NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 3, 2026
The cost of the next contract for Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, questions facing the Bruins this season, the latest on Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NEWSDAY: Andrew Gross believes Macklin Celebrini’s league-leading $18.8 million average annual value on his new contract will affect the cost for the New York Islanders to re-sign Matthew Schaefer.
New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (NHL Images).
Schaefer, 18, won the Calder Memorial Trophy last season as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. He’s in the second season of his entry-level contract, and can sign an extension as early as next July.
The salary cap will rise significantly in 2027-28 ($113.5 million), in turn raising the cap maximum for a player’s contract ($22.7 million). Gross speculated that a five-year, $95.5 million contract ($19.1 million AAV) might be enough to get Schaefer under contract next summer.
NEW YORK POST: Ethan Sears noted Schaefer’s recent comments about his next contract, in which the 18-year-old defenseman said he “didn’t care about money” and was letting his agent handle it. Nevertheless, Sears suggests that anything the budding superstar receives that falls under the maximum salary should be considered a hometown discount.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s unlikely that Islanders management will try to lowball Schaefer, especially if his sophomore season is as impressive as his debut in 2025-26. They probably won’t sign him to the maximum, but it could be between $19 million and $20 million annually.
NHL.COM: Amalie Benjamin looked at three notable questions facing the Boston Bruins this season.
Benjamin wondered if JJ Peterka will have a bounce-back season after struggling last season with the Utah Mammoth. She also pondered if young players such as Fraser Minten, Murat Khusnutdinov, and James Hagens can take another step forward in their development, and how the Bruins can shore up their blueline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Regarding the third question, Benjamin noted that they recently acquired Will Borgen and brought back Connor Clifton via free agency. Whether they’ll improve the Bruins’ blueline depth remains to be seen.
THE ATHLETIC: Scott Powers reports Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov is spending most of his offseason training in Chicago to prepare for his sophomore season.
Levshunov, 20, had an up-and-down rookie campaign last season. He’s sticking in Chicago this year, hoping to build consistency and take the next step in his development. He said he’s getting more flexible and mobile, improving his movement on the ice and working on small details.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Chosen second overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Levshunov is part of a Blackhawks defense corps with six members who are 25 and younger. They’ll be counting on him to make significant strides in his development this season.
CBS SPORTS: Utah Mammoth prospect Caleb Desnoyers injured his left leg playing for Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase on Saturday. He left the game and didn’t return. There was no immediate update regarding the 19-year-old center’s condition.
DAILY FACEOFF: Defenseman Brad Hunt announced his retirement after a 10-season NHL career.
Hunt began his career in 2013-14 with the Edmonton Oilers, and also played for the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, and Colorado Avalanche. He had 26 goals and 60 assists for 86 points in 288 regular-season games, and appeared in five postseason contests.
Boston is still searching for a top line center,especially after the most recent publication of each teams top 2 centers putting the Bruins at the bottom of the barrel!They have a couple of options with Zacha being the key.If they go young they should trade him since everyone in the NHL is looking for a second line center. My feeling is that Boston will hold on to him until the deadline to see if they are a WC team. If they are out of the picture trade him for a good deal!
Bruins had to trade Zacha last year when he had 2 years left on the contract and he had the opportunity to give a return other than a rental.
Given his production and his low cost, a team would have re-upped him during the season.
With changing landscape he’s going to want a big increase, how much do you give up for him.
I was high on trading for Zacha last summer and you in particular were thinking ahead, wanting young guys/picks in return.
Unfortunately Bruins are locked into a number of long term contracts that were questionable from the outset and not aging well.
Peterka and Borgen are good adds, Clifton is a head scratcher. There are young C , Minten, Hagens and yes Mittelstadt that need to seize the reins and if successful can change the situation.
Habfan30,Elias Lindholm is holding the team hostage. Boston management has a priority of making the playoffs for obvious financial gains. Can t see them signing Zacha because they will have 2 centers in their 30 s and neither is close to being a no.1.Now is the time for them to go young although that would be a tough sell to Pasta,Mcavoy and Swayman!
Sr,
Lindholm was always the problem but there’s no way to trade him without a sweetener and some retention.
He’s 31y/o and has 5x$7.75 left on his contract, it’s too much now and will age even worse.
Rumor has Boston interested in Jayden Struble so how about:
To Boston-Jayden Struble
To Montreal- Max Wanner, Lindholm at 50%.
I’m all for trading Lindholm, but I’m the guy who thinks the B’s should start the rebuild now vs treading water for a few years, then doing the same.
This sounds like discussing Nurse and folks saying you need to eat half, they didn’t eat any and even got some decent assets back, well one decent asset. Yes he’s overpaid, but still a good player.
Lindholm isn’t a quality 2C, more of a guy you can use in that role if you have too. He is a high quality 3C though. Smart, very defensively responsible and can contribute offence.
High quality 3C’s make approx $6M these days, look at what Coyle just got, and they had to give him extra years to get the # down.
If the B’s eat half, they get more than Struble back. Eat $1.5, OK starting to make sense and the B’s add nothing.
Not sure MTL would pursue Lindholm, too old for them IMO. Zacha would have made more sense, back when HF30 suggested they do it, with 2 years left.
Only question I have on Lindholm is his health, will he stay healthy is the a bigger question than the quality of his play when he is healthy.
Sr, not sure why you say Lindholm is holding the team hostage, although I would guess it has to do with his NMC and perhaps his refusal to waive same depending upon where they could him in a deal.
But that situation would be contingent upon finding a team – any team – interested in a C who turns 32 on Dec 2 and is costing $7,750,000 off the cap through to 2031- at which point he’ll be turning 37 – who has career 82-game averages of 21g 34a 55 points.
His high-water mark came 5 seasons ago in 2021-22 with Calgary where he posted 42g 40a 82pts … playing primarily with Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk!
In 2023-14, splitting that season with Calgary and Vancouver, he played 75 games with15g 20a 44 pts, and when he became a UFA at the end of the season, Sweeney gave him his current deal … clearly hoping he was getting the Lindholm of 2021-22. He didn’t … instead he got a C who, in 151gp with Boston, has 82-game averages of 19g 33a 52 pts – much closer to his overall career averages than his high-water mark.
No bad … but not for what a team would want to fork over close to $8 mil per. But that’s what Sweeney gave him.
George
Just glad to have you back – your posts are always dead on.
Thanks
GeorgeO ,I mean there is little possibility of trading him although I find it interesting in habfan30 info.
Sr, according Puckpedia’s formula, with $23,750,000 base salary remaining on his deal, the buyout cost – 2/3 of the base – would be $15,833,333 with an annual cash payout of $1,583,333 per season for the next 10!
Weigh that against a proposal like Habfan30’s (50% retained) which would see them retaining $3,850,000 per season for the next 5 – total of $19,250,000, but over in half the time.
Either way, it’s the cost of a bad (some might even say “dumb”) decision.
My suggestion is a gamble which I think the Hab fans here won’t like.
Lindholm is good on the draw has a 200 ft game, good on pk and at $3.85 over the next 5 years he’d be worthwhile.
With any luck he could line up next to Demidov for a year or two getting 40-50 pts.
Struble is a numbers game casualty in Montreal with too many LD and could benefit going home.
Max Wanner is 23y/o 6’3 205 RHD with an AHL contract, he’d be a Laval player with a hope and a prayer of getting to the NHL.
High quality 4th line centers will be making 3.85 mil per n a couple years. So asking to hold half is bonkers.
Why is it bonkers? If half isn’t held back, whoever gets him pays the full $7,750,000 – which is definitely NOT what you want to be paying a 4th line C. Or am I missing something in your response?
Habran30, Can t Evans or Danault do what you would expect from Lindholm?
They can, Danault is older and UFA at the end of the year on $5.5M and he’s overpaid for that now.
Evans is a 4th pairing guy who gets moved up a plug to fill a hole.
The only reason I mention Lindholm is in a case where the Habs get a deal and 50% retained means that he would be effective wherever he’s put despite his decline.
s it is I think most Hab fans think I’m nuts for this deal.
LJ is in too much shock.