NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 18, 2026
The big questions facing the Devils, plus the latest on Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, Senators winger Drake Batherson, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The health of Jack Hughes and the state of the goaltending are among the big questions facing the New Jersey Devils this season.
Hughes, 25, had 77 points in 61 games last season, but the Devils won only eight of 21 games without him. Durability has been an issue for the talented center throughout his seven NHL seasons.
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (NHL Images).
The Devils’ goaltending depth is in question after trading Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers. They’ll go into this season with Jake Allen, Nico Daws, and David Rittich.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Hughes stays healthy and one of those three goalies adequately fills the starter’s role, the Devils should be a playoff team. Otherwise, it will be another disappointing campaign resulting in more changes to their roster.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Alex Ovechkin is looking forward to his 22nd NHL season, but he’s not committing to anything beyond that for now.
Ovechkin signed a one-year extension with the Capitals for this season. He turns 41 in September and will see how the season unfolds. He also intends to consult with his family before making any decisions beyond this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin’s status among the greatest players in NHL history is assured, as is his place as the greatest player in Capitals history. Nevertheless, age is catching up with him. Ovechkin could take on a lesser role with the Capitals this season, most likely as a power play specialist.
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports league sources don’t believe that the Senators and winger Drake Batherson are getting close to a new contract. The 28-year-old winger is in the final season of a six-year deal worth an average annual value of $4.975 million.
Batherson seeks an eight-year deal, but he and the Senators have until Sept. 15 to negotiate an agreement. After that, the maximum length of NHL contracts will drop from eight years to seven for teams signing their own players, and from seven years to six for unrestricted free agents.
According to Garrioch, Batherson could command between $10 million and $11 million annually on the open market. That would be comparable to the contracts of Los Angeles Kings winger Adrian Kempe (eight years, $10.625 million) and Washington Capitals winger Alex Tuch (eight years, $10.5 million).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Given the rise of the salary cap, Batherson could get over $12 million annually as a UFA if he has a strong performance this season.
Garrioch noted that Batherson wants to stay in Ottawa, and believes there’s no reason the two sides can’t work out a deal. However, he also speculated that the winger could go into this season without an extension if they haven’t reached an agreement by Sept. 15.
The two sides still have plenty of time to get an eight-year deal done, but we can expect more speculation about Batherson’s future in Ottawa if he’s still unsigned as Sept. 15 approaches.
NHL.COM: Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara is staging a farewell game in his hometown of Trencin, Slovakia. It will serve as a thank you to those who supported him during his playing career while raising money for several schools in Slovakia.
Chara, 49, will be joined by former Boston Bruins teammates David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. Hall of Famers Ray Bourque, Mark Recchi, and Marian Hossa will also be there, along with future Hall of Famers Jaromir Jagr and Anze Kopitar.
Long-time Bruins teammate Brad Marchand was also scheduled to play, but will miss the event due to surgery.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: A long, bitter legal dispute between the Stars and the NBA’s Mavericks has been settled. In a joint statement, the two clubs announced they’ve reached an agreement that resolves the outstanding matters between them.
A yearlong breakdown in the teams’ relationship came to a head last October when the Mavericks filed suit against the Stars over control of the American Airlines Center.
Ovechkin Is one those hockey marvels ala Orr and Howe.but the guy continually eats junk food some actually write him off before he gets started because sometimes physically he comes to camp out of condition but once he works himself into shape he is still one of the best snipers ever. On another subject Even if it takes Zacha and no.1 want see Larkin in bruins jersey before reg season. Someone of his calibre under contract til 2031 wow that worth getting your feet wet for.
The Drake Batherson stalemate is eerily similar to Alex Tuch last year. Tuch said all along he wanted to resign with the Sabres. In the end his agent priced him out of Buffalo. As Tuch said he had to do what was best for himself and his family.
Like Tuch,this is the last long term contract that Batherson can sign. In the end Batherson will do what is best for him and his family. Will the Sens decide to pay up or see him as an own rental?
Cutter tuned down a 4 x $13M contract. 15- 17M seems to be the target. Term to be 5 or 6 yrs.
No matter what, Larkin’s best move this year is to have his best season ever.
He has a lot to prove imo.
When will Detroit get a new GM and who is it.
Until then the Dylan Larkin issue lingers.
even if Detroit hired a GM today, there wouldn’t be enough time for the new GM to negotiate a trade with a new team, as well as get sign off from Larkin, before training camp opens. Think we are looking at either a holdout by Larkin, or the team and him agree to start the season together and re-evaluate the “situation”
DET ownership really messed up the situation by waiting so late for replace Yzerman, well after the draft and after the start of free agency. Nothing has changed with a midlinged roster that missed the playoffs last season
Here’s a web overview of analyses showing how NHL forwards generally experience a sharp production drop-off as they APPROACH their mid-30s:
“ Key Findings from Hockey Analytics
• The Peak: Most NHL forwards hit their offensive and overall performance peak between ages 23 and 25, remaining relatively steady through age 29.
• The Decline After 30: Production begins a steady descent in the early 30s, dropping to roughly 80% of peak scoring rates by age 31.
• The Age 34–35 Drop-off: Statistical models (such as those summarized by analyst Rob Vollman and explored on Hockey Graphs) show that by age 34 or 35, the average player faces a steep risk of absolute performance collapse or a drop to around 60% of their prime scoring output.
• Survivorship Bias & Outliers: The players who do still play regularly in the NHL at age 35 and older are usually elite superstars (like Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin).”
So, based on these historical aging curves, the final years of an 8-year extension for Batherson are HIGHLY likely to see a significant drop-off in production. He’s 28 y/o and turns 29 in April. And with an 8-year deal beginning in 2027–28 and going to 2034-35 he would be turning 37 in that final season. Here’s what the web consensus projects:
• The Prime Years (Ages 29–31): Covering the first three years of the extension (through 2030), Batherson should remain highly productive. Coming off a career-high 33 goals and 71 points, he is in his statistical peak, and the Ottawa Senators can reasonably expect a continuation of his top-line performance.
• The Steady Decline (Ages 32–34): By the middle of the contract, aging curves dictate a gradual slip toward roughly 80% of his peak output.
• The Danger Zone (Ages 35–37): The final three seasons of the deal (2032 to 2035) fall precisely into the age bracket where historical data shows the most punishing drop-offs. At this stage, standard aging models project the average forward to drop to 60% or less of their prime scoring output, running a high risk of absolute performance collapse.”
Is he worth that certainty?
The Drake Batherson situation is less complicated than it is being made out to be.
Lets take away fiction and deal with reality:
– He just turned 28 and has 8 years in the NHL
– His production has increased each and every year
-His plus/minus looks bad because he was a -35 one year, same year as Shane Pinto was a -21.
-The only team that can give him an 8 yr contract is Ottawa.
-If he waits till mid September, he can get a maximum 7 yr contract.
-If he waits to go UFA he can get max 6 yr contract.
– $10M is a reasonable ask for him and his agent isn’t pulling a number from the sky, within the Sens that’s a team friendly number given his production.
The only real sticking point is term, both sides know it, next contract will be 6x$10M with the Sens.
Most teams would welcome Batherson on their team, including the Habs of course.
A pending, very similar situation involves Pavel Zacha of the Bruins who will also be a UFA at the end of this coming season with a very similar $4,750,000 expiring cap hit, and who will turn 30 next April. Would any Boston fans be comfortable with him receiving a new 8-year deal somewhere between $10 and $11 mil per, taking him to age 38?
Another is Alex DeBrincat of Detroit whose expiring cap hit is a heftier $7,875,000 and who will be turning 29 this December. Would Detroit fans be OK with his receiving an 8-year extension in the $10 to $11 mil range, taking him to age 38?
The same question to L.A. fans re Adrian Kempe who just got an 8-year deal at $10,625,000 per, who turns 30 in September and who will be 38 when it concludes, and to Washington fans re Alex Tuch, who turns 31 in May and whose recent bump to $10,500,000 will take him to 2034 when he’ll be pushing 39.
Other players with similar production to that of Batherson, but who signed more reasonable deals in the circumstances are Travis Konecny of Philadelphia – $8,750,000 AAV through to 2033 when he’ll be turning 35, and Troy Terry of Anaheim, $7 mil AAV through to 2029-30 when he’ll be turning 32.
Well George, as a Flames fan we are still lamenting that 8 year 10.5 mill per Huberdeau is cashing in at age 33 right now. It just sucks & that rocket scientist Treliving ensured it was buyout proof. Some of these players that are good like Batherson just need to accept their timing on aging is slightly off & take his 5 year $10.5-$11.0 mill per deal & say his prayers about being so fortunate to be able to make that kind of money to play a game he loves. The trend in the NHL is probably going to go to GM’s giving 4-5 year deals. Probably the best thing that can happen to the owners. I doubt generational players will take longer than 5 year deals.
Good comparison, Potlicker. I had forgotten about that Huberdeau signing.
Will it still be “reasonable” when he hits the well-established brick wall in his mid-30s?
I didn’t make up that analysis and was not dealing in “fiction.”
George,
I never said that I think he’ll get an 8 year deal, in fact I think he’s getting $10M for 6 years.
Using your key findings from analytics, Batherson would drop off to 60% of his production in 2031-32 and 2032-33.
That would be a drop to 40-45 points for a big bodied veteran physical power forward when the expected salary cap will be 150M-160 from the $113M when this contract will begin up from the $104M that it is now.
That contract will be a fair deal in year 5-6 as well.
We’re talking about a player who has consistently increased production every year of his 8 year career.
I agree with ya HF30. He has value and worth having. I get you don’t want players way past their best before dates but the salary cap kinda makes you have to take it.
Players production decreases as they reach a certain age. That age varies as much as skill in the league varies. I found players who are very good, or star players over 32 tend to begin decreasing in production by 20-30%. For an example, Tavares at 35, still produces within his total points range of 70-mid80s pts he has all career long. All his flaws are still there but so are all his strengths. If he was to regress 20 or 30% within the coming years, he’ll still be a valuable addition to any contending team.
I see Batherson in a similar light. His skills and play style looks like he won’t regress poorly but to your point, how much of an anchor will that last contract be in holding back the team. Unfortunately my friend, no one can tell or if it even will. I feel when a team has a good piece, a person hard to find and plays their role well, you keep them….we will once again find out how hard it will be to build a contender when so few good players that can fit into the team and play like you need them to acquire.
But you watch him way more than any of us and should have a better understanding of what he’s capable of and what he brings to justify his cost.
OK, those are reasonable points from both of you in keeping with the reality of the ever -increasing cap … now, I guess, it becomes a waiting game to see whether or not he and agent cling to 8 years at $10-$11 mil AAV – either with the Senators or another team through the UFA waters – OR they eventually agree to an acceptable one along the lines of Habfan30’s.
For the purpose of this conversation Zacha is a little unique since he is a center,the other players are wingers. That being said Boston has a big decision muddied by the contract of Elias Lindholm.Boston is stuck with him for the near future. To add to the mess Boston has several young centers that they need to seriously look at. Minten,Hagens,Letourneau ,Locmelis and Poitras just to name a few. Right now the league covets centers because there are not enough good ones so we will see how Boston handles this!
Well, again for the purposes of this conversation, as I ask above “would any Boston fans be comfortable with him (Zacha) receiving a new 8-year deal somewhere between $10 and $11 mil per, taking him to age 38?”
He is, after all, one of the “coveted” centers.
GeorgeO,absolutely not. I was speaking about the position more than the player!
Heh … oh, I knew what your response would be, Sr. Just a round-about way of emphasizing that, giving someone in their late 20s an 8-year deal (unless their name is Crosby or Ovechkin or someone in that category) is almost always a sure route to an albatross contract you can’t get rid of without adding the farm, starting about half-way through the deal.
Well George, as a Flames fan we are still lamenting that 8 year 10.5 mill per Huberdeau is cashing in at age 33 right now. It just sucks & that rocket scientist Treliving ensured it was buyout proof. Some of these players that are good like Batherson just need to accept their timing on aging is slightly off & take his 5 year $10.5-$11.0 mill per deal & say his prayers about being so fortunate to be able to make that kind of money to play a game he loves. The trend in the NHL is probably going to go to GM’s giving 4-5 year deals. Probably the best thing that can happen to the owners. I doubt generational players will take longer than 5 year deals.
I see where Stefen Rosner of NHL.com notes that “19-year-old New York Islanders prospect Victor Eklund (16th overall in 2025) will receive every opportunity to earn an Opening Night roster spot in training camp, though his initial role might differ from general expectations.”
If he makes it, both he and older brother William – now with Ottawa – will see each other several times this coming season.
Now all we need – sometime down the line – is for one or the other to indicate they won’t be extending and wish to join the brother in either Ottawa or New York. 🙂