NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 21, 2026
The big questions facing the Senators, Juraj Slafkovsky on the Canadiens’ ultimate goal, Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins sidelined by an injury, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: How quickly the Ottawa Senators and their fans can put the Brady Tkachuk era behind them, and whether they can find consistency in goal, are among the big questions facing the club this season.
Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers in June, sparking heated emotions among Senators fans after he stated on numerous occasions that he didn’t want to leave Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (NHL Images)
Meanwhile, the Senators will be looking for stability from starting goalie Linus Ullmark after last season’s roller-coaster performance. The club hired his friend and mentor, Maciej Szwoch, as director of goaltending scouting and development.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It will be a test of the Senators’ mettle how they adjust to Tkachuk’s departure. Senators fans point out that their club played better when Tkachuk was sidelined for several weeks with an injured thumb last fall. They also noted that Ullmark’s performance improved after he took a midseason mental health break.
The Senators should be able to cope without their former captain, and they might even perform better without the constant questions about his future with the team. However, the real issue is whether Ullmark can carry over his solid second-half performance into this season. If he regains the form that won him the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23 and remains healthy, the Senators shouldn’t have much difficulty clinching a playoff spot.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky said he and his teammates are focused more on winning multiple Stanley Cup championships than they are on pursuing expensive contracts.
Slafkovsky is among several young Canadiens core players signed to affordable long-term contracts, giving the club considerable salary cap flexibility in the coming seasons to build around that young talent.
“It’s not really about the money (in Montreal),” Slafkovsky told reporters after being named Slovakia’s Hockey Player of the Year for the third straight year. “We all have the same goal on that team. Nobody really cares about the money at this point. I mean, all those contracts that the guys have, or even I personally have, it’s already made our lives easier. Nobody really needs more than that. We’d rather focus on collecting those (Stanley Cup) rings, because that’s a much bigger number, and I don’t think any amount of money can top that.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens have attempted to build a winning culture among their young players. Based on what young stars such as Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov have recently signed, they’re buying into what management and the coaching staff have been preaching. If it works, the Canadiens could have the cap space to build and maintain a Stanley Cup contender for the next decade.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing shoulder surgery on Aug. 17.
General manager Don Waddell said Merzlikins had been experiencing some discomfort in his shoulder during his offseason workouts. Following an MRI, it was decided that surgery was the best option. Waddell indicated that the 32-year-old goaltender will be reevaluated in a few weeks, after which they hope to have a clearer picture of when he could return to action.
Merzlikins is entering the final season of his five-year contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Merzlikins lost the starting goaltender role to Jett Greaves last season. Pheonix Copley is expected to be Greaves’ backup. He signed a one-year, $850,000 contract earlier this summer.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins will induct former goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, former defenseman Larry Murphy, former general manager Jim Rutherford, and former owner Jack McGregor into its Hall of Fame. The foursome will be inducted in a pregame ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 14.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This could be a prelude for Fleury’s eventual induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He will be eligible for that honor in 2028.
DAILY FACEOFF: Former NHL forward Joe Pavelski has joined the University of Wisconsin’s men’s hockey program as director of player development.
Pavelski spent 18 seasons in the NHL. He played college hockey for Wisconsin from 2005 to 2007 and spent the past two years coaching his son Nate for the AAA Madison Capitals.
THE ATHLETIC: Chris Johnston reports the NHL is partnering with soccer giant FC Bayern to grow the league’s popularity in Germany. The partnership comes as the league is making a concerted push in the German sports market, including staging additional regular-season games there as part of its annual Global Series.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league intends to bring more games to Germany in 2028-29, and could eventually stage an outdoor game at FC Bayern’s 75,000-seat Allianz Arena in Munich.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL stages several outdoor games each season throughout North America, but an outdoor game in a large European market would be a unique event that helps to grow the product.
THE SCORE: The New York Islanders announced the winner of their popular fan-designed third jersey contest on Thursday, revealing a navy sweater with a large lighthouse logo in the center.
The winning design was selected from eight finalists chosen from over 80,000 submissions. The Isles will wear the unique jersey for several games in 2027-28.
Interesting how things are going in Montreal. Their fans must love it. The players union not so much. Hughes had better focus on now. If the Habs don’t start consistently getting deep into the playoffs or even win a cup in the next few years and those players realize that lesser players are making significantly more money for them that’s going to cause problems. Chips in the middle hughes. No pressure.
Players focusing on winning vs maxing out contracts making it difficult to keep teams together. Great concept that won’t catch on.
As long as MON spends to the cap, why would the union care how it’s divided up?
Why would the NHLPA not be happy?
Is the team spending to the cap? Yes
Is the team signing 23 contracts? Yes
Is the team reaching 50 contracts? As close as most.
The handing of contracts is a zero-sum game, very dollar going to one player is a dollar less to another.
The cost control by Hughes just means more dollars spent on a better supporting cast for the core. If anything the NHLPA should be happy as a larger % of players make more money this way.
Montreal currently is about ten mil below the cap. So that argument works if Hughes uses that space to add to the team.
Chrisms,
Get real.
It’s August and the Hughes has close to $10M to sign Bolduc, Xhekaj and a 2nd line C or LW.
You might be the only one questioning if “that space” will be used.
chrisms I think more teams are carrying more cap space due to the change in LTIR/Playoff roster rules.
If you want to add at the TDL you still need to be cap compliant with your roster.
Can’t speak for the Habs, but the Oilers were intentional about doing that. Barring something that falls into their lap that is too good to refuse, they will keep their powder dry until then.
I’m not questioning it at all. It sounds like with his attempts to get marchenko or knies he is trying to use it. He should also leave some for the deadline. But you said they are spending to the cap. As of now they are not. Your argument that the union would be indifferent to players taking less than market value due to other members getting a bigger piece of the pie hasn’t manifested as of yet.
But. If cap and salaries keep going up and players of equal or lesser talent are making up to twice what some of these Habs young players are making and if the Habs are not competing for cups I do wonder if the three musketeers attitude starts to crack.
Chrisms: yours are fair questions but:
McDavid is highly influential in the NHLPA and we all know he took less to help the Oil win a Cup. So did Bedard for that matter. I doubt the NHLPA took them aside for a chat.
Every one of the Habs best players will get another contract with more money once their current contract expires, irrespective of whether they win a Cup or not. But to your point, it is unlikely that to a man the core stars all remain with the Habs in a group discount. That’s hockey.
Chrisms, the Habs currently have $9.783,924 in cap reserve with 2 RFAs to re-up.
Zack Bolduc, after a season of 12g 18a 30 pts and coming off an ELC of $863,334, is likely to get $3.5 to $4 mil on a bridge deal. Another bridge will likely see Xkekaj go from $1.3 mil to around $1.8.
I don’t think anyone thought they’d spend to the lack cap nickel … Hughes, I believe, is very in tune with the value of leaving himself some wiggle room to use at the trade deadline, and those two contracts combined, when concluded, will leave him with about $4.5 for that purpose if a good opportunity surfaces at that time.
“last cap nickel …” bloody auto-correct
Good point on mcdavid. Hell. Look at Crosby. Prime example of something that you’d think would be frowned upon by the union. My overall point in all this is the players did their part for now. The pressure is in Hughes now. If they took the we want to win approach and he doesn’t deliver by giving them the best chance to win it all… by moving prospects/top picks, signing fa, and making high impact trades then frustration at being significantly underpaid could become an issue in a few years. Hughes needs to be all in. No more of the we arnt quite ready yet stuff. His young star players are all in.
I think the Sens will be just fine this season. If the rumors are true that the locker room was divided after the Tkachuk family podcasts discussing Brady’s love for the US and wanting to play there, then so be it. Brady was known to take some really bad penalties in untimely situations. Both sides needed a break. In the end I think the Sens will fair better than Brady
mikep, I agree. Sure, there are those “hero worshippers” among the fan base who will continue to lament Tkachuk’s departure. But from everything I have read, most pundits think Eklund will bring more offensive skills to the table, including speed and finesse, and so will work well with the equally-speedy Stutzle.
There are, however, some roster questions still hanging fire and something I’ve speculated upon in here on more than one occasion.
In fact, Bruce Garrioch just touched upon that in a recent article where he sees Cozens moving to RW to bolster the offensive output from that side.
https://ottawasun.com/ottawa-senators/ottawa-senators-lineup-for-opener
In short, his projection has
Line 1: Eklund – Stutzle – Batherson
Line 2: Burakovsky – Pinto – Cozens
Line 3: Giroux – Greig – Amadio
Line 4: Foegele – Halliday – Zetterlund
1st pairing D: Sanderson – Zub
2nd pairing D: Chabot – Spence
3rd pairing D: Kleven – Yakemchuk
Goaltenders: Ullmark – Ersson
Insurance: Merilainen
At the moment Puckpedia shows Ottawa with $4,195,888 in cap reserve – which is more or less what Staios has said he’d like to have headed into this season’s trade deadline day – with 13F, 7D and 3G.
However, Garrioch makes no mention of 5’ 11” 200 lbs – and very effective – LW/C Nick Cousins, recently re-signed for 2 years at $1,587,500 AAV, essentially relegates the vastly improved 6’ 3” 215lbs RD Nicholas Matinpalo to the press box, and sees 6’2” 200lbs 24 y/o Leevi Merilainen stagnating as the 3rd seldom-used goaltender. The so-called EBUG flexibility might be a caution against last-minute unavailability of one of your 2 main net-minders, but it also forces a team to sacrifice an extra skater spot on the 23-man active roster (i.e. Cousins in this case).
GeorgeO as with most fans when a player is traded or leaves there is always a chance that he is made to look like the villain. That might be your case with the Sens fans but I m sure when your forwards are getting pushed around or need to be protected,Brady was one of those guys to enter the fray. I Don t consider my self a hero worshipper but in the Atlantic Conference which is absolutely stacked,he might at times be missed!
GeorgeO as with most fans when a player is traded or leaves there is always a chance that he is made to look like the villain. That might be your case with the Sens fans but I m sure when your forwards are getting pushed around or need to be protected,Brady was one of those guys to enter the fray. I Don t consider my self a hero worshipper but in the Atlantic Conference which is absolutely stacked,he might at times be missed!
Man, you sure seem to have this fixation on Tkachuk being the only one who responded when someone tried to push another player around. Yeah, he was quick to jump in, but then, being the captain that was part of his job. He was also quick to engage in idiotic opening seconds scuffles in some misplaced (and over-used) effort to “set the tone.”
Nuts to that crap. Play hockey – score goals – THAT sets the tone better than anything. And now they are forming a roster designed to do just that.
Worrying about who’ll “step up” when intimidation tactics crop up is pointless – they have others who can handle that when necessary.
anyone think Columbus will now reach out to Montreal to acquire Montembeau ? he would be a better option than Copley, and not sure Greaves is ready for a full load of games
Copley stats are better than sams over their respective careers. Better option at a better price.
Copley has played 1 NHL game each of the last two seasons and only 8 NHL games in 23-24. So a goalie with only 10 games over 3 years I don’t think is an option at all.
He also turns 35 in January
With Merzlikins out does that increase the likelihood of a Mtl-CBJ trade? Mtl has Montembault who could interest CBJ for their backup role, especially if Mtl retained 50% on the $3.15 M last year on his deal. Montembault at $1.575 might be more palatable.
I think the basis of a deal could be around ultimately giving CBJ more cap space to sign Fantilli but also solving a couple of contract or lineup issues for CBJ.
The contract issues I’m referring to is of course Marchenko who has stated he is not signing an extension in CBJ, so it is likely wise for them to trade him while the acquiring team has control of his rights for at least two seasons (this year at $3.85M and 27-28 when he has one last year of RFA status). Plus looking at the CBJ defense they have 4 players who are RD including Provorov who prefers to play RD. They are Fabbro, Provorov, Severson and Gudbranson. Their LD are Werenski, Mateychuk and Christiansen. So moving out a guy likely at the bottom of that list of RD in Gudbranson also makes sense, especially if they can get an upgrade on LD which Mtl has a surplus of.
I think their is a foundation of a deal there to help both teams. Montembault (50% retained) + a LD (Guhle, Struble, Engstrom, basically whoever CBJ are most interested in) plus picks or prospects (not named Hage) for Marchenko + Gudbranson.
From CBJ perspective this moves two possible disguntled players and upgrades the backup goalie and balances/upgrades their D. Additionally giving them cap space to sign Fantilli as well as providing futures. For Mtl it balances their D sending out a surplus LD for a physical 3rd pair RD, clears out the 3 goalie logjam and biggest of all fills the top 6 fwd hole they have been trying to fill. The cap also works for both teams.
What do you guys think? What picks/prospects would it require from MTL to close the deal.
Putting Merzlikins on LTIR frees up $5.5M so they can wrap up Fantilli sooner than later.
Whether Copley can perform will be seen, you just never know with goaltenders other than there’s often a surprise one way or another.
Waddell has some time to see what he has with less pressure to make a move.
Bold statement by Slafkovsky considering he’s already locked up long term. He signed in 2024 when market was still normal. I’m sure if he was ufa this summer he’d also be chasing the bag. Considering he only has 1 season under his belt, Demidov didn’t exactly take a team friendly deal. Kudos to Habs for locking some guys up long term before cap went up.
Slick62: It has been widely considered that Demidov and Hutson took less than market at the time.
Agree. It’s all timing based on when contracts extensions become eligible.
Slaf and Hutson both got paid a pretty penny based on their age, stats, and contract status at the time the signed.
Montreal has done well to acquire good youth and lock them up quickly, so good on the GM for that work (Verbeek should have taken a page from his book!)
But there no way that Slaf, Suzuki, Caufield, or Hutson are settling for their current salary to keep the team together if they happened to be free agents right now. They’d be cashing out for more money as well.
All of the Habs players seem to be drinking the same Kool Aid. That is all fine and dandy if you win a cup with this group. The longer they go without winning changes are expected to be made as expectations hit the roof. GMS can t fall in love with their rosters for an extended period of time. As long as the egos are left at the door. I am on record as saying that this group of players is tremendous and well put together by management,as a fan it will be interesting how this plays out!
Geez, Srm take it easy on the Habs … four seasons ago they wound up with a 31 45 6 68pts record scoring 232 while giving up 307 for an atrocious -75 goals differential. The next season saw a slight improvement to 30 36 16 76pts with 236gf 289ga -53. Then, in the season before last the changes made began to bear fruit when their record improved to 40 31 11 91 pts but their scoring ratio remained on the minus side with 245gf 265ga for a -20.
This past season, with an unexpected run to the Conference finals, was the first sign that they have shifted out of that re-build and are mow entering the final stage of transitioning from a rebuilding team into a consistent contender with a solid 48 24 10 106pts and 283gf 256ga and a +27.
However, there are still some well-identified needle-moving pieces need to round out an otherwise solid roster such as a reliable 2C and maybe 1 veteran D addition.
George: Yes. And IMO the Habs were lucky to get to the conference finals. They played some good hockey, but had two game 7s in the playoffs and were often outshot.
So it is possible that they make the playoffs but go out early this coming season, just because hockey can be like that. I’m interested in then next 4 years. That’s enough time to chart progression.
George and Ray: I saw yesterday’s debate about whether there is an increasing degree of strong global new talent available to the NHL too late to respond last night.
For Today: If the premise is that there is a surge in global hockey talent available to the NHL, then we would see a change in a number of areas, such as the success rate of draft picks making it into the NHL.
So the question was asked: has the percentage of drafted players who make a nhl career changed in the last 15 years?
The answer: “No, the overarching statistical conversion rate of NHL draft picks making a career in the league has remained remarkably stable over the last few decades.
Breakdown of Success Rates For Draft Picks
Any NHL Game: ~85% of first-round picks eventually play in at least one regular-season NHL game.
Regular Career (100+ Games): ~74% to 77% play 100 or more games, moving past the “bust” or “cup-of-coffee” designation.
Impact or Star Players: High lottery picks (top 5 selections) have a much higher rate of becoming elite, long-term stars (500+ career points) compared to picks in the late first round (picks 15 to 30/32).
Comparison by Draft Round
1st Round: ~74%–80% become regular NHL players.
2nd Round: ~34%–44% become regular NHL players.
3rd Round: ~12%–30% become regular NHL players.
Rounds 4–7: Success rates drop sharply into single digits for regular, long-term careers.
So this tells us that:
7 first round picks don’t become regular NHLers;
18 second rounders don’t become regular NHLers
22 third rounders don’t become regular NHLers.
If there is this increasing global supply of talent the success rate of first rounders (just 32 picks) the success rate be just about 100%.
If there were more talent then the value of a 15th overall pick (24 peri points) would be closer in value to a 32 overall pick (10 peri points). Ever seen a GM trade down 10 spots in the first round, straight up?
Next: If the talent level has gone up in the past years, have we seen a trend of current veterans pushed out, as in: “Has the global supply of hockey talent affected the turnover rate of nhl rosters?”
AI Overview Answer:
“The global influx of hockey talent has not heavily altered the macro team-level turnover rate, which hovers around an average of 80% over multi-year windows. Instead, a deeper pipeline from Europe and the U.S. has accelerated player readiness, lowering the average age of replacement players and squeezing out older, one-dimensional veterans.”
How Global Talent Impacts Rosters
Younger Replacement Pools: A steady stream of skilled international prospects means teams replace departing veterans with younger, cheaper under-23 players rather than recycling traditional depth players.
Driven by the Hard Salary Cap: Roster churn is dictated more by the 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue and tight salary cap constraints than the total volume of available global talent.
In other words, younger players may be ready for the NHL sooner, and cheaper, but that is distinct from more of them.
Finally: A increasing #s of global talent should mean the better and more numerous the picks and the easier it is to fix mistakes.
So if there is more global talent available than the length of time for a rebuild would go down over the past 15 years would have gone down, yes?
According to The Athletic:
“The timeline for a successful NHL rebuild has lengthened noticeably over the last 15 years. While quick turnarounds once happened in the early salary cap era, modern data shows that a typical bottom-out rebuild now averages about 8.5 years before reaching consecutive playoff appearances, and up to 10 years to true Stanley Cup contention.”
This is the opposite of what one would expect if there were more global talent available. The facts seem pretty clear to me about whether there has been an increase in global hockey talent for the NHL. And let us not confuse equality with quality. Expansion will mean more dilution.
LJ,
You build a whole lot of assumptions anchored in “I’m just asking questions” manner of presentation.
The influence of the expanded international supply of hockey players is more easily identified in head to head Olympic, World Cup and WJC as opposed to draft data that can explain away whichever theory that is chosen.
Canada used to rule the hockey world
The Russians arrived and showed more skill.
The Americans arrived with heart
The Czechs arrived and showed more grit.
The Swedes and Finns arrived with speed.
No country has a lock on Gold, not by a longshot.
Additional countries are entering the arena and countries like Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Latvia will have growing numbers of NHL players as the infrastructure grows in there countries.
If you want to analyze the draft in the context of global impact on the NHL, I suggest you look at the changing demographics of 1st round picks, the players most likely to succeed.
You will see the number of American and International players picked growing and Canadians decreasing.
Chrisms, agreed. But … 2Cs are scarce. And they are more expensive either because the cost more to sign, or those on now good cap hits will cost more to acquire in a trade. Hughes has to swim in the same waters as every other GM and while his player signings are enviable he still has to live with the cap.
A question is not an assumption, HF30.
I didn’t know for sure what the answers would be before I posed the questions. Had the answers been different my conclusions would have been different.
More to the point, my post addresses the assertions of others – including you as I recall, no? – who have asserted that the sheer increase in global participation rates has led to an increase in the total talent available.
Further, that the increase of two new NHL teams will not dilute the on ice product because of this supposed rising tide in total global talent available to stock these teams.
My post nowhere addresses where in the world players are coming from now. That is irrelevant.
However off point your comment on World Cup and Olympic rosters they don’t show that the global talent is increasing; they showcase the best 23 players from each country. Nothing more.
We all have opinions but without facts or statistical trends to back them up they are conjecture: The Americans showed up with more heart? Than who? Other teams, past American teams? Where is the basis for this assertion, red herring that it is?
You don’t have to buy my argument. But irrespective of my “manner of presentation” I do not see you addressing the findings I presented.
Hughes has the assets to be a major player in the market this year. Some very good prospects etc. now is the time to strike. I look at Habsfan post about Crosby. I wouldn’t trade hage for a 39 year old… what Crosby is or isn’t worth aside, the mentality of holding onto these chips instead of going for it with the players buying in and in their primes is something Hughes can’t do. Not with the sacrifice his players are making to win. I understand the mentality of fans who are more comfortable saying we arnt quite ready yet because it tempers their expectations and decreases disappointment if they don’t make it. But, using Crosby as an example again because it was mentioned here, hage and a first for a number one center you can slot at two would immediately change playoff contenders to cup contenders. That’s not worth a couple decent to good future pieces? One good center and possibly a good vet goalie and the Habs have as good a chance as the other top tier teams. That is worth emptying the cupboard for.
Hi LJ, strange how folks can look at the same data and see a different conclusion.
When I see those draft stats staying consistent, what I see is is the level of competition for spots has stayed remarkably strong, even with expansion. Wouldn’t the reverse be true if the league was watered down? More drafted players would make the cut.
The draft isn’t the best tool to measure, so I agree with Hf30 on that one. The trend of more players from USA and Europe didn’t just start, it has been a steady growth trend for decades.
Salming started with the Leafs in 1973. Then the Wings success investing in scouting in Europe that led to cups and teams copying that approach, Russians being allowed to come over, Canadian coaches heading oversees for jobs, etc.
I dunno what the right answer is for sure. But what I do know for sure, is when I watch a playoff game in todays NHL, vs an older one, the players are bigger, faster, stronger, and more skilled across the board. And way less room to operate. Everybody can move.
Sure looks a deeper league IMO.
Well, those are interesting takes Ray. And as dug in as I can get, I do like a good exchange.
Yes, the influence of European players has been huge. You site Salming in 1973, at the time the Broad Street Bullies dragged hockey into the gutter with goon hockey. You may remember Serge Savard lamenting the drop in emphasis in skill. Salming, and others, did help refocus on talent IMO. That and the Habs beating the Flyers.
Players are more skilled now. This is a reflection of better coaching earlier in life, national development and college programs, even better equipment (carbon fibre sticks make for faster shots). But where is the link between better skilled and more of them?
The NFL has had almost no increase in foreign born players, but the skill of those players has continued to rise due to the same factors as hockey. Except for the sticks of course.
I would argue that the reason the level of drafting success/failure has remained equal is that you still only need 50 kids per year to maintain that level.
There have only been two teams added to the NHL in the past 15 years. Wait until the NHL not just adds two North American franchises in the coming years, European expansion is being considered.
Thanks for engaging.
Young Habs taking less now in order to win in the future. That’s super encouraging to the fan base I’m sure. Who doesn’t want to hear that from their young core? They are doing what the core 4 in Toronto wouldn’t. Good on the Habs.