NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 22, 2026
Notable questions facing the Penguins, the latest on a potential expansion team, plus updates on Senators center Tim Stutzle, Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The play of veterans Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson is among the notable questions facing the Pittsburgh Penguins this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (NHL Images).
Malkin, 40, had 61 points in 56 games last season while the 36-year-old Karlsson had 66 points in 75 contests. Both are entering the final seasons of their contracts, and Malkin may be heading toward retirement.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Malkin and Karlsson helped the rebuilding Penguins exceed expectations by qualifying for the playoffs last season for the first time in three years. However, any significant decline in their performances could cripple their postseason hopes.
The Penguins must also determine who will be their starting goaltender. Arturs Silovs is the likely candidate, with Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist to jockey for the backup role.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Goaltending will also be a key factor for the Penguins this season. Consistency was an issue for former starter Tristan Jarry, who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers last season for Stuart Skinner, who also had issues with steadiness between the pipes.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: David Alter interviewed NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who said a 33rd NHL franchise could begin play as early as 2029-30.
Two Texas cities, Houston and Austin, have emerged as the top two destinations for the next expansion team. Daly said Houston was the priority market, with Austin as an alternative.
According to Daly, the league has agreed to a “framework of a transaction” with a potential ownership group in Houston. “We hope to have definitive agreements in place that would commit the franchise as early as December of this year,” Daly said. “And we expect that they’ll be able to play as early as the 2029-30 season, closing the transaction early 2029.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I’ve been saying for months that a new NHL team would be in place by the end of this decade. Daly didn’t mention Atlanta, which has also been rumored as a destination for another expansion club, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t interest in making it happen, provided suitable deep-pocketed ownership can be found, and a suitable NHL arena is constructed.
Daly also discussed expansion into Canada, noting that the interest in owning and operating a franchise in Canada is “less vibrant” than it is for some markets in the United States. He addressed Quebec City as a destination, saying there wasn’t a potential ownership group willing to buy a franchise and operate there.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: According to Alter, Daly’s comments suggest the depth of potential expansion markets in the United States and the lack of serious Canadian ownership interest explains why an eighth franchise in Canada is unlikely for the foreseeable future.
OTTAWA SUN: Senators center Tim Stutzle believes he and his teammates must turn the page after long-time teammate and captain Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers in June.
Stutzle said there was nothing he or his teammates could do about Tkachuk’s decision. He praised his former captain as a great player and teammate, saying they will miss him.
“We’re focused on what we have ahead of us and the team we have right now,” Stutzle said, adding that he wished Tkachuk “all the best.” He’s also confident that there is sufficient leadership on the current roster to fill the role of team captain.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stutzle will play a substantial role in how the Senators adapt to Tkachuk’s departure. The 25-year-old playmaking center has been their leading scorer in three of the past four seasons. They will also be looking to him for leadership.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: In a recent interview with the German magazine Eishockey News, Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider said that he was caught off guard by team captain Dylan Larkin’s trade request earlier this summer.
“Everyone certainly has their reasons for making certain decisions. Whether I or we approve of it is not for us to answer,” Seider said. However, he added that he felt the Red Wings were a better club with Larkin on the roster.
Seider also said that he’s had enough of the Red Wings “falling asleep in the home stretch” and missing the Stanley Cup playoffs. “It’s the month of March,” he said. “We always lose some momentum after the trade deadline. When you’re caught in that kind of downward spiral, it’s hard to get out.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Seider also said it was important for the Red Wings to put the offseason noise behind them and get off to a strong start to this season. Whether they can pull that off remains to be seen.
The Red Wings must do something to address their trend of late-season collapses. Otherwise, Seider could reach a point when he starts seeking an exit strategy before his contract expires in 2031.
DAILY FACEOFF: Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara recreated his hardest shot record of 108.8 MPH during his farewell event in Slovakia on Friday. The 49-year-old originally hit that mark during the skills competition at the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend.
The farewell event also featured a charity game involving active players such as Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak, former NHLers Patrice Bergeron and Raymond Bourque, and fellow Slovaks Jaromir Jagr and Marian Hossa.
THE MERCURY NEWS: The San Jose Sharks re-signed their affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder for the 2026-27 season.
When Larkin was not in the line-up, Detroit usually lost. His absence was felt more than any other Wing.
It will not be a surprise if Larkin is gone that Detroit will be in the bottom of the league.
You’re certainly right there, Johnny Z – here’s the actual figures
All-Time Record (Since 2015–16)
With Larkin: 341–365–102 record across 808 games (.485 points percentage)
Without Larkin: 19–31–7 record across 57 games (.395 points percentage)
2025–26 Season: Detroit went 38–27–9 with Larkin in the lineup, compared to 3–4–1 when he was absent.
2023–24 Season: His multi-game absence due to a lower-body injury exposed a steep drop-off, during a stretch where the Red Wings went just 4–10–0 without him.
Looks like no difference to me, team wise, other than he’s definitely not an anchor pulling the team further down. Just not good enough with him or without him.
The NHL isn’t serious about Canada because if they wanted $3 billion they’d put another team in the Golden Horseshoe. 34 teams is a watered down league to say the least.
Excited about the bruins season although They need more to make the playoffs here’s hoping Sweeney does that. Man I don’t know how the rest you feel but I do not want another team in the nhl. Regardless of What I want or not it’s going to happen but I think teams have to give up too much talent to help out and there’s enough teams already.
John Apple,they are in the toughest division in hockey. If Swayman is lights out they might steal a WC slot in the playoffs. This is the year that they should rebuild,retool with all the young prospects in their system. What good does it make to add aging veterans that are going to take playing time away from the younger players.They are not close to the top teams in the east!
Sr
Who said bruins are adding aging veterans? They have been actually doing the opposite not grabbing any at in the ufa period. At least so far
They currently have too many signed players on nhl contracts Something has to give before season starts
I appreciate your pt of view Sr makes sense but I don’t share your view They still need a #1 centre not every player can just jump in like Bobby Orr or Patrice and be a star Hagens still has learning curve to follow.
Mrbruin4 ,looks like they will be holding tryouts on D while Mcavoy serves his 6 game suspensions.
Mrbruin4, according to Puckpedia, the Bruins have the max 23 currently on the main roster:
14F – Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Peterka, Mittelstadt, Geekie, Zacha, Jeannot, Kuraly, Steeves, Kastelic, Eyssimont, Hagens, Khusnutdinov (can’t wait to hear his name in a play-by-play), Minten
Any others are on 2-way deals and are currently listed among the AHL roster.
Who do they have to get rid of (in terms of numbers, that is)?
7D – MacAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Zadorov, Borgen, Lohrei, Jokiharju, Clifton
2G – Swayman, DiPietro
Recently there was news out of Columbus that, while Werenski reiterated that he would prefer to remain a BlueJacket, it is contingent upon the team becoming a contender if he is to stay in central Ohio beyond the 2027-28 season. And now the first speculation about the possibility of Seider getting antsy if Detroit doesn’t soon wake up from its long snooze.
In a way it’s not surprising since the spectre of players wanting out of town has been fairly steady going back several years – either through direct demands to be dealt, or implying as much by informing their GM they would not re-sign pending RFA negotiations. Or, by pulling a Lindros and refusing to sign with the drafting team, with one even pulling the same arrogant act twice – and the returns have been decidedly mixed in terms of compensation:
Jonathan Drouin, unhappy with the way he was being deployed by Tampa, asked to be dealt and ultimately he and a 2018 6th round pick wound up with the Habs in exchange for D Mikhail Sergachev and a 2018 conditional 2nd round pick. Tampa used that pick to select F Gabriel Fortier – who has played 11 NHL games over 8 seasons;
Adam Fox was drafted by Calgary but would not sign or report, so the Flames dealt his rights, along with Dougie Hamilton and Michael Ferland, to Carolina for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. Fox then haughtily informed THEM that he only wanted to play for the NYR, forcing Carolina to deal his rights again, receiving a 2019 2nd round pick and a conditional 2020 3rd round pick which later turned into a 2nd rounder. The 2019 pick was later dealt to Ottawa for another pick which turned out to be C Jamieson Rees, and with the 2020 pick Carolina chose Noel Gunler;
For Matthew Tkachuk and a 4th round pick, Calgary received Florida forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Cole Schwindt. D MacKenzie Weegar and a lottery-protected 1st round pick (32nd) which they used to select C Cullen Potter of Arizona State. Schwindt was later claimed by Vegas off waivers and a year later was back with Florida after being claimed off waivers from Vegas! Weegar, then in his 4th year with Calgary, accepted a trade to Utah in exchange for D Olli Maata, Jonathan Castagna and 3 2nd-rounders in 2026;
For Cutter Gauthier (drafted but would not sign or report), Philadelphia dealt his rights to Anaheim for D Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 2nd round pick, which the Flyers used to select LW Jack Murtagh;
For Quinn Hughes, Vancouver received C Marco Rossi, winger Liam Ohgren, D Zeev Buium, and a 2026 1st Round Pick (the 24th) which they used to select winger Adam Novotny;
For Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa received from Florida this year’s 5th and 25th picks, a conditional 1st round pick in 2029 and a 2nd round pick in 2027, turning the 5th into Eklund from San Jose;
For Darnell Nurse, Edmonton received defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp, plus cleared all of Nurse’s $9.5 mil cap hit;
For Nicholas Robertson, Toronto received a 2028 4th Round pick.
For Pierre-Luc Dubois, Winnipeg received from Los Angeles Fs Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2nd round pick in 2024. which they used to select D Alfons Freij. Kupari later signed with a Swiss League team, although the Jets still hold his rights;
For Larkin of Detroit and Wright of Seattle, who have both asked to be dealt – stay tuned.
Here’s hoping Larkin expands his list to include Boston.
Hoo boy, I just posted the above and the Rumors thread popped in, where – again – the possibility of McDavid moving on has reared its ugly head. And while he could just wait until he’s a UFA and see where that takes him, he could also inform management – a la Brady Tkachuk – sometime this coming season that he would not be signing a new deal in Edmonton when his current deal expires in 2028.
Again, stay tuned folks.
Yeah, George, but we knew that McDavid was putting the Oil on notice when he signed a 2 year deal, and gave the Oil a discount in order to allow them to improve their roster.
So as if he’d go to Philly or Detroit if he doesn’t get his Cup in Edmonton.
One thing I do find curious about the whole Oiler bit is the comments from Draisaitl that Babcock will hold the team accountable. Who hasn’t been accountable so far?
Heh. Not only that, LJ, but other than benching someone, what exactly can he do to “hold them accountable?” I guess, if someone isn’t closely following whatever system he creates, that he could slash a player’s minutes or drop them from the pp or pk. Or perhaps split any among his top lines/pairings he targets from their preferred linemates by dropping them down to 3 rd/4th line duty.
All fine and dandy if he has players who are as skilled as the ones he’s targeting as examples and can produce at the same rate. Otherwise they could find themselves in a prolonged winless streak. Then what?
Something else he has been known to use as a “motivation tactic” is to scratch a long-time player just before a milestone achievement.
I somehow doubt that that crap works to its purpose very often.
Rochelle too, though I don’t blame him for wanting out of Buffalo. He played hard for the Sabres’ losing teams.
He’s not the only Sabre that left because they wanted to win. And many of them did.
I meant to say Eichel not Rochelle
Wonder how itchy Hossa is today. Lol
Heh. Well, at least he did win a cup along the way.
I’d like to clarify something I said yesterday about globalization of the game and how expansion isn’t diluting the quality.
a) First round picks include more international, meaning not from Canada picks with regularity now.
b) Players are coming from Russia, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Latvia, Germany, Austria and the USA of course.
c) Players are bigger, faster, stronger and more skilled which can be explained by coaching, nutrition, equipment but cannot turn a blind eye to the fact these advances are happening globally and increasing the quantity of top talent.
d) As in all organizations there are always a few leaders of the pack, any hockey team we’ve played on had a few who were the stars and the rest kept up. As the level of play increased many of those stars became the guys keeping up, Why?, because there was a larger quantity of really good players so they were relegated.
e) The original six wasn’t a league full of stars, there was a total of 120 players, 20 of hem were scrubs. From the 100 that were left, each team had 4-5 top tier players, meaning 24-30 in total.
With all the expansion and “dilution” there are now around 160 top tier players in a league of 730 players.
In other words there is no shortage of talent and expansion is matching the supply of quality players and emerging markets will keep it going.
f) The large stages of Olympics, World Cup which at a point in time were dominated by Canada, no longer are. We see how the Russians, Swedes, Finns, Czechs, Slovaks, Americans and Swiss are pretty much on an equal footing.
g) It isn’t that Canada isn’t producing excellent hockey players as always, it’s just that many other countries are too and they are on full display in the NHL.
And those other countries soon to be joined by Norway where the sport is advancing by leaps and bounds in recent years.
Norway is pretty amazing, considering their country has only about 6.5M people.
Says the guy cheering for a team that’s been looking for a 2nd line center and/or top line forward since the rebuilt began.
How about the goalies? Ok with that tandem or 3 goalies you’re carrying? These are directly caused by having a diluted talent pool, you know, the guys you can win with, not guys that look like they can until you find they really can’t be what you needed them to be, like Dach for example.
It’s seems like easy math to me…less teams means the ability to have more skilled players up and down the line up who aren’t as easily replaceable as many are now.
RM,
The players are there, more than ever before though salary cap and draft rules force parity or at minimum ties management hands.
The Habs like other teams have made some monumental gaffes in the draft with centres when they could have picked
Bobby Clarke- 1969 instead of Rejean Houle
Bryan Trottier- 1974 instead of Cam Connor
Denis Savard- 1980 instead of Wickenheiser
Marco Sturm-1996 instead of Matt Higgins
Daniel Briere-1996 instead of Matt Higgins
Brad Richards-1998 instead of Eric Chouinard
Getzlaf-2003 instead of Andrei Kostitsyn
Bergeron- 2003 instead of Kostitsyn
Giroux-2006 instead of David Fischer
Ryan O’Reilly-2009 instead of Louis Leblanc
Brock Nelson-2010 instead of Jared Tinordi
Boone Jenner-2011 instead of Nathan Beaulieu
Any 2 or 3 of those could have changed the trajectory. Those are just the 1st round misses and the list isn’t exhaustive.
I’m sure you can make a similar listing for TML drafting of poor players not on account of dilution but scouting gaffes.
HF30, yes many teams miss out on players being drafted or not but that’s not the point I was trying to make. I’m just saying even after the fact, like in Dach, doesn’t become what he was projected it’s going to be harder if there are one or two more teams added and also happen to be looking for the same thing.
Basically today’s teams might never become as a “complete” team as teams you are familiar with, in your past.
HF30:
I don’t understand why you often go back to the original 6 teams as a comparison. What do players from that era have to do with the # of global players available today?
The Olympics and World Cup are single knockout playoff tournaments, played on international ice with international rules. This is not an apt comparison to NHL playoffs, which is of course 4 series of up to 28 games. Massive difference. What is the relevance of your point to the debate?
One of the findings I posted yesterday:
“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.”
What can you provide, other than your opinion, that shows this is incorrect?
Ron Moore makes an excellent point, made by others earlier: most teams do not have a strong 1C 2C combination, quality goaltending is an issue (ask the Oilers) and RHD are in short supply. How is this possible with the more than ever argument.
To this I would ask: how is it possible that there were 6 teams below .500 in a league that has manufactured parity built into the points system, if there is an abundance of talent? A consistent result season by season?
George: This from AI:
Only 1 Norwegian player, Mats Zuccarello of the Minnesota Wild, actively played and logged games in the National Hockey League during the 2025 calendar year.
The same result comes up when one asks how many Norwegians played in the NHL in 2020.
I’m leaving it there. IMO some here are dug in on a position irrespective of evidence.
Well, of course, Niklas Aaram-Olsen was just drafted 41st overall by Vancouver, which was headline news back in Norway and only serves to make the younger generation there even more interested in improving their hockey skills and to foster even more youth teams.
Their population of 5.6 mil ranks them just ahead of Finland in that regard, and if the interest in hockey and exposure to competition continues to increase, they will one day be a factor when it comes to NHL interest.
It wasn’t that long ago that Switzerland (pop. just over 9 mil wasn’t on anyone’s hockey radar. They are now.
It won’t be a tomorrow thing or anything of that nature … but give it time.
George for sure there will continue to be an increase in non North American NHLers. in the 60s there were probably none.
How many, according to QuantHockey, are there now: 308.
The back and forth between me, HF30 and Ray Bark began (in part) with the assertion that there is now a rising tide of NHLers world wide to the extent that there will be no dilution of talent through continued expansion.
How many, according to QuantHockey were there in 2020: 297.
So this rising global tide has brought 11 more such players in the past 6 years. Speaks for itself, to anyone who wants to listen.
LJ,
I go back to original 6 because expansion was going to be the death of hockey…..and it wasn’t.
Each expansion increased the number of core players , top tier players in the league. The growth in total number of players never diminished the quality of hockey.
You may downplay Olympic, World Cup, WJC as single knockout tournaments, however there was a time that Canada owned those tournaments and those days are long gone.
6 teams below .500?, in the pre-expansion days NYR and Bruins regularly fought for last place.
Not every team had great 1C and 2C for the simple reason there weren’t enough of them.
The top C on each and every team today would make for 5 top tier centres for each team pre-expansion.
One has to be totally devoid of reality to not recognize the abundance of great hockey players from both Canada and the rest of the world. Look at film from any heyday and try to tell me that the quality of play was as good as it is now.
Those “cannonading drives” off the rush are picked off easily by goalies today who are bigger, faster, and better than before..
Anybody watching hockey from pre-expansion to today can see the difference in quality. BTW the broad street bullies, who I hated, weren’t a one dimensional team despite the caricature, They had some great skilled talent, Leach, Barber, MacLeish, Clarke, Parent.
When were there “complete teams” in the past making up the league? The Habs were winning Stanley Cups with a defense of Lupien, Bouchard and Chartraw along with the Big 3.
Nostalgia clouds our eyes.
You keep saying hockey players and the quality of hockey is better today than it was pre expansion.
Who has argued that this isn’t so?
The explanation, again undisputed, is that the players are bigger, better coached, etc., which is true for every sport.
So of course the skill of the elite players is better than yesteryear. Yes, this resulted in better quality than 50 years ago.
Which has got nothing to do with the fact that adding two more teams two years from now = 46 more players who would otherwise not play in the NHL. I’ve provided you with facts that show the global talent is not rising as fast as you say it is, and expansion is just around the corner.
So the error you keep making is equating competitiveness with quality.
When you say “The top C on each and every team today would make for 5 top tier centres for each team pre-expansion” you don’t follow your own logic. If the league reversed expansion and stocked the original six franchises with all players the quality would, being thus concentrated, be indisputably higher.
So, how is the reverse, less talent to go around, not be a dilution? You can’t argue one without the other.
That’s a rhetorical question. You can reply all you want on this but it is futile presenting facts and clear logic and I’m not going to engage you on this anymore. It’s past being fun for me.
As there was expansion in the NHL, the demographics of the players has changed.
Crying about dilution of the game yet explaining away the increase in both quality and quantity of NHL and it’s players to coaching, training, equipment would be logical if the league was still populated by almost exclusively Canadians.
The 1972 summit series brought awareness that Russia produced hockey players on par with Canada.
The miracle on ice in 1980 kickstarted the American explosion into the NHL
The Russians came in the 1990’s, the Swedes, Finns, Czechs as well.
Canada was no longer the sole supplier of players and the quality continued to improve.
That is the proof, on the ice, the NHL is bigger, faster, stronger through expansion opening markets supplying players globally outside of Canada.
USA is not our 11th province or 4th territory, so global increase in talent naturally includes them.
The NHL is getting over their skis by adding a 34th team. There’s a serious lack of top line center and starting goaltenders.
They’d be better off hitting the pause button on expansion and reinvesting in player development. Unfortunately that does not make the league money.
More teams = worse product on the ice.
PajaDa, it’s just 1 team (in Texas) being looked at for now, bringing the total to 33 – not 34.
Re Stutzle, I think this is he season where he could crack the 100 point barrier with the speedier and skilled Eklund on his LW and either Cozens or Batherson on the right side.
For Eklund, playing regularly with a skilled C and equally as fast Stutzle, and a sniper like Cozens or Batherson, should also see an increase in his production which, over 252gp with San Jose, saw 82-game averages of 16g 38a 54 pts. In goals, that’s well below Tkachuk’s 572gp 82-game average of 31, but matches his assist average of 36, for a 13-point overall difference.
I could therefore see his goal production increasing to close to 30, especially if he sees substantial pp time.
I am for no more expansion. I feel like others; too many teams already to follow and conditions on giving those teams players from your roster.
Further complicated by those players on your team having movement protection clauses, meaning the only ones who could be sacrificed without their OK are your non-protected ones.
Every year, it seems, there are players with a NMC that a team would dearly love to see depart … but under expansion rules, they MUST protect them in an expansion draft.
When does Columbus make a deal with Tampa for back-up G Johannson, for whom Biesbois has said he is looking for a good landing place. Would not take much as Tampa can use the cp space and has already acquired Hlldeby. Age 32 & plenty of experience to back up/mentor Jet Grieve. Plus maybe a slight positive vibe for the Jackets, who need one.
Jagr is from Czechia.
Jagr was actually born in Czechoslovakia
If they really want to expand the game over seas they should start out by having the Stanleycup winner play the winners of KHL, SHL, etc… for a world cup match sounds fun to me……. My personal thoughts on NHL expansion… if you raise the cap AND expand You are really thinning your talent level…..if you expand with a low cap thats more fair spreading the talent but giving more teams a chance to win. Raising the cap and expansion will let one team take a bunch of talented players on a single team…….killing the game… My two cents Sorry its a bit all over the place