NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 15, 2022

by | Nov 15, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 15, 2022

Recaps of Monday’s games, the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is inducted, the three stars of the week are revealed, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The St. Louis Blues held off the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on a third-period power-play goal by Jordan Kyrou. Jordan Binnington stopped 45 shots while Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist for the Blues (6-8-0), who’ve now won three straight games. The Avalanche (8-5-1) got a 36-save effort from Alexandar Georgiev while Mikko Rantanen tallied a goal and collected an assist.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Avalanche announced that Kurtis MacDermid would be sidelined for four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury. They also placed sidelined forward Shane Bowers (upper body) on injured reserve.

Calgary Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau (NHL Images).

Calgary Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau tallied his 200th career NHL goal as his club held on to nip the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 and improve their record to 7-6-2. Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and two assists for the Flames while Arthur Kaliyev scored twice for the 10-7-1 Kings.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Huberdeau was returning to action after missing the last three games with an injured foot. Coming off a career-best 115-point performance with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, he’s having a slow start with his new club this season with seven points in 12 games.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves for his first career NHL shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes as they improved their record to 10-5-1 while the Blackhawks dropped to 6-6-3.

The New York Islanders got a 36-save performance from Semyon Varlamov to double up the Ottawa Senators 4-2. Mathew Barzal collected two assists for the 11-6-0 Islanders. Claude Giroux and Tim Stutzle each had two points for the Senators as they fall to 5-9-1. Giroux extended his points streak to nine games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Barzal is tied with Brock Nelson as the Islanders’ leading scorer this season with 18 points. He has yet to score a goal.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: The Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 was officially inducted on Monday night. The six members included former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, former NHL goaltender Roberto Luongo and former Vancouver Canucks forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Finnish women’s hockey star Riikka Sallinen and pioneering Black hockey star Herb Carnegie were also inducted.

PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Bill Clement and Al Morganti were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for media excellence.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the Class of 2022 for their well-deserved honors.

NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen, Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark and New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox were the NHL three stars for the week ending Nov. 13, 2022.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine will be sidelined for three-to-four weeks with a sprained ankle. He’s the latest member of the injury-ravaged club to be sidelined, joining Zach Werenski, Jakub Voracek, Nick Blankenburg, Justin Danforth and Adam Boqvist.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Jackets are also sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with nine points in 14 games. This rash of injuries will only make it more difficult for this club to climb out of that increasingly deep hole.

TSN: The Toronto Maple Leafs announced defenseman Jake Muzzin is sidelined indefinitely with a cervical spine injury and will be re-evaluated in February. Fellow blueliner T.J. Brodie is expected to miss two weeks with an oblique injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The absence of Muzzin and Brodie has some pundits suggesting general manager Kyle Dubas should make a trade to bolster their injury-ravaged blueline. I’ll have more about this in today’s NHL rumor mill.

DAILY FACEOFF: Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun and center Nick Schmaltz are set to return to the lineup next week. Chychrun has been sidelined by off-season wrist surgery while Schmaltz has been sidelined by a rib injury since the Coyotes’ season opener.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Chychrun’s been a fixture in the trade rumor mill for months. Expect the speculation to ramp up once he resumes playing.

NHL.COM: Seattle Kraken defenseman Carson Soucy was fined $5,000.00 by the department of player safety for roughing Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois on Sunday.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW/CBS SPORTS: Sharks defenseman Radim Simek has been placed on IR with an upper-body injury while blueliner Nikolai Knyzhov (Achilles) has been placed on long-term injury reserve.

WGR 550: Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Quinn will be sidelined this week with an undisclosed injury.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 28, 2022

by | Jun 28, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 28, 2022

The Sedin Twins, Roberto Luongo and Daniel Alfredsson headline the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, the case for Alexander Mogilny’s induction, Corey Perry sets a playoff record and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Roberto Luongo and Daniel Alfredsson head the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees. Finnish female star Riikka Sallinen and former minor league and senior league star Herb Carnegie are also among the class of 2022.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the Class of 2022 for their well-deserved honors.

The Sedin Twins and Roberto Luongo are among the 2022 inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL.com).

The Sedins were the two greatest players in Vancouver Canucks history, becoming their franchise leaders in several offensive categories. Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2009-10 while Daniel won the Art Ross and the Ted Lindsay Award in 2010-11. Luongo is second all-time among NHL goaltenders in games played (1,044) while his 489 career wins rank fourth overall.

Luongo and the Sedins helped turn the Canucks into a Western Conference powerhouse from 2006-07 to 2012-13. The club finished atop the Northwest Division six times and won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2011 and 2012. They also advanced to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

Alfredsson spent all but one of his 18 NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators. He’s their franchise leader with 426 career goals, 682 assists and 1108 points. He’s also their longest-serving captain (1999-2000 to 2012-13) and led them to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. Under Alfredsson’s leadership, the Senators topped the Northeast Division three times and won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2003.

THE SCORE: Josh Gold-Smith points out the Hall of Fame has snubbed former NHL star Alexander Mogilny for the 13th straight year since he became eligible for induction. He makes a convincing case for Mogilny’s induction, noting that he was the first player ever to defect from the Soviet Union directly to the NHL.

Mogilny amassed 473 goals and 559 assists for 1,032 points, including a 76-goal performance in 1992-93, and continued to produce solid numbers over the final years of his career despite chronic hip issues. Gold-Smith observed that his goal rate and goal total is higher than several of his contemporaries already in the Hall, including Steve Yzerman, Teemu Selanne, Joe Sakic, Pat Lafontaine, Peter Stastny and Pavel Bure.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gold-Smith suggests one reason for Mogilny’s exclusion could be his potential reluctance to engage in the induction festivities. However, that’s not a reason for the Hall not to honor his career and accomplishments. In my opinion, he belongs there.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Former Stars winger Corey Perry became the first player in NHL history to lose three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams. He skated for the Cup Finalist Stars in 2020, the Montreal Canadiens in 2021 and the Tampa Bay Lightning this year.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Perry will have to console himself with the Stanley Cup he won with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: The Bruins officially confirmed signing general manager Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract extension.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs signed Timothy Liljegren to a two-year contract worth $1.4 million per season. The 23-year-old defenseman was slated to become a restricted free agent on July 13.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cap Friendly indicates the Liljegren signing leaves the Leafs with $6.4 million salary-cap space for 2022-23 with 18 players under contract. I’ll have more about that in the Rumors section.

TSN: Maxim Mamin is reportedly returning to the KHL after spending a season with the Florida Panthers. The pending unrestricted free agent forward had 14 points in 40 games.

ARIZONA SPORTS: The Coyotes have been awarded the Colorado Avalanche’s third-round pick in the 2024 draft. It was part of the conditions of the trade that sent goaltender Darcy Kuemper to the Avalanche last summer.










Notable Former NHL Stars Still Awaiting Induction Into Hockey Hall of Fame

by | Jun 26, 2020

Notable Former NHL Stars Still Awaiting Induction Into Hockey Hall of Fame