NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 15, 2022

by | Dec 15, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 15, 2022

Recaps of Wednesday games, the Rangers once again top Forbes’ annual franchise value rankings, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Second-period goals by Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk enabled the Ottawa Senators to hold off the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. Alex DeBrincat assisted on all three Senators’ goals as they’ve won seven of their last 10 games and improved to 13-14-2. Kirby Dach and Christian Dvorak replied for the Canadiens, who sit at 14-13-2.

Ottawa Senators winger Alex DeBrincat (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Senators learned earlier in the day that center Tim Stutzle will be sidelined for at least a week by a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, winger Alex Formenton will play this season in Switzerland after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with the Senators by the Dec. 1 deadline. He is ineligible to play in the NHL for the remainder of this season.

As for the Canadiens, Jonathan Drouin returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury.

The Vancouver Canucks blew a 2-0 lead, rallied to tie the game at 3 and went on to defeat the Calgary Flames 4-3 on a shootout goal by Andrei Kuzmenko. Bo Horvat scored his 21st goal of the season while Spencer Martin kicked out 35 shots for the Canucks, who’ve won four of their last five and risen to 13-13-3. Dillon Dube collected two assists for the 13-11-6 Flames.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks winger Brock Boeser missed this game with a non-COVID-related illness.

Minnesota Wild center Frederick Gaudreau scored twice in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Wild winger Mats Zuccarello scored to extend his points streak to eight games for the 16-11-4 Wild. The Wings (13-10-6) dropped their fourth straight game and lost defenseman Filip Hronek to an upper-body injury after a thunderous hit by Wild winger Ryan Reaves.

HEADLINES

FORBES: The New York Rangers top Forbes’ annual ranking of NHL franchises for the eighth straight year.

The Rangers are valued at $2.2 billion, up 10 percent from last season. The Toronto Maple Leafs ($2 billion), Montreal Canadiens ($1.85 billion), Chicago Blackhawks ($1.5 billion) and Boston Bruins ($1.4 billion) round out the top five as 14 teams are valued at $1 billion or higher.

Sitting at the bottom of the list is the Arizona Coyotes ($450 million), with the Florida Panthers ($550 million), Buffalo Sabres ($610 million), Columbus Blue Jackets ($620 million), and Carolina Hurricanes ($640 million) round out the bottom five. The Winnipeg Jets are the lowest-valued Canadian franchise at $650 million.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Penguins winger Jason Zucker is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The oft-injured Zucker was off to a good start to this season with 20 points in 27 games before his latest mishap.

CBS SPORTS: The Anaheim Ducks moved goaltender Anthony Stolarz (lower body) to injury reserve.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Former Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg will be enshrined in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame. Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the Red Wings’ 2008 Stanley Cup championship. He also helped Sweden win gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2006 IIHF World Championship. Zetterberg retired in 2018 due to a back injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: A well-deserved honor for one of Sweden’s greatest players.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 14, 2020

by | Dec 14, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 14, 2020

​Former Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix passed away, the latest on NHL franchise values, an update on the Canucks and more in today’s morning coffee headlines.

THE DENVER POST: Former Colorado Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix passed away Sunday in Las Vegas from complications related to COVID-19. He was 72.

Former Colorado Avalanche president and general manager Pierre Lacroix passed away Sunday at age 72 (NHL.com)

Lacroix was a player agent until hired by the Quebec Nordiques as president and general manager in 1994. He moved with the club to Colorado in 1995, building the Avalanche into a Stanley Cup champion in 1996 and 2001.

His prominent moves included acquiring future Hall-of-Famers Patrick Roy in 1995, Raymond Bourque in 2000 and Rob Blake in 2001. Milan Hejduk, Chris Drury, Alex Tanguay, John-Michael Liles, and Paul Stastny were among the notable Avs drafted by Lacroix.

Lacroix stepped down as Avalanche GM in 2006 and as president in 2013, though he maintained an advisory role. Joe Sakic, Michel Goulet, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke were among those expressing condolences on Sunday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Lacroix’s family, friends, former players and the Avalanche organization.

Lacroix took over a promising club with two foundation stars in Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. He turned them into an NHL powerhouse with a series of shrewd trades and free-agent signings.

His biggest move, of course, was acquiring Roy from the Montreal Canadiens. That trade haunts the Canadiens and their fans to this day while elevating the Avs into a perennial Cup contender for nearly a decade.

Lacroix was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Perhaps one day, he’ll be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders’ category.

NATIONAL POST: Michael Traikos took note of last week’s Forbes article on the detrimental effects of COVID-19 upon the NHL’s hockey-related revenue (HRR) and some of its franchises. After speaking with the authors of the report, Traikos mused over the potential effects upon struggling franchises such as the Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers if things don’t soon return to normal.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Traikos and the Forbes columnists aren’t suggesting we’ll see a stampede of owners attempting to sell their clubs. However, they’re correct in assuming the next several years could be challenging for some of them if HRR doesn’t soon return to pre-COVID levels.

NHL.COM: Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning believes his young core of talent can one day carry his club to a Stanley Cup. He remains confident in re-signing Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko. 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pettersson and Hughes are coming off their entry-level contracts. They would be in line for hefty raises in a normal season. Demko has arbitration rights next summer and will get a raise over his current $1.05 million AAV. With a flattened salary cap expected for 2021-22, Benning could try to get those three to accept affordable short-term deals with the promise of greater riches afterward.

Given the value of Pettersson and Hughes to the Canucks, their next contracts could be lucrative long-term deals. Demko, on the other hand, could receive a shorter deal because of his limited body of work.

OTTAWA SUN: Members of the Senators living abroad are starting to return to Ottawa in anticipation of training camp opening by the end of the month. The Senators are among last season’s seven non-playoff clubs that could open training camp on Dec. 30, with the 24 other teams expected to begin camp on Jan. 3.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Most players on all 31 clubs are probably starting to return to their respective NHL cities if they haven’t already done so.

TSN: Rick Westhead reported a U.S. Federal court judge has dismissed the five-year-old lawsuit filed against the NHL by the father of the late Steve Montador, which alleged the league promoted violence and profited by it while insufficiently protecting its players from the risk of long-term brain injuries. Paul Montador is exploring his options, which could include an appeal of the decision.