NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 1, 2026
The questions facing the Golden Knights this season, an update on Quinn Hughes’ contract talks with the Wild, the latest on the Flyers, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: How the Vegas Golden Knights respond to new head coach Ryan Craig is among the three big questions facing the club in 2026-27.
Craig was promoted from head coach of the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate after the team parted ways with John Tortorella, who replaced former Golden Knights bench boss Bruce Cassidy in late March. Tortorella guided the club to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
Finding a way to replace the offense of departed winger Pavel Dorofeyev and sorting out their goaltending are other notable questions this season.
Limited salary-cap space forced the Golden Knights to trade the 25-year-old Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers in June. Meanwhile, Adin Hill and Carter Hart will jockey for the starting goalie role.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights have one of the NHL’s oldest rosters entering 2026-27. That could become an issue as they attempt to maintain their place among the Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference against some of the rising young clubs.
DAILY FACEOFF: Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin gave an update on his contract extension negotiations with superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes during a Monday appearance on The Chad Hartman Show.
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin (NHL Images).
Guerin acknowledged that Colorado Avalanche blueliner Cale Makar’s new contract, with its $20.4 million average annual value, creates a bar for Hughes, but suggested that the 26-year-old Wild blueliner “might be after different things.”
“He’s a different guy. He has a different personality and has different things in his life that are important to him. Who knows what he’s gonna do in the end,” Guerin said.
The Wild GM maintained that he has a good relationship with the Hughes camp. “There’s no tension. Communication has been good. I don’t have anything disheartening to say.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some observers (especially some New Jersey Devils supporters) believe Guerin’s comments suggest Hughes won’t re-sign with the Wild. It’s no secret that the 2024 Norris Trophy winner hopes to play with his brothers Jack and Luke, who currently play for the Devils.
Hughes is due to become an unrestricted free agent next July. Plenty of time remains for the Wild to get him under contract, but speculation about his future will grow if he’s not signed before the regular season begins.
RG.ORG: Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere doesn’t believe that signing Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet reset the NHL market. Briere signed the 21-year-old Carlsson to a five-year offer ($18 million AAV) on July 3, but the Ducks matched it six days later.
Briere believes the market was trending higher because of the rising salary cap. He accused his critics of taking a simplistic approach by criticizing the Flyers.
“Someone’s going to get that money somewhere. It was just a matter of time,” Briere said. “Honestly, I don’t think some of the players that signed the big tickets would have signed for less without the offer sheet. So no, I don’t believe it played much of a factor (in the market).”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Briere is correct that the rising salary cap ensured some of those players would’ve received significant raises regardless of his failed attempt to sign Carlsson away from the Ducks.
Nevertheless, that offer sheet set the bar for what followed. San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier acknowledged as much after re-signing young superstar Macklin Celebrini to his five-year deal ($18.8 million AAV). Several projections had him receiving between $15 million and $17 million.
That was also the same range projected for Colorado Avalanche superstar blueliner Cale Makar before he signed his eight-year extension with its record-setting $20.4 million AAV last week.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Vancouver Canucks are rebuilding their roster, but that’s not discouraging Filip Hronek. Despite the club’s struggles over the last two years, the 28-year-old defenseman remains positive, pointing to their fan support.
“We like the city, and obviously the fans in Vancouver are great,” Hronek said. “They were supporting us even though we didn’t have a good year last year, and they still are showing up to the games, and it was sold out.”
Hronek indicated he likes the city of Vancouver overall, and that’s why he signed with the Canucks for eight seasons.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks are trending toward younger talent, but they’ll need a veteran presence on their blueline like Hronek to mentor their inexperienced defensemen.
TORONTO SUN: Former Maple Leafs center Calle Jarnkrok signed a three-year contract with Swedish club Brynas IF, for whom he played four seasons from 2009-2013 before moving on to the NHL.
Jarnkrok, 34, spent 13 seasons in the NHL from 2013-14 to 2025-26. He began with the Nashville Predators and spent eight seasons with them. He did brief stints with the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames before spending the past four seasons with the Maple Leafs. In 774 regular-season games, Jarnkrok had 143 goals and 173 assists for 316 points, and 23 points in 105 playoff contests.
TRIBLIVE.COM: For the first time since 1999, Mario Lemieux is no longer part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ ownership. Lemieux and his business partner Ron Burkle sold their minority stake in the Penguins when the Hoffmann Group purchased the franchise from Fenway Sports Group.
SPORTSNET: Houston mayor John Whitmore said his office is excited about the possibility of landing an NHL franchise. He told The Sporting News on Monday that his office is ready to do whatever it can to facilitate that process. “We’ll definitely be a better location than Austin.”
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Former goaltender Marty Turco and former team executive Les Jackson will be inducted into the Stars’ Hall of Fame in December.
Sure, Makar and Hughes were in that 18-21m range, but he young guys werent, they were more in the 12-15m range and that OS changed that
The Hughes thing must be a nuisance to Guerin no matter how delicately he phrases it.
Everyone knows what he wants…how do you convince him to delay it and commit to your team?
The wild checks all the boxes for him most likely, except 1
1Oilerfan you could argue that it was Guerin himself that put the overpay train in motion by signing Kaprisov to a contract that was a shocker at the time but has mostly been forgotten. So now his dilemma with Hughes is basically self inflicted which is poetic justice at it’s finest.
There’s no question that signing Carlsson to that ridiculous offer sheet reset the market. I predict that Briere will have a lesson driven to him by other GMs force him to overpay on trades. It wouldn’t surprise me if some GM signs an eligible Flyer to an overpaying offer sheet to force Briere to put up or shut up.
The best indication as to how other GMs see Briere will come the next time all 32 gather somewhere. You can be sure the pundits who attend that gathering will be watching closely.
Other GMs would force Brier to overpay on trades how, I wonder?
A GM would make an overpaying offer, knowing if Brier declines to match that overpay, the GM has to eat the overpay?
…. the GM has to eat the overpay?
that’ll show him!
Overpaying on a trade = demanding more than market value. (I thought that was obvious)
Whalercane, ever heard of the AHL?
We understand what an overpay is, Paul. The question is, how is a GM going to force an overpay from Briere?
And what is the AHL got to do with this?
Briere has the Flyers in good shape, his core is signed at decent numbers, one RFA to deal with next year, Michkov.
He has $13M in space with the cap rising another $9.5M, and all of his picks.
He has 2 Anaheim cast-offs playing great and signed long term.
Had Anaheim let Carlsson go, which I think they should have, then Briere would have been up a creek.
Had the Ducks let Carlsson go who would have been their starting center? Granlund? However much Verbeek stepped into his own leg hold trap, at the point of the offer sheet there was no practical choice other than to swallow hard and meet it.
And if the Flyers had a legit starting center they would not have made the offer sheet to Carlsson. The Flyers may be in the mix for a playoff spot but they aren’t in sight of being a Cup contender any time soon in a tough conference. I can’t call that good shape.
Anaheim is on Larkin’s trade list.
They would have gotten 4 unprotected first round picks and the assets to get a 1st line centre while having a lot of cap space.
Briere would have been under the gun trying to sign his core.
That’s putting it mildly. When Briere offer-sheeted Carlsson at $18 mil per on July 3, he had something like $30,507,083 in cap space. Had Anaheim mot matched on July 9, he would then have had $12,507,083 in cap space.
On July 15 he re-upped Zegras to the tune of $9,125,000 AAV which would have dropped that reserve to $3,382,083 – not enough to re-up Drysedale (who, on July 17, was re-signed at a $6,500,000 AAV, nor re-sign Grebenkin who, in August, got a $1.1 mil AAV. Certainly not without some major roster adjustments/trades elsewhere.
On Danny Brier I think most of you on this are wrong yes it’s Cale Makar, who would’ve reset the cap but that doesn’t mean these other younger forwards wouldn’t have been in the 15 to 18 range you are all old enough to know that they all sit and wait for someone to make the first move The market would’ve been changed, no matter what. Brier is correct. Also on the Flyers cap management, they would never have been in trouble because they have treatable assets. They can also afford to wait. They have a young core. You may not see a center on the horizon, but apparently the league is also going where players can demand their way out.. which means a center could come at any time. So many flyers haters in this room. And as far as GM’s wanting to get some sort of revenge, that’s ridiculous. It’s a business. It will always remain a business. No one’s gonna take it personally. You guys are hilarious.
Glad we give you a laugh, Mike. Must be wonderful to be the only guy in the parade in step!
For the record, from my perspective it has nothing to do with “hate” – hate that effing “now” over-used word. Above, I postulated what might have transpired had Anaheim not matched and Briere suddenly saw his cap reserve drop significantly.
Exactly what “tradeable” (I think you meant) assets do they have that would have been easy to move out to make $ room for Zegras, Drysdale and Grebenkin. I mean, it’s not like trades have exactly been a daily event this summer?
Just an honest question from one of the ones you find so amusing from your lofty perch.
I did not know this HF30. Depending on how you type in your search question you get results that say 3 teams, or now more including Anaheim.
So you have a point.
Forgot to mention above, IF any rival GMs are intent on tit-for-tat, you can almost bet there will be an offer sheet submitted to Michkov next year. Be interesting to see if Briere attempts to get him re-upped at the first opportunity and Michkov’s reaction – if he’s curious as to how the offer might compare.
The following year Martone won’t be eligible for an offer-sheet , nor will Barkey .. but Grebenkin and Bump will be – and could be IF their development this season is such that they become worth the move.
George O without trying to start an internet fight its is you all I believe look down from your lofty perches. You all know better than all the GMs and the folks paid to do their work. I get were all passionate fans here but the “everyone is gonna get revenge on DB is a joke he is by far not the first gm to use the offer sheet. In the past its been a tit for tat situation and then its over Nothing more No one has continued to”force another gm into bad trades” PV got HIMSELF into that trouble same that SY did to himself in Detroit GM’s that sit on their hands too long usually pay the price These are just facts. And aside from RISTO there are several veterans that could easily be traded and you could afford to trade them had that deal gone down LC to Philly
“Not trying to start an internet fight” with guys you say are “looking down from lofty perches”. OK, sure. 🤔
Mike, point to ONE instance where I suggested “everyone is gonna get revenge on DB …” Never happened.
What I did do, in agreeing with Habfan30’s suggestion that Briere would have been in a bit of a cap pickle had Anaheim not matched, was simply lay out the $$ implications in trying to re-up Zegras, Drysdale and Grebenkin at the dollars they got, without some other significant roster moves.
It’s fine to say “they would never have been in trouble because they have treatable assets” … but those assets would have had to account for some $5 mil, leaving him virtually 0 in cap wiggle room. Hence my follow up query “who … and trade them where?”
Finally, I sure as Hell don’t think I know better than the GMs, nor – if I’m suggesting a trade of a specific player by Ottawa – do I get into who I think they should target in return. I’ll mention positions as the target … but that’s it. That’s purely a fan’s perspective on what roster adjustments they’d like to see made on the team of their choice. What’s wrong with that? Or, for that matter – and again purely from a fan’s perspective – what’s wrong with contributors in here voicing their approval or disapproval of roster changes?
If Lyle only allowed “my team right or wrong” rah-rah crap the site wouldn’t last a week.
I think Mike is referring to Chrisms and maybe Ray Bark? The way they talk about the Flyers here makes it sound like Dave Schultz took their lunch money and gave them a wedgie! Briere made a business move, and the offer sheet didn’t work. Oh well. The higher salaries were trending in this direction anyway in relation to the rising cap… the offer sheet may have accelerated the process by a year or two. You have to think the other GM’s are aware of this… they have people on the payroll who financially plan 2-5-10 years out.