NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 30, 2026
The Canucks acquire Brendan Gallagher and trade Nils Hoglander, Radko Gudas returns to the Panthers, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE/THE PROVINCE: The Montreal Canadiens traded Brendan Gallagher to the Vancouver Canucks for future considerations. The Canadiens also retained 50 percent of the 34-year-old winger’s $6.5 million cap hit for 2026-27.
Montreal Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: After 14 seasons, Gallagher no longer fit into the Canadiens’ system. The club did right by him by trading him to a team he wanted to join. He’ll bring grit, experience, and leadership to the rebuilding Canucks. Gallagher also has a connection with Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, as the two were teammates with the Canadiens during the latter’s final season as a player in 2014-15.
THE PROVINCE/THE TENNESSEAN: Speaking of the Canucks, they traded winger Nils Hoglander to the Nashville Predators for a third-round pick in 2029.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hoglander, 25, tallied a career-high 24 goals in 2023-24, but he struggled to regain that form in 2024-25 and missed most of last season with a lower-body injury. The winger has two years left on his contract with an average annual value of $3 million.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW/THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The Florida Panthers acquired Radko Gudas from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for the contract rights of pending free-agent forward A.J. Greer.
Gudas played three seasons with the Panthers from 2020-21 to 2022-23 before departing for the Ducks as a free agent in 2023. Over the past two seasons, he served as the Ducks’ captain.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers appear to be adding more grit and snarl to a lineup that already has plenty of it. However, the 36-year-old Gudas’ performance isn’t at the same level it was during his previous tenure in Florida. His knee-on-knee hit on Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews ended the latter’s season, earning him a five-game suspension and condemnation from NHL fans.
Greer could replace some of Gudas’ physicality if the Ducks can sign him before the free-agent market opens on Wednesday. He’s completing a two-year contract with an AAV of $850,000.
TSN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: The Panthers also acquired goaltender Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun believes the Panthers are bringing in Schmid to replace pending UFA backup goalie Daniil Tarasov. They are still believed to be in contract talks with starter Sergei Bobrovsky.
Schmid was third on the Golden Knights’ depth chart, behind Carter Hart and Adin Hill. Some pundits had suggested that Hill might become a trade candidate, but his struggles last season, his 10-team trade list, and his $6.25 million AAV through 2030-31 make him difficult to move.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t expected to sign forwards Corey Perry and Oliver Bjorkstrand to new contracts, making them eligible to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
TORONTO SUN/TSN: The Maple Leafs opted not to qualify the rights of winger Matias Maccelli, making him UFA-eligible on July 1. They signed defenseman Troy Stecher to a two-year, $2.7 million contract extension.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs acquired Maccelli last summer to fill the gap at right wing following the departure of Mitch Marner. He had a disappointing performance this season, with 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points in 71 games. Qualifying the 25-year-old’s rights would’ve cost $4.11 million.
THE HOCKEY NEWS/DAILY FACEOFF/PUCKPEDIA: The Utah Mammoth signed winger Kailer Yamamoto to a two-year, $1.75 million contract extension and inked defenseman Nick DeSimone to a two-year, $2 million deal.
Meanwhile, Barrett Hayton becomes the first player this summer to file for salary arbitration. By doing so, the 25-year-old center is ineligible to receive an offer sheet.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: PuckPedia has corrected this. It’s the Mammoth taking Hayton to arbitration, not the other way around. Because it’s a club-elected arbitration, he’s still eligible to receive an offer sheet.
THE WINNIPEG SUN/PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Winnipeg Jets traded forward David Gustafsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Jack St. Ivany.
THE ATHLETIC: The Minnesota Wild did not qualify the rights of Bobby Brink. However, they’re working to re-sign the 24-year-old winger before his UFA eligibility on July 1. He’s coming off a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.5 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild acquired Brink from the Philadelphia Flyers at the March trade deadline. He had arbitration rights, which the Wild want to avoid.
OTTAWA SUN: The Senators have not qualified the rights of winger Arthur Kaliyev, making him UFA-eligible on July 1.
DAILY FACEOFF: Other notable players whose rights weren’t qualified include Samuel Ersson of the Ottawa Senators, Joe Veleno of the Montreal Canadiens, Paul Cotter of the New Jersey Devils, Jordan Harris of the Boston Bruins, Philip Tomasino of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philipp Kurashev of the San Jose Sharks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Senators are believed to be negotiating a new contract with Ersson.
MAYOR’S MANOR: The Los Angeles Kings added Phil Housley, Chris Hajt, and Ray Whitney to their coaching staff.
The Panthers are bringing back the Broad Street Bullies. They look like they are going to be an old slower team that are going to try and beat down the younger skilled teams.
Bingo! And it might work against some teams, but not all of them.
And they better have a stellar PK!
Let’s keep in mind that Gudas is not yet committed to the Panthers, he will become a UFA tomorrow free to sign anywhere. The Panthers have his exclusive rights till then and maybe he will sign with them but it’s not a done deal yet.
True, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s signed to an affordable one-year deal.
This whole Samuel Ersson chain of events is sort of like the Gudas situation.
First , the Leafs acquire him in a trade with Philadelphia, along with D Emil Andrae and a 3rd round pick in the draft, giving up D Simon Benoit and G Joseph Woll. Ten days later they deal Ersson to Ottawa for a 5th Round pick next year.
Ostensibly Ottawa acquires the rights to Ersson, who’s an RFA coming off a cap hit of $1,450,000, to be the veteran back-up to Ullmark and probably starting around 35 games in the new 84-game schedule. But they don’t qualify him at the required $1.6 mil the day before the opening of unrestricted free agency, although indicating they still hope to get him signed to a new deal.
Doesn’t that run the risk of Ersson and his agent thinking, WTF – we might as well test the waters and see if something pops up that suits us better, both from a salary and location perspective, thereby putting Staios into a mini-bidding war? Kind of short-sighted considering the difference between his expiring cap hit and what it would have cost to qualify him is all of $150,000.
Am I missing something here?