Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – May 31, 2020

by | May 31, 2020

Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – May 31, 2020

Another look at this year’s non-playoff clubs in the Sunday NHL rumor mill.

THE SCORE: John Matisz recently examined the most important business facing the NHL’s seven non-playoff clubs. Here’s a look at some of his notable observations.

Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf (Photo via NHL Images).

Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray could face some soul-searching over whether to open contract extension talks with long-time captain Ryan Getzlaf, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next July. He would attract considerable interest among playoff contenders before the 2021 NHL trade deadline.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Getzlaf has an annual average value of $8.25 million with a full no-movement clause for next season. If he and the Ducks fail to reach agreement on a new contract, it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll agree to waive that movement clause.

With several veterans carrying expensive contracts, Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill needs to sign RFA winger Sam Reinhart and goalie Linus Ullmark to reasonable contracts.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That could be easier said than done. Both players have arbitration rights. Coming off a bridge contract, Reinhart could be seeking a lucrative long-term deal.

The rebuilding Detroit Red Wings need depth throughout their roster. Acquiring a decent goaltender should be the priority for GM Steve Yzerman.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This year’s UFA goalie market includes Washington’s Braden Holtby and Vegas’ Robin Lehner. Both, however, could prefer signing with contenders. Other options could include Calgary’s Cam Talbot, Dallas’ Anton Khudobin, or the New York Islanders’ Thomas Greiss. The Wings, however, could be forced to overpay.

The Los Angeles Kings have 21 picks in the next two drafts, including five second-rounders. Matisz wondered if packaging one or two picks with Jeff Carter at the 2020 draft might net the Kings a young, established NHL player.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That could depend on how much of a market there is for Carter. He’s a proven performer but age seems to have caught up with the 35-year-old center. He’s also got two more seasons with an annual average value of $5.275 million, though in actual salary he’s earning $2 million annually. The Kings might have to absorb part of that cap hit.

The New Jersey Devils’ biggest decisions are deciding whether they’ll remove the interim labels from GM Tom Fitzgerald and head coach Alain Nasreddine or hire full-time replacements. They’ve interviewed former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis and former NHL coaches Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, and John Stevens.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Once they’ve sorted their management and coaching positions, the Devils can focus on addressing their roster issues.

Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion could be busy in the off-season. Among his 13 players on expiring contracts are Craig Anderson and Anthony Duclair.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The 39-year-old Anderson could be brought back cheaply on a one-year deal, but it remains to be seen if he’s keen to spend another season with the rebuilding Senators or if Dorion wants him back. Duclair is a streaky scorer with arbitration rights, but he could end up having to accept a one-year “show-me” deal.

San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson will have to get creative to shore up his goaltending. Martin Jones is no longer an effective starting goalie but he’s got four more years left on his contract with an AAV of $5.275 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: With over $66 million invested in 13 players for 2020-21, Wilson could try to move one of his high-salaried veterans for younger talent. However, they also carry various no-trade/no-movement clauses. He could look for a short-term free-agent bargain like Khudobin or former Shark Greiss.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 6, 2020

by | Jan 6, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 6, 2020

Capitals stage late rally to upset the Sharks, an update on the NHL and the Olympics, and more in today’s morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Goals by Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie within the final minute of regulation set the stage for Lars Eller’s overtime tally as the Washington Capitals upset the San Jose Sharks 5-4. Vrana scored twice for the Capitals while Sharks winger Evander Kane netted a hat trick.

Lars Eller’s overtime goal lifted the Washington Capitals over the San Jose Sharks 5-4 (Photo via NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sharks seemingly put this out of reach after Logan Couture made it 4-2. They collapsed defensively in that final minute, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their win streak to eight games by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist. Bolts blueliner Ryan McDonagh missed the game with an upper-body injury. The Hurricanes have dropped five of their last seven contests.

Ryan Getzlaf’s shootout winner gave the Anaheim Ducks a 5-4 victory over the Nashville Predators. Getzlaf also collected three assists while teammate Adam Henrique scored two goals and chipped in an assist. Predators captain Roman Josi collected an assist to extend his points streak to 10 games, setting the team record for defensemen. Craig Smith scored twice for the Predators.

Florida Panthers goaltender Chris Driedger made 31 saves in a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mike Hoffman and Frank Vatrano each had a goal and an assist.

A shootout goal by Dillon Dube put the Calgary Flames over the Minnesota Wild by a score of 5-4. Flames forwards Johnny Gaudreau and Mikael Backlund each collected two assists, while Wild winger Marcus Foligno scored twice.

The Chicago Blackhawks overcame a 2-0 deficit to double up the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. Corey Crawford picked up the win in his first start since Dec. 23. Adam Boqvist tallied the winner in the third period.

TSN: International Ice Hockey Federation chief Rene Faisel said the NHL must decide by August if it intends to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He wants to ensure his organization has more time to make the appropriate preparations one way or the other. “We are working on an early decision made by the NHL and NHLPA,” Fasel said. “We need to know before that.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: NHL players remain keen to participate in the Olympics. The league, on the other hand, is still cool to the idea, largely because the International Olympic Committee declined to pick up the costs of travel, insurance, and accommodations for NHL players. I daresay they’d also like a share of the sponsorship and media revenue. If the IOC maintains its previous position, we can forget about NHL participation in any future Olympics.

CBS SPORTS: Vegas Golden Knights rookie Cody Glass is suffering from a bone bruise on his leg and won’t require surgery. He suffered the injury during Saturday’s win over the St. Louis Blues.

 

 

 










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 23, 2019

by | Dec 23, 2019

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 23, 2019

Taylor Hall tallies his first goal with the Coyotes, Alex Ovechkin non-committal about attending 2020 All-Star Game, the latest on Zdeno Chara and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Taylor Hall scored his first goal with the Arizona Coyotes in a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. He now has points in each of his first three games with the Coyotes. Clayton Keller scored twice and picked up an assist while Oliver Ekman-Larsson had three assists.

Taylor Hall has three points in as many games with the Arizona Coyotes (Photo via NHL Images).

Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard gave up five goals on 45 shots in his first game since being sidelined by a groin injury on Nov. 27. Teammate Anthony Mantha missed the game as he’s sidelined at least a week with an upper-body injury suffered against Toronto on Saturday. Wings forward Robby Fabbri was fined over $2,400.00 for spearing Maple Leafs center Alexander Kerfoot.

Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm led the Calgary Flames to a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. Tkachuk scored a goal and set up two others while Lindholm collected three assists as the Flames went three-for-five on the power play.

The New York Rangers snapped a three-game losing skid by dumping the depleted Anaheim Ducks 5-1. Chris Kreider scored twice for the Rangers while Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist. Ducks forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg were sidelined by illness while Rickard Rakell missed the game with an upper-body injury.

Vegas Golden Knight goalie Malcolm Subban made 37 saves in a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. William Karlsson picked up to assists as the Golden Knights are unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1). The free-falling Sharks have just one victory in their last 10 games (1-8-1).

HEADLINES

NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is honored to be voted captain of the Metropolitan Division for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 25. However, he’s non-committal on his participation.

“We’ll see,” he said when asked if he would go. “It’s lots of games to play. I’m going to do the best for my health and for the playoffs and I have to be healthy for the most important games moving forward.” Ovechkin opted to skip the 2019 All-Star game and received a league-mandated one-game suspension.

Ovechkin and teammate Tom Wilson posted tweets yesterday honoring Capitals superfan Alex Luey, who passed away yesterday following a three-year battle with cancer. Luey was 13 years old.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Luey’s family and friends, and to the Capitals organization.

NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will miss today’s game against the Capitals due to a scheduled procedure related to his broken jaw suffered during last spring’s Stanley Cup Final.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a rib/cartilage contusion and oblique strain.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bjorkstrand joins a growing list of sidelined Jackets. Among them are Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson and David Savard.

TSN: Ottawa Senators forward Scott Sabourin will return to action tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. He’s been sidelined by a concussion since Nov. 2.










Forget Retooling, It’s Time For The Anaheim Ducks To Rebuild

by | Dec 13, 2019

Forget Retooling, It’s Time For The Anaheim Ducks To Rebuild

 










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 4, 2019

by | Nov 4, 2019

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 4, 2019

The Capitals snuff out the Flames, the Blackhawks edge the Ducks, Milan Lucic receives a two-game suspension, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Jakub Vrana’s first career NHL hat trick powered the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each collected two assists. The league-leading Capitals have won four straight games.

The Flames played without winger Milan Lucic. He received a two-game suspension by the department of player safety for sucker-punching Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kole Sherwood. Flames general manager Brad Treliving disagreed with the decision, claiming Lucic was responding to Sherwood slashing goaltender David Rittich.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: With three suspensions and two fines on his resume, Lucic doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt for questionable tactics.

Patrick Kane’s overtime goal gave the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks (Photo via NHL Images).

The Chicago Blackhawks blew a 2-0 lead but Patrick Kane scored in overtime as they edged the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. Blackhawks rookie Adam Boqvist scored his first NHL goal. It was Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf’s 1,000th career regular-season game. He picked up an assist in this contest.

HEADLINES

NBC SPORTS: Ottawa Senators winger Scott Sabourin was released from the hospital yesterday after being stretchered off the ice following a collision with Boston Bruins winger David Backes on Saturday. The Senators announced he suffered a fractured nose.The club also announced Logan Brown is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Backes left the game with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss the next couple of games.

TRIBLIVE.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve.

WINNIPEG SUN: Jets forward Adam Lowry will not face supplemental discipline for a questionable hit on Vegas Golden Knights winger Alex Tuch, who left the game and didn’t return.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens have called up forward Ryan Poehling and placed center Jesperi Kotkaniemi on IR with a groin injury.

WGR 550: The Buffalo Sabres placed defenseman Marco Scandella on injured reserve and called up blueliner Lawrence Pilut.

TORONTO SUN: Former NHL winger Dean Prentice has passed away at age 87. Prentice played 22 seasons with the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars from 1952-53 to 1973-74. He tallied 391 goals and 860 points in 1,378 games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Prentice’s family, friends, and former teammates.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 8, 2019

by | Apr 8, 2019

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 8, 2019

The opening-round schedule for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs revealed, Panthers replace Bob Boughner with Joel Quenneville, Sabres fired Phil Housley, an update on Connor McDavid, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines

NHL.COM: The opening-round schedule for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs was released yesterday. The puck drops Wednesday with five games that pit the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Pittsburgh Penguins facing off against the New York Islanders, the Nashville Predators squaring off against the Dallas Stars, the Winnipeg Jets facing the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks going up against the Vegas Golden Knights.

On Thursday, the Calgary Flames meet the Colorado Avalanche, the Washington Capitals clash with the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Toronto Maple Leafs face the Boston Bruins.

SUN-SENTINEL.COM: The Florida Panthers yesterday fired Bob Boughner as head coach and could announce former Chicago Blackhawks bench boss Joel Quenneville as his replacement today.

UPDATE: The Panthers have hired Quenneville. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports sources saying his contract could be north of $30 million (plus bonuses) on a five-year deal. Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, has close ties with Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, who hired Quenneville when he was GM of the Blackhawks in 2008.

Florida Panthers are reportedly close to hiring Joel Quenneville as their new head coach (Photo via NHL.com).

 After narrowly missing the playoffs last year, expectations were high for the Panthers entering 2018-19. Despite possessing considerable depth in talent that include Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, the Panthers regressed this season despite career-best performances by Barkov, Huberdeau, and others.

Boughner’s critics claim he often seemed overmatched but a lack of quality goaltending and blueline depth didn’t help matters. Tallon must now address those issues. It’s rumored he could pursue Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky via free agency in July. 

WGR 550: The Buffalo Sabres fired Phil Housley as head coach after two seasons.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No word yet as to who could replace Housley. GM Jason Botterill could take some time to find a suitable new coach. With the Sabres missing the playoffs for the eighth straight season, the pressure’s on Botterill to get this right.

LOS ANGELES TIMES: The Kings announced interim coach Willie Desjardins won’t be returning behind the bench. The Kings have reportedly asked the Edmonton Oilers for permission to speak with Todd McLellan, who was fired in November and has one year remaining on his contract.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Speaking of the Oilers, captain Connor McDavid confirmed he didn’t suffer a broken leg after crashing into the net during Saturday’s season-ending contest against the Calgary Flames. McDavid spoke with the media yesterday and didn’t need crutches to move around. McDavid will undergo an MRI today.

NHL.COM: The department of player safety fined Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf $2,500.00 for roughing Kings forward Adrian Kempe on Friday.

TWINCITIES.COM: Minnesota Wild forward J.T. Brown was arrested in Dallas early Saturday morning on suspicion of public drunkenness. Brown missed the Wild’s final game of the season and subsequently released a statement apologizing to his team, his family and fans for his actions.