NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 8, 2026
The latest on the Red Wings, Panthers, Sabres, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports Detroit Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg withdrew his name for consideration for the Detroit Red Wings’ GM position. The Red Wings have been searching for a general manager since Steve Yzerman stepped down after seven seasons without a postseason appearance.
MLIVE.COM: Ansar Khan suggested the Red Wings promote assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff if there is no suitable external option.
Khan noted that time is running out for the Red Wings to find a suitable option. Training camp starts next week, Dylan Larkin’s trade status needs to be resolved, and restricted free-agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson must be signed.
Horcoff knows the organization well. He’s been the club’s assistant GM for three years and the GM of their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. He worked alongside Yzerman and assistant GM Kris Draper in all hockey operations matters.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s taken the Wings far too long to find a replacement for Yzerman. Khan suggests making Horcoff the interim general manager until a more suitable option is found.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of Edvinsson, Max Smith believes the price of signing him to an extension has gone up after the Vancouver Canucks signed sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium to an eight-year extension worth an average annual value of $9.38 million.
Edvinson, 23, is coming off his entry-level contract. He had 31 points in 78 games during 2024-25 and 25 points in 72 games last season.
Smith believes Edvinsson is well-positioned to seek a higher AAV than Buium and potentially a shorter-term contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Edvinsson could seek over $10 million annually on a four-year contract. After that, he would be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent while in his playing prime, when he would be in line for a more lucrative deal.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau examines how the Florida Panthers’ aging core could jeopardize their hopes of regaining Stanley Cup contender status.
The Panthers’ lineup is filled with greybeards including Brad Marchand (38), Garnet Hathaway (34), Lars Eller (37), Radko Gudas (36), Dmitri Kulikov (35), and Jacob Markstrom (36).
Others remain susceptible to injuries. Four of their top-six scorers missed at least 18 games last season. Defensemen Seth Jones and Niko Mikkola missed a combined 44 games, and captain Aleksander Barkov missed all of last season with a knee injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers remain a good team that cannot be taken lightly. Nevertheless, they enter this season as the NHL’s second-oldest team (30.32), with Marchand already sidelined for the start of the season.
Barkov, defenseman Aaron Eklbad, and two-way forward Sam Bennett have long injury histories. Winger Matthew Tkachuk played a combined 83 games over the last two years. Jones last played more than 72 games in 2022-23.
More concerning, as Proteau pointed out, is Markstrom’s decline since his career-best season with the Calgary Flames in 2021-22. Even if the Panthers are healthier this season, a sub-par effort by their new starting goalie could derail their Stanley Cup dreams, especially in the tough Atlantic Division.
BUFFALO HOCKEY BEAT: Bill Hoppe reports Sabres forward Josh Doan believes his club will be fine this season despite the offseason departures of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram.
“Everyone’s got their own opinion on us again this year on whether or not we’re going to take a step, or whether or not we lost and got worse this summer, which, I mean, you can guess all you want, no one really knows what anyone’s done,” Doan said. “I think our group’s pretty confident in that we’re a better team heading into this year.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tuch and Byram played key roles in the Sabres’ improvement last season. How they adjust to their absence will depend on the performance of young players like Doan.
THE ATHLETIC: James Mirtle recently profiled former NHL defenseman Jason Marshall, who went on to become an architect, helping design arenas across North America.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marshall spent 12 NHL seasons (1991-92 to 2005-06) with the St. Louis Blues, Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, and San Jose Sharks before finishing his playing career in Europe.
ROTOWIRE: Former NHL center Jean-Sebastien Dea announced his retirement. The 32-year-old spent most of his pro career in the AHL and the KHL. From 2016-17 to 2022-23, he played 37 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and Arizona Coyotes, scoring five goals and two assists for seven points.
NEW YORK POST: Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to support his girlfriend, former figure skater Milara Okabe, who has been diagnosed with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma, a cancer that attacks organ glands.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Follow this link to donate.
Well, there goes my bet for the Detroit GM job. Greenberg probably took a long, hard look at the ongoing Larkin fiasco and didn’t relish the idea of starting a new career figuratively handcuffed.
We have no way of knowing, of course, what individuals comprised the list of the reported 100+ identified by that agency hired to find the right person, but with Greenberg’s (probably wise) decision to withdraw, the most prominent names supposedly at the top of the list include Horcoff, Draper, Florida assistant GM Brett Peterson, Dallas assistant GM Scott White and San Jose assistant GM Jeff Keelty.
That’s a question best answered by the Red Wings’ ownership.
I agree with you that this situation has gone on for far too long. However, as I pointed out to you yesterday, it’s not up to the league to step in and do the hiring for them. That’s a team issue, and the league won’t get involved in determining who they hire as GM or how they go about doing that process.
The “pace” of that agency is probably best described as being slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through a field of peanut butter!
(Just to acknowledge that that turtle comparison above comes from one of my all-time favourite cartoons – Dilbert).
A captain demanding a trade publicly, a young kid on D who thinks he’s the next one, what could go wrong for a new GM?
Red Wings need a fireman with a truck
It already burned down. Maybe they become a Phoenix and rise from the ashes? But then again, we have seen a Phoenix burn down several times now………🫤
I can well imagine Greenberg, quite aware that the fan base has had it up to their lower lip with losing and, looking at his first days on the job being encumbered with the Larkin affair, saying to himself “how in Hell could I possibly come out a winner with that severely constrained mess?”
No one in his right mind wants to walk into a situation where a “star” player wants out but, in exercising his “right” as provided in his NMC leaves a new general manager with no realistic leverage or margin for error by being forced to deal with an extremely limited market which, of course, knows full well they don’t have to offer anything tangible.
I know you were all wondering but yes I toik myself out of the running for the Detroit GM job. I tild them I was happily retired and to call my good buddy Ray Bark up.
Ray Bark for Wings’ GM! Great idea!
Shame about that Bruins connection.
Haha, funny one guys.
While I’m sure the Wings GM job would be a nice bump in pay, I like my current gig (GM as well) and do just fine. The reason I like it is because I’m good at it.
NHL not so much.
Plus I ain’t moving to the US, I’m a proud Canadian and will keep it that way.
If we’re gonna pretend GM again, my first communication to the organization and fan base would – chill the F*** out. Holy cow people.
Weren’t gonna win the cup this year anyway and Larkin is being a little b*tch, so we gotta deal with it and caving in to his unrealistic demands won’t happen as it’s bad for the team. Accept the reality of the situation.
We’ll take a step back short term, that’s a given, but we’ll recoup some quality assets once he gets his head out of his pompous ass and accepts a trade elsewhere. Then move DeBrincat too as he doesn’t fit the schedule.
We will likely be better in the long run.
How do you think that would fly?? Guessing not well.
I forget who said it, “the truth is like poetry, and most people f**cking hate poetry”.
Don’t be too quick to judge Larkin as a little b***h.
Given the GM/Ownership issues in Detroit it could be the leadership qualities of a captain to stick his neck and reputation on the line to call out all the BS in motor city.
How else can a captain push a change that the team needs that is over his level in the organizational chart? Presumably he has had conversations with Yzerman and maybe Illich to voice his concerns directly to no avail.
Then why add to the mess by limiting WHERE he could be dealt to 4 teams… and stubbornly refusing to budge from that despite the fact everyone from other GMs down to, and including, the arena beer.snack peddlers knows that none of those teams could – even if they wanted to (and that’s an assumption) – clear enough cap room to accommodate him without moving a player they don’t WANT to move?
If his intent was to “call out the BS in motor city” then prove it by opening his destination to any of the other 31 teams.
Yes, that is the point George. I have posted on a few times that I don’t begrudge Larkin for requesting a trade, I get wanting to win. My problem with him are the limits on where he will accept a trade to. Unreasonable, and downright childish IMO. He overplayed his hand, big time.
I get the frustration for Wings fans over how long they have struggled, but IMO the new GM or existing ownership and management can’t worry about that as it has already happened and can’t change it. Yzerman paid the price for those failures already.
The focus has to be on the path forward and the future. Larkin wants no part of that, but that’s all the new GM and current mgt can think about. What Larkin wants is secondary.
So you do what’s best for the next 5-10 years, not next season. Which is why I am not as concerned with getting this all settled right away. The correct play is to get it right and also be patient waiting Larkin out.
Buffalo struggled forever, set a record for futility by missing playoffs for 14 years. No fan base wants that, but the team stuck with it and have a great young core, won a playoff series, with more coming and the future looks bright.
IMO it would be a huge mistake to try and get a deal done focused on the now, that trade probably isn’t out there. They can’t dump Larkin just to make it go away and appease an impatient fan base. It needs to be about the future.
Hire a GM with the best plan for the future, however long that takes.
The red wing mess just gets worse the longer it goes.
They need a GM. An interim would be fine in situations were it is dealing with reg day to day work. You dont tag someone as interim to clean up this mess.
and yet the Chief Orchestrator of this mess remains employed by the team.
Yzerman is considered too much of a “legend” in Detroit to outright fire him, unfortunately.
Heh. Yeah, there’s a sure-fire formula for failure. Legend be damned. This is “what have you done for me lately” PRO sports. Absolutely no room for “sentiment.”
The chief orchestrator of the mess owns the team.
Don’t worry the impending Babcock mess will take over.
Ok, all kidding aside, a new GM in Detroit should come from outside the organization or you just get more of Yzerman.
Scott White and Michael Futa are the two best candidates, they have years of experience working with successful franchises, Dallas and Carolina.
They have run everything from drafting, development, assistant GM, managed AHL etc. They have served time with franchises that have built winners and could pour cold water on the existing regime and start anew.
Agree HF30, as long as they are given full authority & autonomy to do so.
That would be a question I would ask if I was being interviewed.
Lots of ex wing players scattered about that organization.
Sounds so familiar didn’t the Oilers use that exact formula of using former great players to manage and coach the team how did that work out for them lol
On a note other than the way past tedious discussion about a GM for the Wings (seriously, except for Wings fans, why do you care?), wouldn’t it be something if Brady has jumped onto the deck of a sinking ship in Florida? Instant Karma.
Kinda like DeBrincat when he engineered his trade from Ottawa to Detroit for comparative scraps. They haven’t resurfaced since. Looks good on him too.
The opening five paragraphs discuss Detroit, maybe that has something to do with it?????
We discuss the topics Lyle posts about and if we aren’t interested in the topic we don’t bother.
And, let’s face it, it IS the most interesting topic floating around these days aside, perhaps, from what happens to those remaining unsigned RFAs with training camps soon to open, as well as those remaining “top” UFAs. Everything else is crickets, LJ.
Yes, George, August is a barren month for hockey news. That doesn’t make the interesting. Nor worth revisiting it daily for what, a month?
And HF30, by my count there are 16 paragraphs that have nothing to do with the Wings GM – beyond the fact that people can post anything hockey related. No one else interested in the state of the Panthers or the Sabres?
Well, albeit still with Detroit, LeBrun reports in The Athletic that Edvinson plans to attend training camp even if he remains unsigned.
And that looks to be a certainty until … you guessed it – they decide on who’s to call the managerial shots.
https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/simon-edvinsson-will-show-up-to-red-wings-camp-without-a-contract-but-theres-a-catch