NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 30, 2024

by | Mar 30, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 30, 2024

A four-goal game for Sabres center Tage Thompson, the Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury talks about his future, a milestone for Predators captain Roman Josi, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Buffalo Sabres captain Tage Thompson scored four goals in a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Alex Tuch collected two assists and Devon Levi stopped 28 shots for the 35-34-5 Sabres (75 points)as they kept their faint playoff hopes alive, sitting six points out of the final Eastern Conference wildcard berth. Jesper Bratt and Max Willman scored for the Devils (36-34-4), who remain five points out of that wildcard spot.

NHL.COM: Marc-Andre Fleury is willing to return for another season. However, the 39-year-old goaltender indicated it will only be with the Minnesota Wild. “Yeah, it’s probably Minnesota or retirement. I wouldn’t want to move and take my three kids out of their environment. They’ve moved enough already.”

Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (NHL Images).

Fleury said he’ll sit down with Wild general manager Bill Guerin to discuss the club’s plans for next season and whether there’s a place for him.

NASHVILLE HOCKEY NOW: Predators captain Roman Josi reached a milestone during his club’s 8-4 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. He collected three assists in that game to become the first Swiss-born NHL player to reach the 500-assist plateau.

NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov’s long journey to join the Flyers ended Friday when he arrived in Philadelphia and was introduced to reporters by general manager Daniel Briere.

Fedotov signed his one-year, entry-level contract in May 2022. However, he was detained by his home country of Russia for allegedly evading military service. Following his service, he signed a two-year contract with KHL club CSKA Moscow despite his valid contract with the Flyers. The contract was tolled ahead to this season.

On Thursday, CSKA Moscow terminated Fedotov’s contract and wished him well.

“I’m so excited and happy to be here,” said Fedotov. “Great feelings because it was a really difficult two years.”

Fedotov is available to play for the Flyers as early as Saturday. However, it’s uncertain when he’ll debut with the club.

THE BUFFALO NEWS: Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram was recently fined $5,000.00 by the NHL department of player safety for his blindside hit on Wednesday on Ottawa Senators forward Angus Crookshank.

NHL.COM: Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome was fined $5,000.00 for cross-checking Seattle Kraken forward Tye Kartye Thursday.

MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle received a one-game suspension for slashing Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny on Thursday.

NHL.COM: Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway was fined $2,000.00 for embellishment during a March 23 game against the Boston Bruins.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves has been diagnosed with a concussion. There is no timeline for his return.

CBS SPORTS: Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (illness) has joined the club on its current road trip. He could return to the lineup for the first time since March 17.

TORONTO STAR: The Maple Leafs signed defenseman Simon Benoit to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $1.35 million.

CALGARY SUN: The family of former NHL defenseman Bob Murdoch said the two-time Stanley Cup champion suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive and fatal disease associated with repeated traumatic brain injuries.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Murdoch is among 18 NHL players to be posthumously diagnosed with CTE.

The others include Hall-of-Famers Henri Richard and Stan Mikita, six-time Stanley Cup champion Ralph Backstrom, two-time 52-goal scorer Rick Martin, defensemen Steve Montador and Zarley Zalapski, wingers Dan Maloney, Marek Svatos and Jeff Parker, and enforcers Bob Probert, Reg Fleming, Derek Boogard, Wade Belak, Todd Ewen, Gino Odjick, Rick Rypien and Larry Zeidel.

The family of former NHL enforcer Chris Simon believe he suffered from CTE that contributed to his death by suicide last week at age 52.

To date, the NHL maintains the link between CTE and repeated head trauma suffered in hockey is inconclusive.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 29, 2023

by | Aug 29, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 29, 2023

The Bruins’ plan to fill their top-two center roles this season, front office changes for the Sabres and Capitals, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery is very confident that Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle can fill the club’s top-two center positions. Those roles became areas of concern following the recent retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.

Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha. (NHL Images)

Montgomery believes Zacha is ready to handle the first-line center role, saying the 26-year-old still has a high ceiling after his career-best performance (21 goals, 57 points) last season.

The Bruins were rumored to be interested in Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm and Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele earlier in the offseason. One NHL source claimed they would circle back on Lindholm if he became available before the start of this season.

They were also said to be prepared to move Linus Ullmark. However, it appears the asking price for the desired center was too high and the return too low for Ullmark.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins probably have no choice but to go with Zacha and Coyle to start this season. It’s believed they lack sufficient trade capital to outbid other clubs that could have an interest in Lindholm. That probably holds true as well for Scheifele.

BUFFALO HOCKEY NOW: Terry Pegula has taken over as the Sabres team president. Pegula Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, is being dissolved and separating resources, with each club focusing on their respective efforts.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Washington Capitals also made some front-office changes, naming general manager Brian MacLellan as president of hockey operations. They also promoted Chris Patrick to assistant general manager.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some observers suggest this move lays the groundwork for Patrick to eventually take over as general manager, allowing MacLellan to focus solely on his role as hockey ops president.

NHL.COM: The Edmonton Oilers formally announced they’ve signed forwards Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter to professional tryout agreements.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No surprise here. It was previously reported in the Edmonton media that Gagner and Sutter would get professional tryout offers.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of PTOs, the Avalanche signed former Dallas Stars forward Joel Kiviranta.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs added some size to their blueline yesterday, signing former Simon Benoit to a one-year, $775K contract. The 6’3”, 203-pound defenseman spent the past three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.