time that he’s done so in his NHL career. He joined Eric Lindros, Ross Lonsberry, Daniel Briere, Rick Tocchet, and Bill Clement among the Flyers to score multiple times on their birthdays.
HEADLINES
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: The Utah Mammoth signed forward Nick Schmaltz to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Scratch another notable name from this summer’s depleted list of unrestricted free agents.
Schmaltz, 30, is in the final season of a seven-year contract with an average annual value of $5.85 million. PuckPedia indicates he’ll earn an AAV of $8 million on his new contract, with full no-movement protection during the first two years, a full no-trade clause for the next two years, a 16-team NTC for two years after that, followed by an eight-team NTC for the final two years.
Schmaltz has consistently been among the Mammoth’s leading scorers. As their first-line center, he’s played a crucial role in turning this rising young team into a playoff contender this season.
Given Schmaltz’s role, the annual average value of his new contract isn’t unreasonable, especially with the projected significant increases of the NHL salary cap in the coming years. However, this deal won’t age well as his performance inevitably declines in the final four years.
Nevertheless, the Mammoth are willing to bank on Schmaltz being productive enough in the first half of this new contract to make it worthwhile if it elevates them into Stanley Cup contenders.
THE SEATTLE TIMES: Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz is on the road to recovery after being accidentally struck in the face by the skate of Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins on Saturday.
Schwartz is sidelined indefinitely and could miss the Kraken’s remaining 19 games of the regular season.
THE ATHLETIC: Speaking of the Kraken, recently-acquired winger Bobby McMann said Toronto can be a difficult market to play in, especially when the Maple Leafs are struggling as they have this season.
The Kraken acquired the 29-year-old winger from the Maple Leafs before last Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
“Yeah, it can be (difficult). When things aren’t going well, it’s that much harder to play there, I think,” McMann said. “We’re all human, and I think that all NHL players at times get put on a pedestal. Everybody lets things get to them to a certain extent, some more than others.”
McMann said players are already self-critical when things aren’t going well, but it becomes amplified when it comes from the media and fans, especially in a big hockey market like Toronto.
While the loss to the Habs might not have derailed the Senators’ chances at making the playoffs, it sure didn’t help them either.
With 18 games – or 36 potential points left – they likely need to go 10-4-4 to get to the 97 points it’s probably going to take to qualify in the East. And even then it’ll be tight.
And it has to start with back-to-back wins coming up at home against Anaheim and San Jose.
These 4 teams Ottawa is battling with to secure one of the two WC slots all figure to be with a point or 2 of each other when it ends.
In order for the Senators – assuming they CAN go 10-4-4 over their final 18 – to get in, the 2 with the same number of games left – Boston and Columbus – would need to go 7-9-2 and 9-7-2 respectively (both ending with 96 pts), while Detroit and the NYI – each with 17 games or 34 potential points left – would need to go something like 7-8-2 and end with 95 points each.
I ain’t holding my breath.
Hey George, and it doesn’t even matter where the Sens end up regarding the draft… even though we got the 1st round pick back, it cannot be moved from 32nd overall and cannot be traded.
Disappointing season even though the play since Olympics has been pretty great.
Tells ya what. Ottawa ended up playing that card right after all. Would the nhl have given them back a pick if they forfeited it in the previous couple years? Can’t know but I’m not sure they would have. Kept the game of chicken going as long as possible and bettman kinda blinked.
Well, half-assed blinked, anyway. It is the 32nd pick, nor can they use it in a trade plus they’ve been assessed a $1 mil fine.
Better than nothing I suppose … and Andlauer can certainly afford $1 mil.
Funny thing is, while they are “forbidden” from trading the pick itself, they can, then, deal whoever they pick 32nd overall any time thereafter. So, in effect, if some GM sees a player they’d like still available when it comes to Ottawa;s turn, they could conceivably offer some sort of asset IF Staios picked X .. and then dealt X to that team some time later.
Not something that is LIKELY to happen … but the possibility is there.
@George truth. and even if they cannot trade the pick, they can always trade whatever asset it ends up being. or draft well enough to get a gem. worth a million bucks.
theSaint, you can already find consensus projected possibilities as to who could still be available at # 36:
“Based on early 2026 NHL Draft rankings, the 32nd pick is expected to fall within a competitive range of high-upside players who could move into the late first round. Key prospects projected to be drafted in the late-first to early-second round range (around 30-35th) include:
Wyatt Cullen (LW, USNTDP): A creative playmaker with high-end vision and agility, considered a strong middle-six forward option.
Maddox Dagenais (C, Quebec Remparts QMJHL): A 6’4″ center with high-end compete and a heavy, two-way game.
Mathis Preston (RW, Vancouver Giants WHL): A tenacious forward with excellent speed and a quick release, though with some variability in his rankings.
Marcus Nordmark (RW, Djurgardens, Sweden U20): A versatile forward with a strong, 6’2″ frame who has shown high-end scoring ability and good hockey sense.
Pierce Mbuyi (LW, Owen Sound Attack, OHL): An energetic, skilled forward who acts as a top-line player for his team, known for high-volume scoring and tenacious play.
Nikita Shcherbakov (D, Neftekamsk Toros, Russia): A 6’5” defender with great skating ability, often seen as a high-potential project.
Should read “available at # 32” – NOT 36 – sheesh
Fowler’s biggest contributions to that game came at the beginning when he did his best Bambi impression selling a call that made the game 1-0. And his heroic lucky save at the end when he kept it 3-2.
I’ve never seen a softer group of skilled players. If the Habs don’t have the refs, they won’t last long in the playoffs.
Dark G,that s why they can t trade Xhekaj, ecause he s one of the few physical guys on the team.Also with Utah signing schmaltz does that put them out of the Thomas sweepstakes?
Dark G. What do you mean by “If the Habs don’t have the refs”? Are you suggesting the refs favour the Habs? I’m not sure where they were when Hutson was blatantly cross-checked in the 3rd. It was an entertaining game last night and could have gone either way. The refs had nothing to do with it.
I originally didn’t like the call, but after seeing the replay I agree with the call.
It was a tight game, but once again it came down to goaltending. Ullmark made some nice saves, but two of those goals don’t go in on average goaltending IMO. Fowler on the other hand had a very solid game.
Sens just don’t seem to be able to win the big divisional games this year. 😑
Agree re the goaltending Owen.
Fowler – a rookie – allows 2 goals on 4 shots – a .941 save %. Ullmark, the veteran paid $8 mil per to make the key stops, gives up 3 on 23 shots – an .870 save %.
No team is going very far when your prime goalie is that much below .900 in clutch games.
” …. on 34 shots …. ” again … sheesh
Putting aside the result I thought the game was one of the more entertaining ones I’ve watched, George. Perhaps no consolation but both teams deserved a point.
Yeah, the loss hurt their playoff hopes, but it also showed they are just a forward or two away from making the playoffs, with a projected cap space of nearly 20 million next year. So not all gloom.
The rookie Fowler did what he had to do, LJ. And Ottawa can’t use the excuse of missing Sanderson. The Habs’ top points producer, Caufield, was also unavailable due to the flu.
Which brings up an annual question: do these guys not get the annual flu shot?
George, the flu shot is based on estimates, not the actual dominant virus. I get a yearl vaccination and this year’s flu beat the hell out of me.
So, that damned virus is mutating faster than science can keep up with it!
It was an enjoyable game to watch. Sanderson’s absence was noticeable. The Habs have ample offence to deal with a top 6 like Caufield missing the game. Really like what I saw from Fowler, the Habs have their starting goalie no need to make a move in the off season.
Ottawa needs to improve on Jensen, Matinpalo and Spence. Re-up Zub to an extension in the offseason, he is very underrated.
Only weakness I see on Habs D is Carrier. Similar to Spence from Ottawa , he is a decent puck mover but can struggle with D zone pressure when it gets physical.
I watched parts of that game last night, and it was a good one. Well played and intense. OTT has been playing well, but so are some others.
Wouldn’t give up hope yet, but ya , they need a couple teams to struggle for a bit. Which is possible.
My B’s have 4 more road games than home games down the stretch, and their success rate goes down on the road. So we’re not home free yet either.
Flu shots – they look at the viruses globally about 6-9 months prior to flu season and develop the vaccine, as the virus travels. So they average about 60% accuracy as they don’t stay the same or the dominant strain.
The only reason I know that is was on the news that Moderna has new mRNA technology to allow for a quicker development which should improve accuracy as it will be closer to the flu season in your particular country.
I got the flu before the shot even came available this year.
Yeah. Not a great result, but we knew we weren’t going to win every game, but we can’t seem to win against Atlantic teams which was the opposite of last year. They lost the battle of the goalies once again, and that is a common theme.
When Sanderson went down that was a huge blow. They played all right without him, but you tell already that there are more defensive mistakes when he’s not on the ice.
Glad we got the 32 pick! Now we just need to win the SC to make that decision a wash 😂
Flyers winger Travis Konecny celebrated his 29th birthday with a goal, marking the second time that he’s done so in his NHL career.
I told people I was turning 29 on my birthdays well into my 30’s so you can’t blame Travis for doing the same.
Habs have graduated to next man up mode which is a good sign for the future.
Caufield was out, Texier stepped up and scored.
The lines have been juggled ad they haven’t missed a beat so despite a segment of fans complaining about MSL systems and player selection, the players have bought in and it’s plug and play.
I’m not a Fowler fan yet as there are elements of his game that need work, eg he tends to lose his crease and his puck handling is iffy.
He has fight and doesn’t give up on the play, seems cool as a cucumber which are good signs.
The player I under-rated before the season started is Kapanen, this kid does what a 2C is supposed to do, strong 2-way player with a nose for where to be at all times. The kid finishes, sets up, breaks up plays but hs to work on his faceoff %.
I hope he doesn’t pull a Marco Kasper on us next year.
Looks like 8787 is on another hiatus much like when Pengy took a similarly-long absence … and re-emerged as 8787.