NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 8, 2026
Recaps of Wednesday’s games, the Oilers and Penguins make a trade, injury updates, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
NHL.COM: Leon Draisaitl collected four assists as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2. Evan Bouchard scored twice and picked up an assist, and Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists for the 3-0-1 Oilers, who sit atop the Pacific Division with seven points. Beckett Sennecke scored both goals for the Ducks (2-1-0).
Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: After allowing 13 goals in their first two games, the Oilers have tightened up defensively. Goaltender Devon Levi started their last three games, allowing seven goals in his first game against Vancouver, but giving up only three goals in his last two contests.
Oilers center Jason Dickinson made his season debut after missing the start of the season with an injured foot. Teammate Colton Dach (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve.
Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson had a goal and two assists in a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s final home debut. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored and picked up an assist for the Capitals, who improved to 2-1-0. Brian Rust, Tommy Novak, and Nick Robertson replied for the 2-2-0 Penguins.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier this week, Ovechkin announced this season would be his last in the NHL. He was held scoreless in this contest. Rust was making his season debut after being placed on IR on Sept. 29.
The Winnipeg Jets upset the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Kyle Connor tallied twice, including the winning goal with one minute remaining in regulation time, as the Jets (3-0-1) hold first place in the Central Division with seven points. Jaden Schwartz and Fedor Svechkov scored for the 2-1-0 Avalanche.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Winnipeg goaltender Stuart Skinner was the game’s first star with a 32-save performance, including 17 stops in the first period. The bad news for the Jets was top defenseman Josh Morrissey leaving the game early in the second period with an injured right hand. He will be reassessed on Thursday.
HEADLINES
EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers traded defenseman Spencer Stastney to the Penguins for forward Filip Hallander.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was the “lateral move” that Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently reported the Oilers were considering, moving a blueliner to add depth up front. It also freed up $1.436 million in salary-cap space. The Penguins, meanwhile, temporarily freed up a logjam at forward with Bryan Rust returning to the lineup while bolstering their left-side blueline depth.
NEW YORK POST: Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov will miss the next six to eight months after undergoing surgery on his right knee to repair a torn ACL.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A tough break for the Isles and for Romanov, who had just returned from a shoulder injury suffered last November that required season-ending surgery.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault left practice Wednesday after injuring his right leg. He’s still being evaluated by the Canadiens’ medical staff, but the club recalled goalie Jacob Fowler from their AHL affiliate in Laval.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Montembeault tore two groin muscles during the 2025 playoffs and struggled throughout last season, losing his role as starting goaltender to Jakub Dobes and dropping behind Fowler on their goalie depth chart.
A strong training camp and preseason earned Montembeault the backup role to start this season. He was expected to make his season debut on Thursday against the Nashville Predators or Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars forward Joel Kiviranta has been sidelined for a week with a lower-body injury.
CBS SPORTS: New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury suffered on Tuesday against the Utah Mammoth.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Florida Panthers placed defenseman Mackenzie Entwistle on waivers.
SPORTSNET: The NHL unveiled the Heritage Classic jerseys for the Jets and Canadiens. The two clubs face off in the outdoor game on Oct. 25 at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium.
Four games into the season the Jets are undefeated, with their Hellebuyck-less goalie tandem doing quite well, thank you very much! If their solid team play holds up … and there’s no reason to expect it won’t … he will learn one valuable lesson – composed by Saxon White Kessinger – as he continues to sit out:
Sometime, when you’re feeling important,
Sometime, when your ego’s in bloom,
Sometime, when you take it for granted,
You’re the best qualified in the room:
Sometime when you feel, that your going,
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that’s remaining,
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You can splash all you please when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find that in no time,
It looks quite the same as before.
Go Jets!
GeorgeO now that your sold on Winnepeg going on with life without Helly then Chevy with his team being undefeated should be trading him for valuable resources! Who do you think trades for him?
Sr, league history is full of examples of players who struggled mightily on their return to action after missing training camp and any part of the season. And it’s probably even more difficult for a goalie who tries to get right back into handling game speed after missing the progressive physical buildup gained through training camp, thereby risking groin and hamstring issues that could then linger throughout the season. Someone might point to Nikolai Khabibulin’s famous holdout and the fact he defied the odds and came back strong. But he was 26 at the time … not pushing 34.
A return to the Buffalo interest is often cited as the most likely scenario … but are they really prepared to offer up the kind of return Cheveldayov is seeking (and I don’t blame him if he sticks to his guns) to acquire a goalie with 4 more seasons after this, at the end of which he’ll be turning 38, and at an AAV of $8.5 mil?
I really don’t see any GM out there taking that chance.
To SJ for Askerov and Misa is Chevy’s ask. Does not seem like Greer will comply.
Stuart Skinner being the #1 star for Winnipeg
is a slap in the face to the Oilers. Why could he
not do the same for Edmonton on a consistent
basis? I wonder if Darnell Nurse flopping in front
of him had anything to do with it.