NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 7, 2026
Ivan Demidov’s agent explains why the Canadiens winger signed a team-friendly deal, Red Wings center Dylan Larkin may have overplayed his hand with his trade request, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Herb Zurkowsky reports player agent Dan Milstein said his client, Ivan Demidov, signed a team-friendly contract with the Canadiens to leave financial room for management to improve the roster.
Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov (NHL Images)
The 20-year-old winger signed an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension on July 1 with an average annual value of $9.15 million.
“If I had my way, the deal probably would’ve looked a little different,” Milstein said. “Ivan basically said he wanted the eight-year deal. He wanted it done quickly and wanted to leave room (financially) for Montreal to get even better.”
“His exact words were, ‘We’re in a great situation. I feel like we’re going to be winning for many years.’ He wanted to leave money on the table so they can sign other players.”
Milstein also noted that Demidov will be in his late-20s when his extension expires, putting him in a good position to land a more lucrative contract. The agent also believes his client has the potential to become one of the top players in the NHL within the next several years.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Demidov’s comments tie in with those of teammate Juraj Slafkovsky, who recently said he and his teammates care more about pursuing Stanley Cup rings.
The young winger also seems to be following the example of teammate Lane Hutson, who rejected a $72 million deal in favor of a $70 million one to give the Canadiens the salary-cap flexibility to maintain a competitive roster. He also probably saw Hutson’s negotiations become the subject of media and fan scrutiny and wanted to avoid that distraction.
It’s been suggested that the agents for Hutson, Demidov, and Slafkovsky let their clients down by not pushing for better contracts. Milstein’s comments, however, indicate the players called the shots on those deals.
The Canadiens are trying to build a winning culture among their players, especially their core talent. Doing so requires having sufficient cap space to build a strong supporting cast around them. Hutson, Demidov, and Slafkovsky will be justified for accepting those contracts if management uses that cap flexibility to bring in the depth necessary to win the Stanley Cup.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Michael Whitaker believes Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin may have overplayed his hand with his request to be traded.
It’s been three months since the request was reported, but Larkin remains with the Red Wings. His status remains in limbo as the club continues its search for a new general manager. Whitaker suggests that Larkin’s unwillingness to expand his three-team trade list has proven to be a major miscalculation.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Larkin couldn’t have known that the Wings would replace Steve Yzerman as GM midway through the summer. Nevertheless, his insistence on maintaining such a narrow list of trade destinations hampered the club’s efforts to move him. As Whitaker observes, it will likely put him in an awkward situation with the fans if he’s still on the Red Wings’ roster when their regular season begins on Oct. 2.
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: The Bruins plan to reduce top defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s workload on the penalty kill. That was part of the reasons why they acquired Will Borgen from the New York Rangers in July.
Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said they felt that reducing McAvoy’s penalty-killing minutes will give him more energy for other parts of his game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McAvoy had the second-most total shorthanded ice time among Bruins defensemen (193:38), but he led the club in shorthanded ice time per game (2:48).
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau believes the Vegas Golden Knights could take a step back in 2026-27 after reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season.
The Golden Knights have maxed out their cap space. Their bottom-six forwards are weaker; they have few high-end prospects who could be difference-makers this season, and they have less trade capital than ever. There are questions about the performance of goaltenders Adin Hill and Carter Hart, and they have a rookie head coach in Ryan Craig.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights have proven their naysayers wrong in the past, but the issues that Proteau raises could take their toll this season.
TORONTO SUN: Rob Longley reports Amazon Prime is no longer in the picture as negotiations between NHL insider Elliotte Friedman and Rogers Sportsnet drag on.
It had been reported that Friedman was considering an offer to work on Amazon Prime’s midweek games, which wouldn’t have conflicted with his Sportsnet duties.
Longley also reported that sources claim Sportsnet’s NHL analyst Kevin Bieksa has entertained opportunities to work for an American network.
While the linked article by David Staples of the Edmonton Journal under the heading “Beware the celebrations of summer when it comes to the Oilers” touches upon a variety of “enthusiastic” reactions to what turned out to be relative flops, it goes into more depth when it comes to the disastrous Jack Campbell signing … which is STILL taking a bite out of their annual cap.
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/edmonton-oilers-ryan-shea-connor-murphy-jason-dickinson-frederik-andersen?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-ca
Sheesh … even Steve Simmons is taking a swipe at the Oilers this morning with this comment: “Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, are going into the season truly believing they will be the best coached team in the NHL, under Mike Babcock. We’ll see how long that lasts … “
Dylan Larkin is not the person responsible for
the non hiring of a GM in Detroit. It is the search
commitee and the owner. Just get it done and hire
a new GM or have Garry Bettman step in and force
the issue.
FRED020: Bettman cannot “step in and force the issue.” It is solely a team issue and one that they must resolve, not the league.
FREDO20, the frustration among the Red Wings loyal fan base must be understandably reaching the boiling point given that the agency was hired to do so around August 5. If you put the question to Google as to why it’s taking so long, with camps set to open in about a week, this is what you’ll get:
“The underlying reason the search conducted by the outside agency (Turnkey) for the Detroit Red Wings is taking so long stems from a massive, multi-layered front-office overhaul complicated by an unusually late mid-summer timeline.
• Unusual Timing: Steve Yzerman transitioned out of the role on July 15—long after the NHL Draft and free agency concluded—meaning the search began outside the normal hockey hiring calendar when top external candidates under contract elsewhere are difficult to interview or extract.
• Massive Candidate Pool: Owner Chris Ilitch and the search firm reportedly cast an extraordinarily wide net, sifting through a bloated initial list of over 100 names to completely modernize the franchise’s philosophy.
• Complex Scope of Power: The incoming general manager isn’t just filling a vacant chair; they inherit heavy organizational baggage, including resolving team captain Dylan Larkin’s dramatic trade request and pivotal upcoming contract decisions for core young pieces.
• Shifting Philosophy: The search is heavily focused on finding a forward-thinking, data- and analytics-driven leader rather than a traditional hire, echoing recent cross-town front-office shifts in Detroit sports and lengthening the vetting process.”
Fresh approach by the Canadian players about team building. The last pro athlete that mentioned the same philosophy in his contract negotiations was Tom Brady. That worked out pretty good for him .Interesting to follow this young talented group in Montreal!
Yes that reaponse from those players is awesome. The agent, however, was a predictable greedy leech hoping for a bigger payday. Refreshing to see players wanting cups and not being selfish…each of them is already making life changing generational wealth.
How will he feel about his contract when they trade him
What makes you think they’ll trade him during his contract, especially if he meets or exceeds expectations?
Who is saying that? Is it coming from your friend google or AI?
Just to clarify – the above George is not me, so calm your buns Champs.
As for Google/AI what, exactly, is wrong with pointing that out from time to time. All that does is draw together consensus pro and con opinions from the various sources which we primarily rely upon in these pages anyway. It’s nothing more than encapsulated views … and, as such, a damned site more of a contribution to these discussions than your snarky trolling.
Happy Labor Day everyone.
Hockey is right around the corner now.
Thankfully summer is over and hockey is starting up again.
You have to give Montreal brass credit. They’ve created a winning culture that coincides with all of their star players contributing financially, by accepting lower salaries, in order to win a Stanley Cup.
That’s huge in this day in age in the NHL.
If the players also buy into the one for all, all for one team philosophy on the ice, like they’re doing with their salaries, the Stanley Cup Championships will eventually come.