NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 5, 2026
Recapping Wednesday’s games and notable trades in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Nikolaj Ehlers tallied a hat trick as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-4. Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Sean Walker each had a goal and an assist for the 39-16-6 Hurricanes, who are 11-1-2 in their last 14 games and hold first place in the Eastern Conference with 84 points. Filip Hronek had a goal and two assists for the 18-36-7 Canucks.
Carolina Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, defenseman Tyler Myers waived his no-movement clause, accepting a trade to the Dallas Stars. In exchange, the Canucks received a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a fourth-rounder in 2029.
Myers will likely slot in on the Stars’ blueliner as the right-shot defenseman on their third pairing. The Canucks got a decent return for the 36-year-old Myers.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer made 34 saves to help his club hold off the Seattle Kraken by a score of 3-2. Brayden Schenn collected three assists, and Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist for the 23-29-9 Blues. Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn scored for the Kraken (29-23-9), who hold the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 67 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blues have a deal in place with the Buffalo Sabres that would reportedly send defenseman Colton Parayko to the Sabres in exchange for prospect blueliner Radim Mrtka and a first-round pick. However, they’re waiting for Parayko to decide if he’ll waive his no-trade clause. As of publication, they’re still awaiting his decision.
The New Jersey Devils got a shootout goal from Paul Cotter to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. Arseny Gritsyuk and Nico Hischier each had two points for the 31-29-2 Devils. Anthony Stolarz stopped 44 shots for the Maple Leafs, who dropped to 27-24-11.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Maple Leafs held forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson out of the lineup for roster management purposes, which means that management is having trade talks involving those players. At least one of them could be on the move by Friday’s trade deadline.
McMann and Laughton are due to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 and lack no-trade protection. Ekman-Larsson has two years left on his contract and a 16-team no-trade list.
Before this game, the Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Chris Tanev is done for the season after undergoing core muscle surgery. He is expected to fully participate in training camp in September.
The Vegas Golden Knights overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on an overtime goal by Tomas Hertl. Ivan Barbashev and Mitch Marner scored in the third period to tie the game, with Marner finishing the night with three points. Alex DeBrincat and Simon Edvinsson each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (35-20-7), who sit third in the Atlantic Division with 77 points. The 29-19-14 Golden Knights remain in first place in the Pacific Division with 72 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Red Wings had a scare when team captain Dylan Larkin left the game late in the third period after being cross-checked in the ribs by Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb. He returned for the overtime period.
Anaheim Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier tallied twice, and goaltender Ville Husso kicked out 42 shots in a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders. Beckett Sennecke had a goal and an assist to take over the lead among this season’s rookie scorers with 51 points as the Ducks (34-24-3) sit one point behind the Golden Knights. Anders Lee replied for the 35-22-5 Islanders, who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 75 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock missed this game with an upper-body injury.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: The Calgary Flames traded defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for blueliner Olli Maatta, prospect center Jonathan Castagna, and three second-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There was no salary retention by the Flames, meaning the Mammoth takes on the full remaining value of the 32-year-old Weegar’s contract. He’s signed through 2030-31 with an average annual value of $6.25 million.
Weegar will bring valuable depth and experience to the Mammoth’s blueline as they jockey for a playoff berth in the Western Conference. He will likely skate on the right side of their second defense pairing, but can move up into a first-pairing role if required.
Daniel Austin of the Calgary Sun believes the Flames got a good return for Weegar, considering that the blueliner’s production is down this season. One of those second-round picks belonged to the Rangers, meaning it’ll be near the top of that round. They also get a veteran replacement for Weegar in Maatta, who carries a more affordable $3.5 million AAV through 2027-28. Castagna brings more center depth to the Flames’ prospect pool.
The Chicago Blackhawks traded forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for winger Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional first-round pick (top-12 protected) in the 2027 NHL Draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports the Blackhawks retained half of Dickinson’s $4.25 million cap hit. He’s UFA-eligible in July.
The Oilers dealt with two needs with this trade. The underrated Dickinson should address their need for a reliable third-line center, and they got Mangiapane’s burdensome contract off their books. They also get a young forward in Dach, the younger brother of Kirby Dach of the Montreal Canadiens. Colton played a fourth-line role in Chicago.
This move gives the Blackhawks two first-rounders in next year’s draft. As for Mangiapane, he gets another chance to see if he can regain the scoring touch he had with the Calgary Flames several years ago. He’ll have an opportunity for more playing time with the rebuilding Blackhawks.
The Colorado Avalanche acquired defenseman Nick Blankenburg from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blankenburg is a puck-moving defenseman who has 21 points in 49 games this season, averaging over 17 minutes of ice time per game. It’ll be interesting to see how much playing time he’ll get on the right side of the Avalanche defense corps.
Blankenburg is the third player traded by the Predators this week. They already shipped out forward Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild for a 2028 second-round pick and Cole Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2028 third-rounder. General manager Barry Trotz could have more moves in store by tomorrow’s deadline, even though his team is battling for a playoff berth.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: The Sharks signed winger Kiefer Sherwood to a five-year, $28.75 million contract. He’ll earn an average annual value of $5.75 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sherwood has cashed in well with this deal. His current AAV is $1.5 million. He’s also getting a full no-trade clause for next season, followed by a 16-team no-trade list for 2027-28, a 13-team list in 2028-29, a 10-team list in 2029-30, and a five-team list in 2030-31.
The Sharks can afford it, but it remains to be seen if Sherwood can maintain the level of performance from the past two seasons that earned him this deal.
TSN: The Washington Capitals signed forward Ethen Frank to a two-year, $4 million contract.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Panthers placed defenseman Tobias Bjornfot on waivers and signed goaltender Louis Domingue to a one-year, two-way contract.
Keep an eye on the Panthers, they are trading Goalie Bob before Friday afternoon, with the Sabres and Golden Knights leading the charge.
Jarmo is out to get his man! Dunno which of 4 possible tenders he sends back, and maybe even pass one on to the Canes or the Knights?
Sure is, Joe.
And it just shows how fast things can unravel for a team that, over the past 3 seasons, finished with 108, 102 and 111 points while playing at .659, .622 and .677 paces.
And even though they were up against one of the 6 most goal-starved teams in the entire league (only Calgary 149, L.A. 155, Vancouver 157 and St. Louis 159 have scored less than New Jersey’s 160 … and they’re tied at that total with the NYR … you just don’t allow a team like that to out shoot you 47 – 27 because some are bound to get by your besieged goalie.
And being out shot 47-27
Oops. This was meant to respond to Joe’s post below.
Leafs gave up lead 3 times .. last one deep into the 3rd period .. Matthews & Nylander can’t score in SO .. tough times right now for this team
I like and dont like the Dickinson/dach trade.
I think the players will be good for us and some of what we miss.
Its understandable giving up the 1st to entice chi to take mangi and retain. So in that i am ok. Why it leaves a bad taste was this was a problem Bowman created himself by handing out a 2 year contract to Mangipane.
I am not one that values draft picks outside top 10 much. Its a draft 2 years away on a player that will then take another 2 years to be impactful at best. But it is not ideal giving away picks or higher picks to entice a team to take one of your past summer’s signings.
The oilers are such an enigma…summer ufas under jackson/bowman have been largely misses. Yet in season acquisitions (jarry excluded) are generally decent to surprisingly good.
Hard to disagree with any of that 1Oilerfan.
But once the mistake is made, especially with the Oilers trying to win now, you can stay married to it or fix it, pay the price an move on. Which Bowman did. We all knew it was a mistake, as did he.
But to your point, having to include a 1st just shortened the Oilers window again. Hopefully they can re-sign Murphy and or Dickinson to reasonable extensions. I like both players and they fill an important role.
Have to think the injuries to Janmark and Lazar played a role in this.
At least I got Chicago right for where Mangiapane would go.
The “skinny” on 24 y/o (turns 25 in April) 6’ 200 lb left-shot D Tobias Bjornfot, drafted in the 1st R, 22nd overall in 2019 by L.A., is his reliability as a strong-skating 2-way, defensive-oriented “shut-down” approach with a high on-ice IQ, efficient in his own end. If anything needs to be improved, it would be his shot and to step up the offensive side of his game by playing just a tad less “too safe.” He also did captain the Swedish U18 team.
I would be very surprised if he is not snapped off waivers today.
I’d say Vancouver is likely to claim him, as would the Leafs if he got to them.
If he is claimed off waivers, this will be his 3rd time changing teams via that route.
After playing 1 game for L.A, over the first 3 months of 2023-24, he was claimed by Vegas on Jan 4, 2024 and made his debut with the Golden Knights on Jan 6, but after just 2 games he went on IR, and when cleared to resume playing, was placed on waivers again, and this time claimed by Florida March 8 2024.
He subsequently was signed to a 1-year 2-way deal by Florida in July last year.