NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 5, 2026
The Hurricanes defeat the Golden Knights to tie the Stanley Cup Final at a game apiece, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requests a trade, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: An overtime goal by Seth Jarvis gave the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, tying the series at a game apiece.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis (NHL Images).
Brett Howden scored twice to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead entering the third period. Howden leads the playoffs with 13 goals, tying Jonathan Marchessault’s franchise record for the most goals in a single postseason.
The Hurricanes rallied to take a 3-2 lead on goals by Logan Stankoven, Mark Jankowski, and Jordan Staal. The latter’s goal was the result of a failed coach’s challenge by the Golden Knights for a disallowed goal by Ivan Barbashev, leading to a power play for the Hurricanes.
Golden Knights captain Mark Stone tied the game with 1:21 remaining in the third, but it was Jarvis who was the hero for the Hurricanes on the power play in the extra frame.
The series shifts to Las Vegas for the next two games, with Game 3 on Saturday at 8 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb left this game midway through the first period after the puck struck him in the face. He left the arena to receive treatment at a local hospital. That left the Golden Knights playing the remainder of the game with five defensemen.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman broke the news that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade.
Larkin has spent his entire 11-season NHL career with the Red Wings. The last time the 29-year-old center skated in the playoffs was during his rookie season in 2015-16.
Friedman stated neither Larkin’s camp nor Red Wings management would comment, but his potential availability in this summer’s trade market would be massive. Several teams are in the market for centers.
Larkin is signed through 2030-31 with an average annual value of $8.7 million. He also has a full no-trade clause until the end of the 2027-28 season, giving him complete control over this situation.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This report was a bombshell that could be a serious setback for Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and his rebuilding efforts, dubbed the “Yzerplan.” Larkin is the Wings’ first-line center, and trading him would significantly deplete their already-thin depth at center.
Yzerman doesn’t have to honor Larkin’s trade request, but having an unhappy team captain would be a major distraction for the Wings next season. Stripping him of the captaincy would only add to the hype surrounding this story.
This request by Larkin shouldn’t come as a surprise. It was evident last season that he was growing weary of the Wings’ inability to become a playoff contender when he openly criticized Yzerman for not making any significant additions at the trade deadline.
Larkin got an overdue taste of winning while playing for Team USA’s Olympic men’s gold-medal team in February. It had to have been crushing to go from that emotional high to missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season, and likely prompted him to reevaluate where he is in his career and whether his Stanley Cup hopes will be fulfilled in Detroit.
Yzerman is largely responsible for the Red Wings’ ongoing playoff drought during his seven-year tenure as general manager, especially over the past three years when they’ve faltered down the stretch.
However, Larkin also deserves his fair share. He’s the team captain and is supposed to lead by example, but at times his performance has seemed uninspiring. Injuries certainly haven’t helped, and he can’t be faulted for those, but that doesn’t fully absolve him from his responsibility as captain to motivate his teammates.
So, which clubs could be suitable trade destinations? Find out later this morning in my daily Rumor Mill update.
NHL.COM: Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno is this season’s winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented to the NHL player “who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.”
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers are reportedly close to signing goaltender Dan Vladar to a five-year contract extension.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Vladar played a major role in the Flyers exceeding expectations by qualifying for the postseason and eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins from the opening round. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the deal is all but done, but it can’t be formally announced until July 1.
SPORTSNET: Ivan Demidov hopes to sign a long-term contract extension with the Montreal Canadiens this summer. The 20-year-old winger has one year remaining on his entry-level contract. He led all rookies with 62 points, and was runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Demidov reportedly wants to get a deal done as soon as possible. Canadiens management does as well, especially since the deadline for re-signing players to eight-year contracts is Sept. 15. After that, the maximum term for re-signings will be seven years.
It remains to be seen what the AAV for Demidov’s next contract will be. However, the Canadiens tend to re-sign their young core players to affordable deals. Given that Lane Hutson inked an eight-year extension worth an AAV of $8.85 million last fall, Demidov could get a deal of similar term with roughly a similar cap hit.
Well I know one team that would be a great fit for Larkin. The Montreal Canadiens. Expect Hughes to be all over that.
Obviously a Larkin trade anywhere is far from certain. Word is he’s not getting along with Yzerman. One solution is to wait it out a year. If the wings improve and make the playoffs next year maybe all will be forgiven. If not Yzerman will be gone.
Why not just fire Yzerman now? Lord knows his record is clear justification.
Because Larkin has a full no-trade clause giving him all the leverage as to where he winds up – which probably excludes any Canada-based team – perhaps Yzerman can work something out with one of the 3 U.S.-based teams picking in the Top 5 of this year’s entry draft: San Jose (# 2), Chicago (# 4) and NYR (# 5).
Getting one of those picks + could well work to his advantage.
The question is, does Larkin have some other destination in mind?
I would think the number of teams interested in his services will be somewhere around 31.
with his NMC, he’ll get to pick his destination.
I disagree, Larkin will basically accept a trade to anything not in a rebuild if he wants to move. You cant compare him to Hughes or Tkachuck who both had one year or less left on their deal. With that said, there arent that many teams that can send a grade A Center prospect back which is/will be a demand by Yzerman. Ducks, SJ, Columbus, Montreal, Chicago should be the frontrunners, both having the assets, need, cap and on the rise. There are pretenders like Wild and Ottawa but doubt they can outbid the teams above
I wonder if Zack Werenski being Larkin’s close friend might give the Jackets an advantage. With his full NTC, Larkin does get to dictate where he’s sent.
Ever since the Danny Heatley fiasco in Ottawa, I have always felt that, if and when a contracted player demands to be traded, thereby seeking a release from the obligations of a contract he signed, at the same time he must abrogate any NTC clauses in that contract.
You want out? Fine. But you go to the team that makes the best offer to the team you’re choosing to abandon. And that includes site on both sides of the border. After all, they are part of a 32-team league.
I don’t disagree. But that’s not how it works, so it is fair to wonder which team(s) Larkin would agree to go to. The only certainty, in my mind, is that he’ll reject a trade to a rebuilding team.
I dont know about that rebuilding thing… if you’re Larkin and can go to San Jose and play with Celibrini and one of the top two players in this year’s draft, would you?
Larkin is the best trade chip Y could hope for in getting a decent return and getting YOUNGER. He will soon be 30 but still in his prime, had his highest goal total this season and is somewhat durable. A lot of trades are being speculated and it does no good for Y to hold on to his disgruntled but very valuable employee for another season. He will be traded.