Recaps of Thursday’s games, Commissioner Gary Bettman isn’t happy about the recent rise in trade requests, the latest contract signings, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPPING THURSDAY’S ACTION

NHL.COM: Evan Bouchard reached another early-season scoring milestone while Connor McDavid had a five-point game as the Edmonton Oilers held off the Vancouver Canucks 9-7.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard (NHL Images).

Bouchard had a goal and two assists, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to record at least eight points in his first two regular-season games. McDavid had a goal and four assists, and Leon Draisaitl scored twice and collected an assist for the Oilers, who held 5-0 and 8-2 leads before the Canucks rallied to make it interesting. Forwards Marco Rossi (two goals, one assist) and Elias Pettersson (one goal, two assists) each finished with three points for the Canucks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was 80s night in Vancouver as the Oilers and Canucks offered up an entertaining offensive game that also exposed their respective defensive weaknesses. Oilers goaltender Devon Levi gave up seven goals on 22 shots in his Oilers’ debut while Canucks starter Kevin Lankinen was chased from the net after allowing eight goals on 20 shots.

Before the game, the Oilers announced that winger Zach Hyman could miss a couple of weeks with an undisclosed injury. They also placed center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (lower body) on injured reserve.

Igor Shesterkin became the first goaltender in New York Rangers history (and the 18th in league history) to score a goal in a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Shesterkin also made 24 saves while Pavel Dorofeyev and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist. Nikita Kucherov replied for the Lightning.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Rangers announced backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and placed him on injured reserve. They recalled Dylan Garand from their AHL affiliate in Hartford.

Winger Matthew Knies had a three-point debut (two goals, one assist) as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-3. Charlie Coyle had three assists, and Zach Werenski had two helpers. Noah Ostlund and Owen Power each collected two assists for the Sabres.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Knies was acquired in a six-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, and played like he wanted to prove a point to his former club and to impress his new team.

Before the game, the Sabres announced defenseman Louis Crevier agreed to a four-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4 million. He was acquired in the trade that sent blueliner Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks.

The San Jose Sharks blew a 3-0 lead, but went on to beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on an overtime goal by rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni. Will Smith (two goals, one assist) and Macklin Celebrini (three assists) led the way offensively for the Sharks. Eetu Luostarinen tallied twice for the Panthers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov left this game after his left knee buckled when he was battling for the puck along the boards. Head coach Paul Maurice said Barkov will be evaluated on Friday. The Panthers center suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee during training camp last year.

Utah Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka made 15 saves to shut out the Chicago Blackhawks 6-0. Dylan Guenther netted two goals, and Anders Lee scored in his Mammoth debut. Arvid Soderblom made 26 saves for the Blackhawks.

An overtime goal by Jack Hughes lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Luke Hughes also scored, and Jake Allen stopped 23 shots for the Devils. Travis Sanheim had a goal and an assist, and Justin Woll kicked out 41 shots for the Flyers.

The Seattle Kraken doused the Calgary Flames 6-1. Vince Dunn had a goal and two assists, and Jared McCann collected three assists for the Kraken. Ryan Strome replied for the Flames.

Minnesota Wild forward Blake Coleman scored the winning goal in a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Marcus Foligno and Kirill Kaprizov also tallied for the Wild, while Roman Josi scored for the Predators.

HEADLINES

SPORTSNET: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman doesn’t think it’s a good thing that there’s been a recent rise in trade requests by players with no-movement clauses.

It started in early June when Dylan Larkin requested to be traded away from the Detroit Red Wings. Later that month, the Ottawa Senators shipped Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers after he requested a trade following the first round of the 2026 playoffs. In August, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck revealed he requested a trade earlier in the offseason. He is currently suspended without pay by the Jets for not reporting to training camp.

“As I look at what’s happened or is happening now, I don’t think that’s a good thing,” Bettman said. He claimed the purpose of no-trade/no-movement clauses was to ensure players could stay with their clubs for the duration of their contracts.

“This notion now where, a) you can select where you want to go, and b) you can demand a trade…that was never the original intention,” Bettman said. “If this becomes a problem – I don’t think one off-season a problem makes – but if this becomes a problem, it’s something we’re going to have to discuss with the players’ association.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s important to note that Bettman doesn’t believe it’s a problem yet. Time will tell whether these trade requests are the start of a trend.

Tkachuk was successful with his request, partly because he and the Senators kept it quiet and worked together to make the trade happen. Larkin and Hellebuyck went public, which may have hampered efforts to move them. Larkin has returned to the Red Wings while Hellebuyck is holding out to force a trade, which could backfire if it takes months before a deal takes place.

The NHL Players’ Association will push back if the league attempts to impose restrictions in the next round of collective bargaining.

They’ll point out that teams have full control over their players until age 27 or seven accrued seasons, whichever comes first, meaning players can be demoted, claimed off waivers, or traded anywhere without their consent.

The PA will also argue that NMCs/NTCs are freely negotiated as part of contract talks between general managers and the players’ representatives, including what those clauses will look like.

For example, Larkin has a full no-trade clause in the first five years of his eight-year contract, reverting to a 10-team trade list in the final three years. Hellebucyk has a full no-movement clause in the first four years of his seven-year deal, reverting to a 10-team trade list in the final three years.

General managers can negotiate to have a no-trade/no-movement clause voided if the player requests a trade as part of the contract. If the player and his agent reject that pitch (which they likely would), the GM can propose the player offer up a broad number of trade destinations. Failing that, the GM can refuse to include full no-trade/no-move protection in the contract, or negotiate for partial no-trade protection.

Going forward, it won’t be surprising if those types of restrictions end up being negotiated into future contracts, which wouldn’t require the league having to get involved.

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The Anaheim Ducks signed promising defenseman Tristan Luneau to a six-year contract extension worth an AAV of $7.2 million.

Luneau, 22, is in the final season of his entry-level contract. He has only 14 games of NHL experience.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek used to play hardball with players coming off their ELCs. That’s changed after being forced to match Leo Carlsson’s expensive offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, which also led to re-signing Cutter Gauthier to a lucrative long-term deal.

This seems like a bit of an overcorrection given Luneau’s limited NHL experience. It could be a bargain in the long term if he meets expectations, or a salary-cap headache if he doesn’t.

MLIVE.COM: Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin will miss the club’s first two games of this season with an upper-body injury that he suffered during training camp.

RG.ORG: Utah Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong believes his club has crossed the line from rebuilding into a playoff contender. He’s built around young core players like Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley, while the Mammoth’s improvement last season has made it easier to attract veterans like Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee through trades and free agency.

Armstrong isn’t done making big moves to improve his roster. “If something comes up, certainly we have the assets to go after that piece. We’ve been aggressive in the past, and we’re going to continue to be aggressive.”