NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 11, 2024

by | Apr 11, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 11, 2024

Recaps of Wednesday’s games, the Coyotes could move to Salt Lake City, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The St. Louis Blues kept their playoff hopes alive with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Jordan Kyrou scored twice as the Blues scored on their first four shots and Robert Thomas picked up a goal and an assist. With a record of 42-32-5 (89 points), the Blues sit three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the final Western Conference wildcard berth. Blackhawks rookie Landon Slaggert scored his first NHL goal.

St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou (NHL Images).

Speaking of the Golden Knights (42-28-8), they dropped a 5-1 decision to the Edmonton Oilers. Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who improved to 48-24-5 and moved into ninth in the overall standings with 101 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers played without captain Connor McDavid as he’s day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He’s expected to return to action at some point during their remaining five games before the end of the regular season.

An overtime goal by Logan Cooley lifted the Arizona Coyotes to a 4-3 upset of the Vancouver Canucks. Dylan Guenther had a goal and three assists for the Coyotes. Quinn Hughes collected three assists for the 48-22-9 as they sit fifth overall with 105 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Coyotes deserve credit for playing as well as they did against one of the league’s top teams considering the uncertainty about their futures in Arizona. Speaking of which…

HEADLINES

DAILY FACEOFF: Frank Seravalli was the first to report that Coyotes ownership and the NHL were working on an agreement to sell and relocate the franchise to Salt Lake City.

The league and the Coyotes have reportedly made what Seravalli’s sources called “significant and meaningful progress” on an agreement with Smith Entertainment Group that would have the team playing in Salt Lake City next season.

It’s believed the Coyotes players have been informed a “verbal agreement” is in place. However, nothing is officially in place as the deal is complicated with much work still to be done. Meanwhile, the league is working on two schedules for 2024-25, one with the Coyotes in Arizona and the other with the team in Salt Lake City.

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reported one Coyotes player said there are rumors of “meeting about the future” before he and his teammates go their separate ways for the offseason.

Friedman indicated the league is working as a broker with Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and prospective Utah owner Ryan Smith. He claims multiple sources said a real scenario has the league paying Meruelo $1 billion for the Coyotes, then selling the club to Smith for $1.2 billion.

Meruelo would also be offered a five-year exclusive window to bring an expansion team to Arizona.

The Coyotes owner hopes to win a land auction on June 27 for a parcel of land on which he wants to build an arena and sports entertainment complex. The league initially hoped to let the auction play out but there is concern over what would happen if Meruelo lost the auction and the possibility of playing another three seasons at Mullett Arena. According to Friedman, there wasn’t much enthusiasm for the latter.

ARIZONA SPORTS: Kevin Zimmerman lists several factors that could see the Coyotes relocated to Salt Lake City.

He noted that there are “many entities” that don’t want the Coyotes building an arena in the Phoenix area. Among them is Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, who wrote a letter indicating the biggest problem was the Coyotes’ lack of consultation with Scottsdale regarding infrastructure issues like traffic and water mains.

Zimmerman also believes the NHL and NHL Players’ Association appear to be losing confidence in the Coyotes’ efforts to construct a new arena.

As for why Ryan Smith prefers to bring an existing franchise to Salt Lake City over an expansion club, it’s because it would bring NHL hockey more quickly to Utah. The Coyotes are an “intriguing hockey product” with promising young players such as Clayton Keller and Matias Maccelli and a general manager who is preaching patience with his rebuilding project.

TSN: Pierre LeBrun reported the NHL sent a status report memo to its Board of Governors on Wednesday in response to the media coverage of this story. The memo stressed that there is still nothing done as there are “moving parts” to this situation.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Having followed the Coyotes ownership saga for nearly two decades, I realize that nothing is set in stone and this situation could take another dramatic twist. Nevertheless, this is the first time that it feels that relocation is imminent. While it’s a complicated scenario that could fall apart in the coming weeks, this seems like a genuine effort by the team’s owner, the league and a prospective buyer in Salt Lake City to make this move happen.

The Coyotes cannot continue as they have in Arizona. It’s not feasible to play in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena for another three years given the uncertainty over whether a new arena will be built. NHLPA leadership has spoken out in recent months about the Coyotes’ handling of its arena situation because it’s a drag on hockey-related revenue.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has fought for two decades to keep the struggling Coyotes in Arizona because it’s one of the biggest markets in North America. While his patience is long, it’s not endless, and I daresay he’s hearing grumbling from a growing chorus of existing NHL team owners.

I feel sorry for Coyotes fans. They knew this day was coming but it still sucks. Contrary to popular belief, a lot of people supported the Coyotes for decades through the good and mostly bad times. Decades of bumbling by multiple owners and general managers brought this franchise to this point. Coyotes fans deserve better.

THE SCORE: Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is still working on bringing an NHL franchise to his city. “I’m working on it, “ he said. The Rockets play in the 19,000-seat Toyota Center, which would hold 17,800 fans when converted for hockey.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maybe Houston becomes a viable alternative if efforts to relocate the Coyotes to Salt Lake City fall through. Otherwise, expect an expansion franchise in Houston (and one in Atlanta) before 2030. It’s going to happen. The league will expand to 34 franchises and perhaps 35 if the NHL attempts to return to Arizona.

TSN: Darren Dreger reports a Philadelphia Flyers management source said John Tortorella will not be losing his job as head coach despite the club’s recent downturn.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This comes in response to speculation that Tortorella would be fired or be moved into a management role.

THE ATHLETIC: Aaron Portzline reports Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli will miss the remainder of the season. He’s been sidelined by a lacerated calf since Jan. 28. However, Fantilli could skate for Team Canada at next month’s World Championships if he’s fully recovered by then.

NHLPA: The results of the latest players’ poll have been released. Follow the link provided for the results on the players’ views on topics such as the top positional players, the most complete player the toughest arena to play in, the best dressed, and more.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 22, 2024

by | Feb 22, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 22, 2024

The Leafs’ Auston Matthews set a record as he reached 50 goals, Houston Rocket owner interested in an NHL franchise, and more in today’s morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season in a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Matthews became the fastest American-born player to reach 50 goals in a season (54 games) and the fastest NHL player to do so since Mario Lemieux tallied 50 in 50 games in 1995-96.

William Nylander scored twice while Mitch Marner collected three assists for the 31-16-8 Leafs as they hold third place in the Atlantic Division with 70 points. Mattias Maccelli, Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther replied for the Coyotes (23-29-4), who’ve dropped six in a row and are winless in their last 11 games (0-10-1).

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews is well on his way to winning his third Richard Trophy in four years as the NHL’s top goal scorer. His league-leading 51 goals puts him 12 ahead of Florida’s Sam Reinhart, who sits second with 39 goals.

This is the second time Matthews has reached the 50-goal plateau and he’s within range of reaching 60 goals for the second time in three years. At his current pace, he could become the first player to score 70 goals in a season since Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne in 1992-93.

The Boston Bruins blew a 4-1 lead but recovered to nip the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 on an overtime goal by Charlie McAvoy. Mason Lohrei collected three assists while McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins (34-12-11) as they reclaimed first place in the Eastern Conference with 79 points, one behind the league-leading Vancouver Canucks. Warren Foegele scored two goals while Connor McDavid extended his home points streak to 20 games with two assists for the 33-18-2 Oilers, who sit third in the Pacific Division with 68 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk left this game in the first period with a lower-body injury. The Bruins were already down a blueliner as Hampus Lindholm is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed this contest due to illness.

Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny scored to extend his points streak to seven games in a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Travis Sanheim and Garnet Hathaway also scored for the 30-20-7 Flyers as they continue to hold third place in the Metropolitan Division with 67 points. Colin Blackwell replied for the 15-39-3 Blackhawks.

A shorthanded goal by Alex Tuch late in the second period held up as the winner as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2, handing the latter their third straight loss. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 29 shots for the Sabres (25-27-4). Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble replied for the Canadiens (22-26-8) as Nick Suzuki’s 10-game points streak and Juraj Slafkovsky’s seven-game points streak came to an end.

Columbus Blue Jackets forwards Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner each had a goal and two assists in a 7-4 drubbing of the Anaheim Ducks. Zach Werenkski and Sean Kuraly each tallied twice for the 18-27-10 Blue Jackets while Mason McTavish scored two goals for the 20-34-2 Ducks.

HEADLINES

BLOOMBERG: Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is said to be in talks with the NHL about bringing a franchise to the Texas city. He’s been looking into it since 2017 but discussions have recently ramped up. He sees a professional hockey franchise being the next building block for the economy of downtown Houston.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ferttita’s increased interest in an NHL team comes weeks after the ownership group of the Utah Jazz requested the league initiate an expansion process to bring a team to Salt Lake City.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said the league had no formal plans to expand from its current 32 teams but was willing to talk to cities interested in adding NHL clubs. With the expansion fee for a team said to be $2 billion, which is split among the existing NHL team owners and is not considered hockey-related revenue, don’t be surprised if there are two new NHL teams within the next 10 years.

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said team captain Mark Stone is expected to be sidelined “for a while” with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, he said that Jack Eichel is doing well with his rehab and should return “in the not-too-distant future.” Eichel (knee) is currently on long-term injury reserve.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Stone is placed on LTIR and is out for the rest of the regular season it will allow the Golden Knights to exceed the salary cap if necessary to add a player or two by the March 8 trade deadline.

DAILY FACEOFF: New York Rangers forwards Artemi Panarin and Jimmy Vesey are listed as day-to-day with lower-body injuries as they missed practice yesterday.

NEW YORK POST: Speaking of the Rangers, they signed forward Jonny Brodzinski to a two-year, one-way contract extension worth an average annual value of $785, 500.

ESPN: Kevin Weekes reports Los Angeles Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson could be sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

NHL.COM: Florida Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg was fined $2,083.33 by the NHL department of player safety for elbowing Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun during Tuesday’s game between the two clubs.

CBS SPORTS: The Vancouver Canucks placed forward Dakota Joshua (upper body) on injured reserve.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins placed forward Colin White on waivers.

DAILY FACEOFF: Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Gerry James passed away at age 89. James spent five seasons with the Leafs from 1954-55 to 1959-60. At the same time, he had a 13-year career as a running back in the Canadian Football League and holds the distinction of being the only person to appear in a Stanley Cup Final and a Grey Cup Final in the same season (1959-60). He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to James’ family, friends and former teammates in both sports.










An NHL Franchise In Quebec City Remains A Fantasy

by | Mar 15, 2023

An NHL Franchise In Quebec City Remains A Fantasy

Shortly after the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, ESPN’s Jon Buccigross and Kevin Weekes made cryptic tweets raising speculation the 32-team league could expand into Houston and return to Atlanta.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly subsequently denied that the league had plans afoot for further expansion. He claimed it wasn’t a priority but didn’t rule out entertaining offers from groups that had interest, including those in Houston and Atlanta.

That prompted The Hockey News’ Adam Proteau to wonder if Quebec City would ever get an NHL franchise before Houston or Atlanta. While acknowledging Houston and Atlanta have the advantage in terms of market size, Proteau made the case for Quebec City to have a second chance at getting a team, citing its modern, publicly funded, 18,000-seat arena and deeply ingrained hockey culture.

Proteau acknowledged Quebec City’s market would be the league’s smallest with its population of 550,000 while the metro population of 800,000 would be the second-smallest. However, he also pointed out the Arizona Coyotes’ ongoing arena woes that have them skating in a 4,600-seat college arena while awaiting approval to construct a new venue in Tempe.

Centre Videotron in Quebec City (NHL.com).

He also pointed out that Quebec City, like the Winnipeg Jets, already has a built-in, ready-to-go fan base that would have little difficulty filling their building. He dismissed concerns over the language issue by pointing out that Quebec City worked fine before as an NHL city while Montreal has no issues as a bilingual hockey city.

Those are worthwhile arguments in Quebec City’s favor. It would certainly be more deserving than Atlanta, which has already failed twice as an NHL city thanks to the mismanagement of those previous franchises.

Sadly, however, those arguments will likely continue to fall on deaf ears at NHL headquarters. The league wants to continue expanding in the larger, lucrative US markets at the expense of smaller, hockey-mad Canadian cities.

It’s why Quebec City was passed over in favor of Las Vegas and Seattle. It’s why it will be passed over if a group in Houston is willing to pony up what’s likely to be a $1 billion expansion fee. It’s why there’s actually talk of a third attempt to establish an NHL presence in Atlanta. It’s why Kansas City and Portland stand a better chance at landing a franchise if someone with deep pockets wants to put an NHL club in either city.

It’s all about which markets can generate the most revenue, and Quebec City comes up short against Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City and Portland.

Getting an expansion team is a pipe dream for Quebec City. Their best hope for landing an NHL franchise is if an existing one is forced to relocate to a new city.

The Winnipeg Jets were resurrected in 2011 because the NHL needed a new location quickly when no one could be found to purchase the struggling Thrashers and keep them in Atlanta. Winnipeg’s True North Sports and Entertainment were the only viable alternative at the time.

The Arizona Coyotes could become a relocation candidate if their current owner fails to get approval for their Tempe arena project. With no other viable arena options, the franchise would have to be moved despite the NHL’s best efforts to keep it in Arizona.

Houston would be the most likely destination if the NHL finally waives the white flag on Arizona. Failing that, it would be Atlanta, Kansas City or Portland. Only if no suitable potential ownership group can be found in those cities would Quebec City get its chance.

The odds of that happening, however, seem quite long. As long as the NHL remains enamored of expanding into non-traditional hockey markets in its ongoing quest to “grow the game,” a natural hockey market like Quebec City will remain on the outside looking in.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 21, 2021

by | Aug 21, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 21, 2021

Henrik Lundqvist announces his retirement, the Blues to retire Chris Pronger’s number, legendary Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret to call it a career following this season, the viability of moving the Coyotes to Houston, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NEW YORK POST: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist officially announced his retirement yesterday after 15 seasons with the New York Rangers and four with Frolunda in Sweden before that. A heart condition has ended his playing career at age 39.

Former New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has retired (NHL Images).

Lundqvist is the sixth winningest goaltender in NHL history with a record of 459-310-96, a 2.43 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and 64 shutouts, along with 61 wins and 10 shutouts in the playoffs. The Rangers immediately retired Lundqvist’s No. 30 and will stage a retirement ceremony later this season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lundqvist was one of the great goaltenders of his generation and the best in Rangers history. “King Henrik” is their all-time leader in wins, save percentage, shutouts, and game-played by a goalie (887). He’s a shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

A First Team All-Star in 2011-12 and a Second Team All-Star the following season, Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy in 2012 and was also a four-time Vezina finalist. He backstopped the Rangers to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and won Olympic gold for his home country of Sweden in 2006.

Best wishes to Lundqvist and his family in their future endeavors.

STLTODAY.COM: The St. Louis Blues announced they will retire Chris Pronger’s No. 44 on Jan. 17 before a game against the Nashville Predators. The former Blues captain is among their franchise leaders in games played (598), assists (272) and points (356).

A four-time All-Star, Pronger’s best season was 1999-2000, becoming just the second defenseman in NHL history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy and the James Norris Memorial Trophy. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.

WGR 550: Long-time Buffalo Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. This will be his 51st season behind the mike for the Sabres.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jeanneret is one of the best in the business. His iconic call of Brad May’s series-winning overtime goal against the Boston Bruins in the 1993 playoffs is among my favorites.

THE ATHLETIC: News of the Arizona Coyotes’ lease agreement with Gila River Arena ending next year prompted some observers to suggest relocating the franchise to Houston. However, Dallas Stars CEO Brad Alberts told Saad Yousef he doesn’t think that’s a possibility, saying there’s been no discussion at the league level about putting a team in that city.

Alberts said he’s heard rumors that Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wants an NHL franchise in his city but doesn’t know for certain if he does. He acknowledged things can change but doesn’t believe the league intends to abandon Phoenix.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: As I said yesterday, the league will do everything it can to keep the Coyotes in Arizona. If that’s not possible, moving to a new city requires a wealthy owner with a viable NHL arena. Fertitta was keen to do so two years ago but that was before the pandemic disrupted normal life. He might not be so enthusiastic now.

TSN: The Calgary Flames avoided salary arbitration with Nikita Zadorov by signing the 26-year-old defenseman to a one-year, $3.75 million contract. They also signed blueliner Juuso Valimaki to a two-year, $3.1 million deal.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That leaves Philadelphia Flyers rearguard Travis Sanheim as the only player still scheduled for arbitration. His hearing is slated for Aug. 26 but he’ll probably be signed before then.