NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 7, 2026
The Flames re-sign Simon Nemec, plus the latest on the Senators and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
CALGARY SUN: The Flames signed Simon Nemec to a five-year contract with an average annual value of $7.25 million. They acquired the 22-year-old defenseman from the New Jersey Devils on June 23.
Calgary Flames defenseman Simon Nemec (NHL Images).
Nemec had completed his entry-level contract and lacked arbitration rights. His deal is comparable to the five-year contract ($7.2 million AAV) signed by Anaheim Ducks blueliner Pavel Mintyukov and the five-year deal ($7.4 million AAV) inked by Brandt Clarke with the Los Angeles Kings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nemec was the subject of frequent trade speculation last season because of his contract status amid rumors his camp would seek a deal similar to the seven-year deal ($9 million AAV) signed by Devils rearguard Luke Hughes last October.
Nemec’s new contract is less than Hughes’ deal, but he reportedly didn’t need much convincing to accept the Flames’ offer.
The Flames have over $14 million in cap space for this season. They have plenty of room to make more additions. However, Nemec will likely be this rebuilding club’s most significant addition this summer.
OTTAWA SUN: Claude Giroux is reportedly returning to the Senators for another season. Reports on Monday night indicated the 38-year-old forward was closing in on a one-year deal with the Senators.
On Friday, it was reported that Giroux was on the verge of returning to the Philadelphia Flyers. However, his representatives stomped the brakes on that news, saying their client hadn’t made a decision yet and a return to the Senators remained possible.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Giroux may have been close to signing with the Flyers. However, their stunning signing of Ducks center Leo Carlsson on Friday may have put those plans on hold, forcing him to reconsider his options.
Having traded away Brady Tkachuk, Giroux’s return ensures that they will have some leadership continuity this season.
DAILY FACEOFF: Speaking of Brady Tkachuk, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said his podcast with his brother (Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk) became a contentious issue in the Senators’ dressing room during Tkachuk’s final weeks in Ottawa.
“It was time to end the noise around the whole situation,” Friedman said. “Post-Olympics, it was time. A lot was going on, and the players were tired of it.” He said one of the Senators’ players reached out to him, saying the podcast (“Wingmen”) caused some problems.”
The main issue was when Keith Tkachuk joined his sons on their Apr. 1 episode. He made disparaging remarks about some of Brady’s teammates, particularly goaltender Linus Ullmark.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stories about Tkachuk’s relationship with his Senators’ teammates have spilled out following the trade, though none of those players have publicly criticized him since his departure.
Nevertheless, some observers noted that the Senators played better last season when Tkachuk was sidelined for 20 games with an injured thumb. That’s sparked some predictions that they’ll improve without him, though that will once again largely depend on their goaltending.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Alexander Ovechkin is returning with the Washington Capitals for another season, but he’s not saying if it will be his final one.
Ovechkin acknowledged his age, pointing out that he’ll be 41 when the regular season begins in October. Ultimately, he said it will be up to his family if he plays beyond this season.
SPORTSNET: Frederik Andersen rejects the notion that his injury history will hamper his performance with the Edmonton Oilers this season. The former Carolina Hurricanes goaltender inked a one-year deal with the Oilers last week.
Andersen said he tweaked his knee during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. However, he said the injury is of little concern, and he’ll be ready when training camp begins in September.
SPORTSNET: Rogers Communications Inc. has signed a deal to purchase the remaining 25 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) from Kilmer Sports Inc. for $4.35 billion.
MLSE owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MSL’s Toronto FC, and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.
GeorgeO,Giroux must have read your comments last week so he returned to your Sens!Of course his anticipated return to Philly ran into a little bit of a money issue.
I thought he was heading back to the Sens anyhow. Just looking at what else was out there.
Giroux is 38 and a support role at best -who cares. Was he even on PP1 most of the year ?
The Panther’s are soon to be the most hated team in the NHL. If not already.
Andersen is always hurt . As far back as the Leafs . Every year and usually at an in opportune time.
Ummm.
Silver?
as per google: Claude Giroux led the NHL in face-off win percentage (FO%) for the 2025–26 season, winning 63.1% of his draws.
He’s out on the powerplay. Wins the draw and gets off. Heck. I said after the Olympics if he had been on the team especially in the final when we got slaughtered in the face off dot, we might have won that game.
My question yesterday about why Kirby Dach filed for arbitration rather than accept his QO seems to have been answered. Seems his QO was a two way deal. Since he played less than 60 games last season and less than 180 the last three, the Habs could do that. So if he is waived to the AHL his QO salary would have been a pittance.
Not surprised to hear about Brady Tkachuk. He seems like a player who puts himself above the team. Poor choice as captain. As was Dylan Larkin.
As was Quinn Hughes. Just because a player may be the best player on the team, it doesn’t make him a leader.
My comment is directed at Silver Seven…..
How come you did not let Stan Bowman know of
this development? The Edmonton media is highly
supportive and have the parade route all mapped
out.I know last season in Ottawa you had some
goalie issues. We had the same in Edmonton.
All better now, Andersson is in the fold.
The Sens made an addition by subtraction in Brady Tkachuk trade. The circus has now left town. Giroux best days are behind him but he is just t here for leadership. He also is a valuable face-off artist.
Gary who is going to stand up for Stutzle,Eklund and Batherson when they play Fla. next year?
Sr: Klevin? Foegele showed he could drop the gloves when needed too.
Making the Leafs worth north of 16 Billion $C.
If there were ever any faint hope of Hamilton getting an NHL team for their building this probably does it in. The Leafs have the largest unshared urban market in the league, in a town where hockey has primacy, but even so, with a building the same size as the rest of the league and a relatively modest TV Market it’s hard to see how they earn out that investment. What indignities will they have to visit on their fans to net over $3 BC per year? That works out to about $2100.00 profit per seat per game. Ticket, concession, merch, TV…..Local TV market is what, 9,000,000, smaller than a number of US teams the with higher viewership. Hard to see how this works? My local comp is the Lightning with a Value of $2.05 billion US (recent sale, so accurate) with annual revenues of $240MM(US), profits about $28 MM so it all works well.
MLSE also includes the Raptors and Toronto FC, it isn’t just the Leafs. The Raptors actually have a higher valuation than the Leafs because of NBA franchise values.
Happy G resigned, but I cannot believe Alphie has signed with the leafs. What is going on. That hurts. Maybe it had something to do with the power play problems last year? Unbelievable.
I can tell you that many, many Leafs fans are asking the same question.
As one poster put it, we may see the coaching staff booed when they are introduced at the first home game.
I would bet Alfresson’s good friend Sundin had a lot to do with him trading places.