NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 21, 2025

by | Jun 21, 2025

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 21, 2025

An update on the Oilers’ offseason plans, Jonathan Toews signs with the Jets, the latest on Joe Pavelski, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines

TSN: Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said Friday that signing team captain Connor McDavid to a contract extension is the team’s top offseason priority.

Bowman said McDavid has earned the right to determine the timeline for negotiations, but said the Oilers will be ready once he’s ready to begin. The Oilers superstar is eligible for unrestricted free-agent (UFA) status next July, but he can sign an extension as early as this July 1.

The Oilers GM indicated that the Oilers’ defense corps will remain largely intact. That includes Evan Bouchard, who is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1.

Bowman will focus on making modifications to the forward lines and the goaltending. He said he’s not singling out the goalie tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, but the club will explore changes to that position.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Based on Bowman’s comments, Robert Tychkowski believes the Oilers GM plans a mid-level change or two to his roster.

Tychkowski expressed concern over the Oilers’ aging roster and its thin prospect cupboard. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that their priority is winning the Stanley Cup next season.

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (NHL Images).

Meanwhile, Jim Matheson wondered if Skinner returns next season as the Oilers’ starting goalie, or will he be sharing the crease in a “1 and 1A scenario” without Pickard.

Matheson wondered if the Oilers might target Joel Hofer of the St. Louis Blues with an offer sheet. If they sign him to no more than an average annual value (AAV) of $4,680,076, it’ll only cost them a second-round pick in 2026 as compensation, which is a pick they have.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Assuming Hofer is open to signing an offer sheet, the Blues are in a good position to match it. They have roughly $5 million in cap space for 2025-26 with 22 active roster players under contract. They could get $6.5 million in additional cap flexibility if Torey Krug (ankle) remains on long-term injury reserve (LTIR) next season.

Bigger names that have surfaced in the rumor mill include Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, Jordan Binnington of the Blues, and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Swayman will play a key role in the Bruins’ plans for a bounce-back performance next season. Trading him would leave them with Joonas Korpisalo as their full-time starter, and history has shown he’s best suited as a backup.

Binnington’s fortunes have rebounded following a strong performance in the 4 Nations Face Off tournament and the Blues’ memorable first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets this spring. He’s not going anywhere.

Saros struggled along with his Predators teammates last season. They could trade him before his new contract (with its full no-movement clause) begins on July 1, but it’s doubtful the Oilers would be comfortable with his $7.7 million AAV through 2032-33.

Besides, Predators GM Barry Trotz signed Saros to that hefty contract. It’s unlikely he’ll put the netminder on the trade block this summer.

Smaller names that could be available via trade or free agency include John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks, Jake Allen of the New Jersey Devils, and Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Not much to choose from there, but Gibson might be worth the risk. He’s signed through 2026-27 with an AAV of $6.5 million, but the Ducks might be willing to retain some salary to facilitate a trade for the right return. Allen is a reliable backup while Jarry’s inconsistency is a significant concern.

THE WINNIPEG SUN: Former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has agreed to a one-year contract with the Jets. The 37-year-old center is staging a comeback after being sidelined for the last two seasons by long COVID symptoms and chronic immune response issues.

Toews will earn a base salary of $2 million. With bonuses for games played, that number will more than double if he suits up for at least 50 games in 2025-26.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is a low-cost gamble by the Jets. If it pays off, Toews could fill their second center position. If it doesn’t, they’ll have sufficient cap space to address that position later in the season.

RG.ORG: Former San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski admitted he had a moment where he felt the itch to return to the NHL during this season. However, it passed quickly as he confirmed that he is retired for good.

Pavelski played 18 seasons in the NHL, establishing himself among the greatest American-born players in league history.

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: The Carolina Hurricanes signed forward Eric Robinson to a four-year contract extension with an AAV of $1.7 million. Robinson, 30, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

TSN: The Dallas Stars signed restricted free agents Mavrik Bourque and Nils Lundkvist to one-year contracts. Bourque will earn $950,000 while Lundkvist will earn $1.25 million.

CALGARY SUN: The Flames signed depth forward Dryden Hunt to a two-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $825,000 at the NHL level.

THE SEATTLE TIMES: The Kraken inked defenseman Cale Fleury to a two-year contract with an AAV of $890,000.

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils are reportedly not qualifying the rights of restricted free agent Cody Glass, making him a UFA on July 1.










NHL Trade Deadline Tracker – March 3, 2023

by | Mar 3, 2023

NHL Trade Deadline Tracker – March 3, 2023

We’ll keep a running tally of today’s notable trades. It will be updated throughout the day.

Anaheim Ducks traded John Klingberg to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Andrej Sustr, a fourth-round pick in 2025 and prospect Nikita Nesterenko. The Ducks are retaining 50 percent of Klingberg’s $7 million salary. 

Anaheim Ducks trade John Klingberg to the Minnesota Wild (NHL Images)

Calgary Flames ship Brett Ritchie and Connor Mackey to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Troy Stecher and Nick Ritchie. 

Nashville Predators acquire Rasmus Aspland from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2025 seventh-round pick. 

Los Angeles Kings trade Austin Wagner to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations.

Philadelphia Flyers trade Patrick Brown to the Ottawa Senators for a 2023 sixth-round pick.

Minnesota Wild acquire forward Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings in return for a fourth-round pick in 2023.

Calgary Flames acquire winger Dryden Hunt from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for winger Radim Zahorna.

The Minnesota Wild traded winger Jordan Greenway to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second-round pick in 2023 (originally from the Vegas Golden Knights) and a 2024 fifth-rounder.

Anaheim Ducks trade Dmitry Kulikov to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Brock McGinn and a third-round draft pick.

Winnipeg Jets acquire Vladislav Namestnikov from the San Jose Sharks for a 2025 fourth-rounder. 

Los Angeles Kings trade Brendan Lemieux and a fifth-round pick in 2024 to the Philadelphia Flyers for Zack MacEwen

The New Jersey Devils acquire Curtis Lazar from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-acquire center Nick Bonino from the San Jose Sharks in a three-team deal involving the Montreal Canadiens. The Sharks received a fifth-rounder in 2024 and a seventh-rounder in 2023 from the Penguins plus a minor-league defenseman Arvid Henrikson from the Canadiens. The Sharks flipped the fifth-rounder to the Canadiens for retaining 50 percent of Bonino’s $2.050 million cap hit. The Habs also received defenseman Tony Sund from the Penguins. 

The Detroit Red Wings ship winger Jakub Vrana to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for minor-league center Dylan McLaughlin and a 2025 seven-round pick.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 21, 2022

by | Oct 21, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 21, 2022

Recapping games from a busy Thursday night includes the Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin setting a league record, 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first goal, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin became the first defenseman in league history to score in each of his first four games of the season as his club doused the Calgary Flames 6-3. Alex Tuch tallied a hat trick while Eric Comrie kicked out 40 shots for the win. Flames winger Milan Lucic skated in his 1,100th career NHL game.

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dahlin is off to a terrific start and leads all NHL blueliners in scoring. The Sabres’ speed made the difference in this one as they overcame an early 1-0 deficit with three first-period goals. They’re still giving up a lot of shots but their goaltending has been solid thus far.

Montreal Canadiens rookie (and 2022 first-overall draft pick) Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first NHL goal in a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki scored a Pavel Datsyuk-like goal on a penalty shot while Jake Allen made 25 saves. Travis Boyd had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The rout was on for the Canadiens as they grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first period. Rookie defenseman Arber Xhekaj endeared himself to the hometown crowd with a decisive win in a fight with Coyotes winger Zack Kassian.

Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a goal and three assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers over the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4. Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell made 36 stops. Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov tallied a hat trick.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers rookie Dylan Holloway missed this game as he’s listed as day-to-day with a head injury.

Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nick Robertson scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, to drop the Dallas Stars 3-2. Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves for the Leafs while Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood stopped 40 shots.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Robertson’s winner was the result of a smart defensive play on his part when he broke up a two-on-one by stripping the puck from Stars captain Jamie Benn and sending the play the other way. He finished it with a one-timer off a pass from Auston Matthews.

The Pittsburgh Penguins downed the Los Angeles Kings 6-1. Jeff Petry had a goal and Tristan Jarry kicked out 39 shots. It was a costly win for the Penguins as Jake Guentzel suffered an undisclosed injury late in the game.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Penguins have scored six goals in three of their first four games this season.

Kirill Kaprizov’s overtime goal gave the Minnesota Wild their first win of the season as they dropped the Vancouver Canucks 4-3. Kaprizov finished with three points while Mats Zuccarello scored twice and added an assist. Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski played in his 1,000th career NHL contest while teammate Jordan Greenway left with a suspected shoulder injury. Greenway was making his season debut after recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks remain winless (0-3-2) to start the season. It was also the fifth straight game in which they blew a lead.

Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson tallied twice and Brady Tkachuk collected two assists as their club overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals 5-2. Darcy Kuemper made 39 saves in a losing cause for the Capitals while Alex Ovechkin was held scoreless. The Senators unveiled a banner to their late owner Eugene Melnyk in a pregame ceremony to honor his memory.

The San Jose Sharks picked up their first win of the season by nipping the New York Rangers 3-2 on an overtime goal by Erik Karlsson, who also collected an assist in this contest. Rangers winger Artemi Panarin scored to extend his points streak to five games. He also leads the league with 11 points.

Four unanswered third-period goals carried the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Nashville Predators 5-3. Johnny Gaudreau started and ended the rally with two goals.

New Jersey Devils winger Ondrej Palat tallied twice while teammate Nico Hischier had a three-point performance to beat the New York Islanders 4-1. Jesper Bratt collected two assists for the Devils. Anders Lee scored for the Islanders while teammate Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves.

Jack Eichel scored two goals, Alex Pietrangelo collected two assists and Adin Hill stopped 26 shots as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2. Eichel has five points in as many games.

A shootout goal by Taylor Hall lifted the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Hall also opened the scoring during the second period while Frank Vatrano replied for the Ducks.

IN OTHER NEWS…

CBS SPORTS: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews is being evaluated for an injury suffered during their 4-3 overtime loss on Wednesday to the Jets.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: The Avalanche also claimed winger Dryden Hunt off waivers from the Rangers.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Limited salary-cap space is preventing the Panthers from signing Eric Staal. The veteran forward attended training camp on a professional tryout offer and is still skating with them during practice as a non-roster player.

CALGARY HOCKEY NOW: The Flames signed backup goaltender Dan Vladar to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $2.2 million.

NHL.COM: The 32 NHL teams yesterday unveiled their “Reverse Retro” jerseys for this season.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 20, 2022

by | Oct 20, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 20, 2022

All three of Wednesday’s games end in 4-3 scores plus the latest on Gabriel Landeskog, Aaron Ekblad, Jake Muzzin and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: An overtime goal by Neal Pionk lifted the Winnipeg Jets over the Colorado Avalanche 4-3. Pionk finished the night with two goals while Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for the win. Mikko Rantanen scored twice for the Avalanche while Valeri Nichushkin had a two-point game.

Colorado Avalanche winger Gabriel Landeskog (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Both clubs were without a key player in this contest. The Avalanche announced before this game that Gabriel Landeskog underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and will be sidelined for 12 weeks. The Avs captain had surgery last March on his knee and returned for the playoffs but it continued to bother him throughout the offseason and sidelined him through training camp and the start of this season.

Meanwhile, Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers was sidelined by an undisclosed injury and remains questionable for Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The club also announced that head coach Rick Bowness will return on Saturday from his bout with COVID-19.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to defeat the Seattle Kraken 4-3. Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko collected three assists while goalie Jordan Binnington got the win with a 32-save performance. Alex Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstand each had two assists for the Kraken, who are 1-2-2 in their first five games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich missed this game with a lower-body injury.

The Florida Panthers got two goals from Carter Verhaeghe as they held off the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 to hand the latter their first loss of the season. Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett each collected two assists while Travis Konecny and James van Riemsdyk were among the Flyers’ goal scorers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers played this game without top defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who was placed on long-term injury reserve with a lower-body injury. There is no timetable for his return, which is bad news for the Panthers’ already thin blueline depth. Speaking of the Flyers, they claimed center Lukas Sedlak off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche.

HEADLINES

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs placed defenseman Jake Muzzin (neck) on injured reserve. Meanwhile, head coach Sheldon Keefe walked back his critical comments aimed at his elite players following their 4-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs lost two games of their first four games to teams they should easily defeat (Arizona, Montreal) and barely won the other two games. That has a number of their followers already on edge. Keefe’s clarification drew criticism from social media with some suggesting that it’s indicative of the Leafs’ fragility this early in the season.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and will be out of the lineup for an indefinite period.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Here’s hoping Vrana gets the help he needs to resume his playing career and get his life back on track away from the arena.

WASHINGTON HOCKEY NOW: Capitals winger Connor Brown (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve.

NHL.COM: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Goaltender Jake Allen has returned to the Canadiens lineup. He missed Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins as his wife was giving birth to the couple’s third daughter.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the Allen family on their new arrival.

TWINCITIES.COM: Jordan Greenway makes his season debut with the Minnesota Wild. The 25-year-old winger underwent off-season shoulder surgery. He also underwent procedures to have a cyst removed from his ankle and to have his wisdom teeth removed.

SPORTSNET’s Elliotte Friedman reported New York Rangers forward Dryden Hunt and Vancouver Canucks winger Phillip Di Giuseppe were placed on waivers yesterday.

THE ATHLETIC: Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser signed a PTO contract with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

CALGARY SUN: The city of Calgary and the Flames organization have restarted formal talks on the construction of a new arena. Negotiations fell apart last year over cost overages weeks before construction was to start on a $650 million project.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wake me when you’ve got a deal. And yes, I believe they will hammer out a deal.