NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 27, 2025
Some updates on the new CBA, plus the latest on Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, Jets captain Adam Lowry, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE ATHLETIC: During an interview with Michael Russo, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly shed some light on some of the changes in the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the NHL Players’ Association.
Daly explained the rationale behind the reduction of maximum term contracts to six years for an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and seven when re-signing, saying both parties recognized that a player won’t be worth what the contract pays him during its out-years. “So, the most purely monetary benefits of longer-term contracts are kind of scaled back a little bit. That’s really the benefit.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The shorter term could also make it easier to move those contracts in a trade.
As for when the changes in the new CBA go into effect, Daly indicated they will be rolled out in different stages, rather than everything being implemented on Sept. 16, 2026.
“One bucket of items will go into effect as early as this year,” Daly said. “One bucket of items will go into effect as of July 1 of next year – so, the league year, the full league year (July 1 to June 30). And then there’s a list of items that don’t go into effect until Sept. 16 of next year.”
Russo noted that NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey has indicated that the changes in contract term limits go into effect on Sept. 16, 2026. That means players eligible for UFA status on July 1, 2026, will be eligible for contracts at the current maximum term of seven years if they go to market and eight years when re-signing with their current teams.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The notable UFA-eligible players next July include Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov, and Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel. Those three could be among the last to sign new contracts under the current term limits.
Daly also said the league had a meeting with a group from Atlanta interested in an NHL expansion franchise. He claimed there are “multiple entities within multiple markets” talking to the league about expansion. They haven’t said no to anyone, but none have reached the level of a full proposal yet. “One of those could happen in the future,” he said. “I semi-expect it to happen in the future, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I predict there will be two new NHL franchises by the end of this decade in Atlanta and Houston. Those cities have the ownership groups most likely to be able to afford the $2 billion expansion franchise fee.
NHL.COM: Patrick Kane hopes to make the United States 2026 Men’s Olympic hockey team. The 36-year-old Detroit Red Wings forward is among the 44 players invited to their orientation camp.
“The one thing that’s kind of missing is a gold in best-on-best, right?”, Kane said. “It would be fun to have that opportunity.”
Kane won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. He played for Team USA in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He won a silver medal in the 2010 Games.
CBS SPORTS: Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry was on the ice Tuesday for the first time since undergoing hip surgery on May 27. He was projected to be sidelined for five to six months. His presence on the ice nearly three months following the surgery is a positive sign.
RG.ORG: Colorado Avalanche prospect Mikhail Gulyayev hopes to make the jump to the NHL in 2026. The 20-year-old defenseman plays for KHL team Avangard Omsk.
The Avalanche chose Gulyayev in the 2023 NHL Draft (31st overall) but has yet to sign his entry-level contract. He’s recently taken some shifts as a forward to add new tools to his development as a blueliner. His KHL contract expires at the end of this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche remain in contract with Gulyuyav, but Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now believes it’ll be harder for him to crack their lineup if Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Samuel Girard continue to make up half of their defense corps.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: The San Jose city council voted unanimously to keep the Sharks in San Jose through 2051, and to approve funding for renovations at the SAP Center. They will also agree on a new arena site in 2027.
Patrick Kanes chance of making the US team is a reach. Though still a good offensive NHL forward he is running into the same problem as Kadri is in Canada.Not enough pucks to go around.
Hoo boy … cue the “SAY NO TO ATLANTA” rant!
Can we at least wait until something concrete comes forward? And if and when it does, I seriously doubt the billionaire concerned is going to want to sink huge wads of money into a franchise without being totally satisfied that it has a better than even chance of succeeding this time.
George,
The last report I saw had the most likely Atlanta ownership group building an arena (or working with the city and county to get one built) in downtown Atlanta when every other pro league team getting stadia/arenas in the suburbs to increase attendance. This does suggest a downtown arena housing a hockey team is not a good move, since hockey teams are more reliant on attendance than the other major sports.
And here’s Ottawa working like heck to finalize plans for the building of a new arena in the downtown core! And perhaps the same in Calgary.
Similar to those struggling downtown arenas in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver. Edmonton and Winnipeg.
Depends on the city, George mentioned below a number of downtown arenas which include some of the highest attendance.
As for Atlanta in particular. MLB stadium is in the suburbs but, NFL, NBA and MSL are downtown.
Downtown doesn’t necessarily mean problems. It could be the opposite. When Columbus was awarded an expansion team, Nationwide Arena was built where the crumbling remains of the old penitentiary had been, just a couple blocks from the state capitol building and downtown. The area was a desolate, run down area of dingy old warehouses. Now, 25 years later, the Arena District features Huntington Park (Home of the AAA Columbus Clippers), a soccer stadium for the MLS Crew, office buildings, restaurants, bars, various entertainment venues and a couple of expensive condo buildings.
Selecting the right zone in a downtown area is vital. As is getting the city’s political and business leaders behind the plan. If the Nationwide company (Headquarters located one block from the arena) hadn’t stepped up to support the Arena District plan, Columbus wouldn’t have an NHL team.
I know people make light of Atlanta but there are 6 franchises that have similar attendance to what the Thrashers had.
It was a short-lived franchise but they averaged 15,500 in that time and that includes the 2 final years when they were leaving.
The population is there, the natural Southern rivalries exist, the game itself is bigger than it was 20 years ago.
Here’s an interesting “early” take on the seasonal prospects of 5 teams from DailyFaceoff
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/5-nhl-teams-got-weaker-regression-2025-offseason-leafs-oilers-jets
Lyle is sadly correct, there will be two more teams in the league by the end of the decade.
Meaning there will be at least 43 more players in the league that would not otherwise be. Plus call ups due to injury.
And part of the process will be that existing teams will each have to give up one player from their roster, so two players in total.
Not much, someone says? Tell that to the Sabres, Hawks, and Ducks of the league. Or, to a team that has gone about their rebuild smartly, loses talent, and regressing.
And I use the term regress consciously because the effects of losing players will be felt more acutely by mid to lower teams than the teams that are elite at the time as those teams are stronger. This of course prolongs the disparity.
And to anyone who says the players are bigger and more skilled than yesteryear, we aren’t talking about yesteryear. We’re talking of the dilution as of the day they enter the league.
Was it you, Foleyd7, who pointed out that the league is already scrambling with not enough 2Cs and RHDs. Add the scarcity of goaltending. It’s about to get worse.
What do the owners get for their whopping entry fee if they don’t get to pick other teams pockets?
How about massive increase in value? Florida’s franchise value apparently increased 400% over 11 years. One site states that NHL franchise value has risen 92% since 2021. What other investment vehicle brings that return?
The players themselves of course benefit by a steadily rising cap.
The fans get ….? Outside of the two areas where the new teams are located, bupkis. Anyone know of an NHL franchise who has held their ticket prices steady over the past few years? Where has the price of NHL center ice gone, except up?
And what of the effect on playoffs? Does the league hold to 16 teams, meaning two more teams wallowing at the bottom?
Or does the league increase the # of teams to, say, 18, bringing in two teams that are effectively road kill?
Given that the expansion is inevitable I’ll have to content myself with this rant. Little consolation.
And yet, LJ, it’s the fans who could – ironically – force a change in approach to expansion by one simple act – massively keeping their butts out of the seats and stop forking over significant $$ for over-priced jerseys and other items.
But you and I and most know that that will never happen on any meaningful scale, and the owners above all know that as well, They have … and will continue to … weather the grumblings as they count their $$ and be content in the knowledge that things will eventually even out in a few seasons through the drafts, trades, retirements … just in tome to consider the next round of expansion.
I sadly have to agree to all that, George, except for your comment that things eventually even out in a few seasons. It is indisputable that rebuilds – or whatever obfuscating term one prefers – typically take years. Witness Detroit, or Anaheim, let alone the ongoing tragedy in Buffalo. How long has it taken for the Sens or the Habs to get their toe across the playoff line, never mind being a legit contender.
And the knock on is of course, that much harder to win a Cup.
Hockey continues to grow worldwide, more and more unheard of countries are earning seeding in IIHF competitions.
The NHL is consistently adding players from unconventional countries, it is now regular and expected to have Swedes, Finns, Russians, Czechs, Slovaks as well as seeing more Swiss, German, Austrian, Belarus, Denmark, Norway. The first Chinese born player was drafted this year.
Yes, players are bigger, faster and stronger than ever before, there is less room for plugs than ever before.
There are very few players in the NHL you could call bums now, teams don’t have room for goons anymore.
The game hasn’t slowed down an iota, in fact it keeps speeding up, it hasn’t been watered down at all, to the contrary skill level continues to improve as participation worldwide continues to grow.
Is there a shortage of 2C’s, RHD’s, Goalies? No, not at all there is a demand for better one’s on some teams and that’s nothing new.
Heck hockey lore of the Habs Big 3 D fails to admit that #4,5,6 wouldn’t make the Habs roster today.
Growth, improvement is the natural order of the world and you can embrace it or be left behind.
HF30: It is frankly absurd to compare hockey players from the 70s to those of today as proof that adding more players to the league isn’t dilution.
Nor does it make sense that failing to compare them to today’s players is an ommission of hockey lore, but that is an irrelevant digression.
The point isn’t that there aren’t enough 2Cs, the point is that there aren’t enough quality. You often evaluate players by whether they “move the needle.” What’s that if not an evaluation of quality?
Your central flaw is that you equate parity with quality. Not that there is much point in arguing against the indisputable, but don’t we enjoy “best on best” hockey, be it the Cup final or the Olympics?
International grow is good for the game? Interested in watching Armenia play Kuwait? No? They are part of the IIHF. Too easy an example? How many of us watch Norway play Slovenia in the Olympics?
Reply to your heart’s content but it is a mugs argument that adding two extra teams doesn’t affect quality and all that flows from it.
End of.
“Your central flaw is that you equate parity with quality.”
Not at all, I’m saying that there are so many more highly skilled, bigger, faster, stronger than ever before.
Parity exists precisely because there are no longer a limited number of top end players to go round that made dynasties easy.
You hit on a shortage of 2C yet Montreal has a 1C for the first time in 30 years and plenty of 2C.
Having holes on a roster while others have an abundance isn’t new.
Edmonton has 3 centres who would be 1C elsewhere.
Florida has a 3C who’d be 2C elsewhere.
Anaheim has 3 centres 2 of which are 2C.
LA Kings have 3 centres two of which are 2C
Senators have 3 centres 2 of which are 2C
The central flaw in your position is that you fail to recognize that increased flow assures lack of dilution.
You posit a static number of players spread over more teams and ignore the fact that they make room every year for newly drafted, traded and farm team players regardless of expansion or not.
I don’t like more expansion, there are enough teams as it is to keep track of. i don’t know why atlanta desrves another shot at a franchise? houston, too damn hot for hockey. i guess it is inevetiable. i agree, too, makes it much more difficult to win a SC or compete for one