NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 15, 2025

by | Apr 15, 2025

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 15, 2025

The Kings clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, Ivan Demidov shines in his debut as Canadiens earn a point in the wild-card race, Sharks captain Logan Couture will announce his retirement, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPS OF MONDAY’S GAMES

NHL.COM: The Los Angeles Kings clinched home-ice advantage in their upcoming first-round series with the Edmonton Oilers by blanking them 5-0. Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich combined for the shutout while Adrian Kempe had a goal and two assists for the Kings, who sit second in the Pacific Division with 103 points. The Oilers are third with 99 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings pulled Kuemper at 8:13 of the third period after going up 5-0 in favor of Rittich to give him some playing time before his start on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.

Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking Kings forward Quinton Byfield during the second period. Byfield left the ice and missed the rest of the game in concussion protocol. His teammate, Philip Danault, wasn’t pleased with the Oilers’ actions in this game. “They have their B squad in trying to hurt us,” he said.

Before the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said defenseman Mattias Ekholm will miss at least the first round of the 2025 playoffs.

Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov (NHL.com).

Montreal Canadiens rookie winger Ivan Demidov scored his first NHL goal and collected his first assist but his club dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the Chicago Blackhawks. Frank Nazar tallied the game-winner and scored a goal and an assist in regulation time. Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky scored to reach 50 points for the second straight season as his club picked up a point in the Eastern Conference wild-card race. They hold the final berth with 89 points, four ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Demidov handled the pressure of his first NHL game quite well but Montreal failed to clinch a playoff berth and are 0-1-2 in their last three games. They have one game left while Columbus has two. The Canadiens can clinch if the Blue Jackets lose in any fashion to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Speaking of Canadiens rookies, Lane Hutson collected an assist on Slafkovsky’s goal to break the franchise record for the most points by a rookie defenseman with 65. Chris Chelios held the previous record with 64 points.

A four-goal third period lifted the Detroit Red Wings to a 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider led the way with a goal and two assists each in the third period. Jamie Benn collected two assists for the Stars, who sit second in the Central Division with 106 points but have gone 0-4-2 in their last six games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars general manager Jim Nill said sidelined defenseman Miro Heiskanen will miss the start of their opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. He didn’t rule out Heiskanen’s return later in the first round.

The New York Rangers upset the Florida Panthers 5-3 with J.T. Miller, Juuso Parssinen and Matt Rempe each collecting a goal and an assist. Sam Reinhart tallied twice for the Panthers, who sit third in the Atlantic Division with 98 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Panthers center Sam Bennett picked up an assist in his return to action after being sidelined on Apr. 5 with an upper-body injury against the Ottawa Senators.

Vancouver Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk scored in overtime to nip the San Jose Sharks 2-1. Linus Karlsson scored for the Canucks in regulation while Macklin Celebrini netted his 25th goal of the season for the Sharks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks captain Quinn Hughes collected an assist on DeBrusk’s goal to tie Alexander Edler’s franchise record for most points by a defenseman (409).

The Utah Hockey Club got a four-point performance by Clayton Keller for a 7-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Keller scored two goals and set up two others while Logan Cooley and Alex Kerfoot each had three points. Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist for the Predators.

HEADLINES

DAILY FACEOFF: The San Jose Sharks will hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce captain Logan Couture is unable to continue his playing career due to injury.

Couture, 36, has been sidelined since February 2024 by a groin ailment. He missed all of this season and only appeared in six games in 2023-24. He spent 15 seasons with the Sharks from 2009-10 to 2023-24, sitting fifth among their franchise leaders with 933 games played and 378 assists. He was also third in goals with 323 and fourth in points with 701.

Named captain of the Sharks in 2019-20, Couture was a proven postseason performer with 48 goals and 53 assists for 101 points in 116 playoff games. He led all scorers with 20 assists and 30 points during the Sharks’ run to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: An unfortunate, premature end for Couture’s playing career. He will be remembered as one of the great players in Sharks’ history.

NHL.COM: Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, and Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck are the league’s three stars for the week ending Apr. 13, 2025.

The department of player safety suspended New Jersey Devils forward Paul Cotter for two games for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech on Sunday.

THE ATHLETIC: A post-mortem analysis of the brain of former NHL player Chris Simon revealed he had severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he died by suicide in 2024.

According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Simon is one of the 19 of 20 NHL players’ brains to have tested positive for CTE following their deaths. They include Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Ralph Backstrom, Bob Probert and Derek Boogaard.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Meanwhile, the NHL remains in denial about CTE, claiming more study is required.

MLIVE.COM: The four US-based Original Six franchises (Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers) have all missed the playoffs for the first time in the post-expansion era (1967-68 to the present).










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 13, 2024

by | Jul 13, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 13, 2024

The latest on the Rangers attempt to trade Jacob Trouba, Predators GM Barry Trotz weighs in on teams like his in “no-tax” states, and the latest signings in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

THE HOCKEY NEWS’ Stefen Rosner cited former New York Rangers general manager Neil Smith saying team captain Jacob Trouba blocked a trade to the Detroit Red Wings when he learned that’s where the Rangers wanted to trade him.

Smith said the Rangers asked Trouba for his 15-team no-trade list before his no-movement clause changed to a modified no-trade clause on July 1. As per his contract, the Trouba camp refused until July 1. When they did submit the list, Detroit was part of it because it had already been leaked to the media that the Rangers were talking about a trade with the Red Wings.

New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba (NHL Images).

That leaves Rangers management facing what Smith calls some “muddy waters” with their most important player, their team captain. He believes they’ll have to make Trouba feel wanted again.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was clumsily handled by Rangers management but it did provide some intrigue to this summer’s trade market. That deal with Detroit was dead once it got leaked to the press. It seems that way based on all we’ve learned since late June.

Some Rangers supporters still blame Trouba for “putting himself above the team” by invoking his no-trade clause to block the deal to Detroit. However, he did nothing wrong by abiding by the terms of his contract.

The Rangers know which teams aren’t on Trouba’s “no-trade” list. They could attempt to move him to one of those clubs this summer, or before next year’s trade deadline, or at some point next summer. His $8 million cap hit will make that difficult to pull off, but it’s not impossible.

In the meantime, both sides will have to deal with the fallout from this situation. It’ll be interesting to see how this shakes out and what effect (if any) it has on the Rangers in 2024-25.

THE SCORE: Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz acknowledged that his team has an advantage playing in a state that doesn’t levy a state tax.

“It is an advantage because your dollar goes a little bit further,” he told TSN’s Overdrive on Wednesday. “There’s no question”.

The Predators made headlines this summer by signing unrestricted free agents Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. Along with the Predators, the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken also have the advantage of playing where there is no state tax.

Four of the last five Stanley Cup champions were from “no-tax” states. The Lightning won in 2020 and 2021, the Golden Knights in 2023 and the Panthers in 2024.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Those clubs have played in “no-tax” states for years. It’s only been recently that three of them enjoyed championship success. Some observers believe this gives those teams an unfair advantage that should be addressed in the next round of collective bargaining. 

The lack of a state tax does help those teams retain their best players and add players via free agency. However,  it does not guarantee success. How management invests that money in building and maintaining a contender remains the determining factor.

The Predators have declined since reaching the 2017 Stanley Cup Final and winning the Presidents’ Trophy the following season. Their previous management was not renowned for making big splashes in the free-agent pool like those that Trotz just made. It remains to be seen how those moves pan out.

As for the Stars, they have had their share of ups and downs since their Stanley Cup victory 25 years ago. The Kraken have only existed since 2021-22 and are still trying to build themselves into a contender.

The Panthers were a laughingstock for over two decades until they finally brought in stable ownership and management. The Lightning endured some ownership and management turmoil following their first Stanley Cup in 2004, including a rebuilding phase directly responsible for their consecutive championships.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights’ habit of swinging big trades for elite talent left them with a depleted prospect pipeline that could prove costly in the long run.

The salary cap eventually catches up with these clubs.

Limited cap space forced the Lightning to make cost-cutting moves that drained their roster depth, including the recent departure of Stamkos and trading away Mikhail Sergachev.

The Golden Knights recently lost Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Logan Thompson due to cap constraints while the Panthers had to bid farewell to defenseman Brandon Montour.

NEW YORK POST: The Rangers signed defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL level.

DAILY FACEOFF: The New York Islanders also signed forward Liam Foudy to a one-year, two-way contract.

DAILY FACEOFF: The Columbus Blue Jackets avoided arbitration with goaltender Jet Greaves, signing him to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $812,500.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Greaves is the fourth who filed for salary arbitration to sign with his club before his arbitration hearing was scheduled. The other three were Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser, San Jose Sharks blueliner Ty Emberson and Blue Jackets rearguard Jake Christiansen.