NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 16, 2023

by | May 16, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 16, 2023

The Stars advance to the Western Conference Finals, the notable highlights from the Leafs exit interviews with the media, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

STARS DEFEAT KRAKEN, ADVANCE TO THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

NHL.COM: The Dallas Stars move on to the Western Conference Finals after nipping the Seattle Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 of their second-round series. Roope Hintz opened the scoring, Wyatt Johnston tallied the game-winner and Jake Oettinger stopped 22 shots for the Stars. Oliver Bjorkstand scored in the dying seconds of the third period and Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves for the Kraken.

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars will face off again the Vegas Golden Knights when the Western Conference Finals begin on Friday, May 19. Another bounce-back performance in goal by Oettinger was crucial to the Stars’ victory in Game 7. Johnston, meanwhile, became the youngest player in NHL history to score a series-clinching goal in Game 7.

The Kraken’s first-ever NHL playoff appearance was a memorable one, upsetting the 2022 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in seven games and pushing the Stars to the limit in this series. However, they looked like they were running out of gas in Game 7. If not for Grubauer’s goaltending the Stars’ margin of victory might’ve been higher. Still, this was a great experience for this second-year franchise, providing them with a solid foundation of experience to build on.

As noted above, the Western Conference Finals between the Stars and Golden Knights begins in Las Vegas on Friday, May 19 at 8:30 pm ET. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers will face off in the Eastern Conference Finals with Game 1 in Raleigh on Thursday, May 18 at 8 pm ET.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LEAFS EXIT INTERVIEWS

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Kyle Dubas will either return to the Toronto Maple Leafs as general manager or step away. During his club’s exit interviews with the media on Monday, Dubas indicated that he won’t entertain a front-office position with another club and intends to consult his family before reaching his decision.

Dubas is coming to the end of his five-year contract. He indicated that he will be meeting with team president Brendan Shanahan and the owners of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. However, the final say will be with his family, who endured what Dubas called a taxing year. He spent considerable time away from them as he attended nearly every one of the club’s home and road games this season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Recent rumors had linked Dubas to the Pittsburgh Penguins as they’re in the market for a new general manager. Given his remarks, they’ll have to look elsewhere. The Pens have reportedly interviewed 10-12 candidates including former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and Peter Chiarelli, the former GM of the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers.

THE SCORE: Dubas indicated that he would take nothing off the table in terms of his coaching staff and roster if he returns as Leafs general manager. “I would consider anything with our group here that would allow us a better chance to win the Stanley Cup,” he said.

THE ATHLETIC: Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe admitted his fate with the club is out of his control. He has a year remaining on his contract and hopes to return behind the bench. Dubas indicated that there will a full evaluation of everything on the team this season, including Keefe’s performance.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs have been a strong regular-season team with Keefe, including a franchise-record 115-point performance in 2021-22 and 111 points this season. However, they’ve only won one playoff series since he took over as head coach in 2019-20.

THE SCORE: Auston Matthews doesn’t intend on leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s a year away from unrestricted free-agent eligibility but indicated his intention is to stay put. Matthews said signing an extension with the Leafs before next season is important to him and believes it “will work itself out in due time.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews’ willingness to ink an extension is good news for the Leafs and their fans. How long that deal will be and for how much will become hot topics of speculation in Toronto. There’s already media chatter suggesting that he might seek a four-year deal worth an average annual value of $16 million. A maximum eight-year deal could see him pull in an AAV of $13.5 million.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Forget about the scenario of John Tavares waiving his no-movement clause. Asked if he would do so as part of any trade, the Leafs captain expressed his love for the club and his teammates. “I made a commitment here for seven years to be a Leaf and I want to be here,” said Tavares, adding that he takes his role of team captain very seriously.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The theory about Tavares waiving his NMC came about because of the Leafs limited cap space due in part to his hefty $11 million cap hit through 2024-25. There was an assumption among some observers that he might do so if management approached him. Based on his reply, that’s not going to happen.

TSN: Michael Bunting said he’s had no contract extension talks with Leafs management this season. The 27-year-old winger is set to become a UFA on July 1. Trade-deadline acquisition Ryan O’Reilly is also due to become a UFA this summer and sounded more inclined to test the market than re-sign with the Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Don’t be surprised if Bunting and O’Reilly are playing elsewhere next season. The Leafs likely can’t afford to retain them even if they wanted to bring them back.

SPORTSNET: Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov revealed he suffered a neck injury in Game 3 against the Florida Panthers that sidelined him for the remainder of that series. A restricted free agent this summer, Samsonov indicated he hopes to re-sign with the Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Samsonov is coming off a one-year, $1.8 million contract and has arbitration rights this summer. I expect he’ll be re-signed to a multi-year deal and share the goaltending duties next season with Joseph Woll, who’s signed through 2024-25 at a very affordable $766K.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Calgary Flames have reportedly sought permission from the Leafs to speak with assistant general manager Brandon Pridham. They’re on the hunt for a replacement for Brad Treliving, who stepped down as GM last month.

IN OTHER NEWS…

OTTAWA SUN: The bidding for the Senators is down to four binding offers ranging from $850 million to $1 billion. Toronto billionaires Jeffrey and Michael Kimel of the Harlo Capital Group, Michael Andlauer of ATS Healthcare Group, Toronto real estate magnate Steve Apostolopoulos and Los Angeles producer Neko Sparks entered their bids by Monday’s due date.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s expected one of them will receive preferred bidder status within the next couple of weeks.

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Carolina Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen (hand injury) is moving one step closer to returning to the lineup. He shed his non-contact jersey for practice on Monday and is expected to return to action at some point in the Eastern Conference Finals.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko hopes to gain more playing time, including on the power play, under the club’s new coaching staff.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 9, 2023

by | May 9, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 9, 2023

The Golden Knights regain their series lead over the Oilers while the Blackhawks win the draft lottery. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS DEFEAT OILERS IN GAME 3

NHL.COM: The Vegas Golden Knights regained the lead in their second-round series over the Edmonton Oilers with a 5-1 victory on Monday evening. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice while Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist. Adin Hill made 24 saves for the win relief of Laurent Brossoit, who suffered what appeared to be an injured right leg in the first period. Warren Foegele replied for the Oilers while Stuart Skinner got the hook after giving up four goals on 23 shots.

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No word yet regarding the severity of Brossoit’s injury. An update is expected sometime today. Hill did a fine job covering off for his sidelined teammate while the Golden Knights limited their trips to the penalty box, silencing the Oilers’ vaunted power play. They also effectively neutralized their opponents at even strength.

This was the worst performance by the Oilers in this postseason. They scored the first goal but spent the rest of the game on their heels, struggling to generate quality scoring chances while making costly mistakes in their own zone. They’ll need a much better effort in Game 4 on Wednesday or face returning to Las Vegas on the brink of elimination.

BLACKHAWKS WIN 2023 DRAFT LOTTERY

The Chicago Blackhawks won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery, earning the right to select top prospect Connor Bedard in the first round of the draft on June 28. The Blackhawks had the third-best odds (11.5) of winning the lottery.

The Anaheim Ducks had the best odds (18.5) but slipped to second overall while the Columbus Blue Jackets (13.5) will pick third.

The Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick was 12th overall. As per the conditions of the Jakob Chychrun trade on March 1, that pick belongs to the Arizona Coyotes (stick tap to Cap Friendly).

1. Chicago Blackhawks

2. Anaheim Ducks

3. Columbus Blue Jackets

4. San Jose Sharks

5. Montreal Canadiens

6. Arizona Coyotes

7. Philadelphia Flyers

8. Washington Capitals

9. Detroit Red Wings

10. St. Louis Blues

11. Vancouver Canucks

12. Arizona Coyotes (via Ottawa Senators)

13. Buffalo Sabres

14. Pittsburgh Penguins

15. Nashville Predators

16. Calgary Flames

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: Choosing Connor Bedard will positively affect the Blackhawks on and off the ice. He’ll help to improve the on-ice product while giving their fans a watchable star as the club continues its rebuilding program.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bedard on his own won’t turn the Blackhawks back into Stanley Cup contenders again. Management still faces the daunting task of surrounding him with a strong supporting cast via the draft, trades and free agency over the next several years. Nevertheless, Bedard gives them a solid foundation on which to base their rebuild.

There was a negative reaction on social media over the Blackhawks winning this lottery. The conspiracy-minded believe it was rigged to help the Hawks, though these are the type of people who would claim the lottery is on the level if their team had won.

Many were angry that the Blackhawks hadn’t had their 2023 pick stripped away as part of their punishment after an investigation two years ago revealed the club covered up Kyle Beach’s allegations that he was sexually assaulted in 2010 by the team’s video coach. General manager Stan Bowman was forced to step down for his role in the cover-up as did former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville from his job as Florida Panthers head coach.

Given the Hawks odds, everyone knew they had a good chance of winning the lottery but no concern was raised before the event. While the outrage is understandable it probably wouldn’t have been on the same level had the Hawks got the second or third-overall pick or if they wound up much lower in the draft order.

NEW YORK POST: ESPN insider Kevin Weekes inadvertently revealed the Blue Jackets had fallen to No. 3 before deputy commissioner Bill Daly officially revealed it. The incident occurred just before the network went to a commercial break.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some folks on social media saw this as proof that the lottery was rigged. They overlooked the fact that the lottery had been held well beforehand and not in real time on the air as Daly announced each position in the draft order. The network knew the results before the show went on the air and wrote their script accordingly. It was likely a technical error that led to Weekes’ accidentally revealing the Jackets’ position.

IN OTHER NEWS…

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is listed as day-to-day after being struck in the face by a puck during Game 3 of his club’s second-round series with the Seattle Kraken. He is not in concussion protocol but is uncertain for Game 4 tonight in Seattle.

TSN: Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov is feeling better and will undergo tests (including an MRI) to determine his status for Game 4 against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Samsonov suffered an upper-body injury during Game 3 after teammate Luke Schenn accidentally fell on him trying to break up a play near the Leafs net.

New Jersey Devils winger Tomas Tatar was fined $5,000.00 for high-sticking Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho during Game 3 of their second-round series on Sunday.

CBS SPORTS: Speaking of the Hurricanes, goaltender Antti Raanta participated in practice yesterday after missing the last two games due to illness.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Panthers signed prospect Mackie Samoskevich to a three-year entry-level contract.

ILLEGAL CURVE: Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter will play for Switzerland in the upcoming IIHF World Championship

SPORTSNET: The Vancouver Canucks were fined $50,000.00 for violating the NHL’s offseason training rules. They reportedly held on-ice sessions with a number of players in mid-April after the season ended, which is a violation of the CBA.

NHL.COM: Former NHL winger Vic Stasiuk passed away over the weekend at age 93. Stasiuak spent 14 seasons in the league from 1949-50 to 1962-63 with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. In 745 regular-season games, he scored 183 goals and 437 points along with 34 points in 68 playoff games. Between 1969-70 to 1972-73, he was head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, California Golden Seals and Vancouver Canucks.

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










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 8, 2023

by | May 8, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 8, 2023

The Panthers take a stranglehold on their series with the Leafs while the Kraken and Devils get lopsided wins in their respective series. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: An overtime goal by Sam Reinhart gave the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and a 3-0 stranglehold lead in their best-of-seven second-round series. Anthony Duclair and Carter Verhaeghe scored while Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for the Panthers.

Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart (NHL Images).

Sam Lafferty and Erik Gustafsson tallied for the Leafs, who also lost goaltender Ilya Samsonov to an upper-body injury when Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn accidentally slid into him in the second period. Game 4 is Wednesday evening in Florida.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Now the Leafs’ season is truly on the brink as they try to become only the fifth team in Stanley Cup playoff history to overcome an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series. If they play in that game as they did in Game 3 they’ll be booking their tee times for the weekend.

The Leafs’ best players – Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander – came up small in this must-win game. Credit the Panthers for doing a great job in shutting down the Leafs’ high-scoring foursome. Maybe some of those guys are playing hurt which would also explain that poor effort in Game 3. Nevertheless, they need a better effort in Game 4 or this series is over.

It remains to be seen if they’ll have to do it without Samsonov as there’s no word yet regarding the seriousness of his injury or how long he’ll be sidelined. Joseph Woll did his best coming in cold to replace Samsonov but his teammates let him down with their poor defensive play on Reinhart’s goal. The Panthers forward was untouched as he gained the Leafs’ zone to create the play that led to his game-winning tally.

The Seattle Kraken are two games away from reaching the Western Conference Finals with a 7-2 drubbing of the Dallas Stars. They pulled away from the Stars with a five-goal second period. Matty Beniers, Justin Schultz, Eeli Tolvanen and Alex Wennberg each had a goal and an assist while Philipp Grubauer turned in a 24-save effort for the win. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger got the hook after giving up five goals on 17 shots.

Game 4 goes Tuesday night with the Kraken holding a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen left the game in the second period after being struck in the face by the puck seconds before Kraken winger Jordan Eberle opened the scoring.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars seemed rattled by Heiskanen’s departure and the Kraken quickly capitalized to put the game out of reach before the period had ended. Stars coach Peter DeBoer said the defenseman suffered “a pretty bad cut” but there was talk that he might’ve returned to this game had the score been closer. That suggests he’ll be back in the lineup for Game 4.

New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes had two goals and two assists while brother Luke Hughes collected two assists in an 8-4 romp over the Carolina Hurricanes. Dawson Mercer had three assists for the Devils, who cut the Hurricanes’ series lead down to two games to one. Seth Jarvis and Jordan Martinook each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Game 4 is Tuesday night in New Jersey.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes became the fourth team in NHL history to score three shorthanded goals in a playoff game. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome a Devils team motivated to avoid falling further behind in this series. Canes goalie Frederik Andersen was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov after giving up four goals on 12 shots.

IN OTHER NEWS…

TSN: Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine will skip the upcoming IIHF World Championships. He hasn’t fully recovered from a strained triceps that forced him to miss the Jackets’ final dozen games of the regular season.

HOCKEYSVERIGE.SE: Anaheim Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg hopes to one day return to his hometown club of Brynäs IF in the Swedish Hockey League. The 32-year-old forward played for them prior to beginning his 12-year NHL career.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Silfverberg has one season remaining on his contract with the Ducks. He could be eyeing a return to Brynäs IF when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next July.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 7, 2022

by | Nov 7, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 7, 2022

The Leafs, Red Wings and Panthers emerge the winners in Sunday’s game, the Bruins release Mitchell Miller two days after signing him, and the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk and the Canadiens’ Josh Anderson get suspended. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares’ 399th career goal was a game-winner in a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Erik Kallgren made 29 saves for his first career NHL victory while Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander also scored for the Leafs (7-4-2). Stefan Noesen replied for the 8-3-1 Hurricanes.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs have won three straight in early November after stumbling through October with a 4-4-2 record. Earlier in the day, they announced goaltender Ilya Samsonov was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury and could be sidelined for at least a week.

The Detroit Red Wings nipped the New York Rangers 3-2 on an overtime goal by Dominik Kubalik. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 27 shots for the win as the Wings improved to 7-3-2 while the Rangers fell to 6-4-3. Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko scored for the Blueshirts.

Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour had a goal and three assists to lead his club over the Anaheim Ducks 5-3. Sam Reinhart scored two goals and Spencer Knight made 32 saves as the Panthers improved to 7-5-1. John Gibson kicked out 43 shots for the Ducks as they fell to 4-8-1.

HEADLINES

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Two days after the Bruins signed Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract, team president Cam Neely yesterday released a statement announcing they were parting ways with the 20-year-old defenseman effective immediately.

The Bruins came under heavy scrutiny for signing Miller, who had pleaded guilty in juvenile court six years ago for racially and physically abusing and bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities.

In his statement, Neely indicated the Bruins’ decision to sign Miller was based on “careful consideration” of the facts as they were aware of them. The club believed the incident was an isolated one and that Miller had taken “meaningful action to reform and was committed to ongoing development.” However, Neely claimed the decision to terminate the contract was based “on new information.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins’ front office faced a firestorm of criticism for signing Miller. It came not just from around the league but also from their fans, from local media, and from Bruins veterans like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Nick Foligno. Even league commissioner Gary Bettman expressed his displeasure when asked about the signing on Saturday.

Neely and the rest of the Bruins front office could’ve spared themselves all of this had they properly vetted Miller’s past in the first place. This was not an “isolated incident” as Miller engaged in physical and verbal abuse of his victim for several years A detailed report about his actions by the Arizona Republic prompted the Arizona Coyotes to relinquish his rights just weeks after selecting him in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL draft. He offered no attempt at contrition until about a week before signing with the Bruins.

The fallout from this could leave a stain on the Bruins’ organization for some time.

NHL.COM: The department of player safety suspended Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk for two games for high-sticking Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick on Saturday. Tkachuk jabbed the blade of his stick into the cage on Quick’s mask. The Kings goalie was not injured.

Montreal Canadiens winger Josh Anderson received a two-game suspension for boarding Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on Saturday. Pietrangelo was bleeding from the nose following the hit but stayed in the game.

DAILY FACEOFF: Detroit Red Wings forward Filip Zadina is listed as month-to-month after suffering a leg injury blocking a shot against the New York Islanders on Saturday.

TWINCITIES.COM: The Minnesota Wild placed Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman on injured reserve with upper-body injuries. They recalled forwards Adam Beckman and Joseph Cramarossa from their AHL affiliate in Iowa.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Avalanche defenseman Bo Byram is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

GOPHNX.COM: Dylan Guenther will be staying with the Arizona Coyotes this season. The 2021 first-round pick earned his place with two goals and six points in nine games.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: The Blackhawks’ rebuilding process is being felt at the gate this season. They’re averaging 14, 788 fans at the United Center thus far. That’s the lowest it’s been since 2007-08.

THE DENVER POST: Colorado Avalanche broadcaster and former NHL forward Peter McNab has died of cancer at age 70.

Considered “The Father of Colorado Hockey”, McNab was a standout player at Denver University and went on to play 14 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils from 1973-74 to 1986-87, scoring 363 goals and 813 points in 955 career games. He had been calling Avalanche games since their first season in 1995-96 and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2021.

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










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 17, 2022

by | Oct 17, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 17, 2022

Brad Marchand is practicing with the Bruins, Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury acknowledges his poor start, Matt Murray’s injury could have a silver lining for the Leafs, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL didn’t schedule any games for Sunday, Oct. 17, 2022, so no game recaps this morning.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Brad Marchand returned to practice with his Bruins teammates for the first time since undergoing double hip surgery in May. The 34-year-old winger was a full participant in a light on-ice practice Sunday. “I feel really good. Today was more of a mental victory than anything, “ said Marchand. “It’s been a long four months.”

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marchand is expected to return to action around the American Thanksgiving long weekend in late November. He’ll be participating in morning skates with his teammates for the time being.

Speaking of the Bruins, they recalled defenseman Dan Renouf. That move suggests Brandon Carlo could be sidelined for a while with an upper-body injury suffered on Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes.

TWINCITIES.COM: Marc-Andre Fleury acknowledged his poor start to this season and admitted he has to improve his play. The 37-year-old goaltender gave up 11 goals on 49 shots over his first two games and was booed off the ice by Wild fans during their 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. “I don’t blame them; I’d boo myself,” said Fleury. “I was not good. I feel bad for the fans. I feel bad for my teammates.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild signed Fleury to a two-year contract and handed him the starter’s job after trading Cam Talbot to the Ottawa Senators. He’s at a point in his career where age could be catching up with him. If so, the Wild could be in serious trouble between the pipes this season.

TORONTO SUN: Michael Traikos suggests losing goalie Matt Murray for four weeks to an adductor injury could be the best thing that could’ve happened to the Maple Leafs. With Murray on long-term injured reserve, it provided them with the salary-cap wiggle room to recall Wayne Simmonds, Nick Robertson and Victor Mete.

This situation gives them an opportunity to fully evaluate Ilya Samsonov in the starter’s job. It also provides the club with a much-needed kick in the pants after they seemed to sleep-walk through their first two games of the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The more important factor is Samsonov’s performance. If he proves up to the challenge as a starting goaltender, the Leafs will be fine. Their season could depend on it.

NEW YORK POST: Sammy Blais returns to the Rangers lineup tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. It’s his first NHL regular-season game since suffering a season-ending knee injury last November. An upper-body injury suffered during preseason play kept him out of the lineup through the Rangers’ first three games of this season.

NHLPA released a statement on Saturday after the NHL announced it was closing its investigation into allegations of sexual assault and grooming leveled at Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Cole due to lack of evidence.

 

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Tyler Pitlick is still skating in practice with the St. Louis Blues despite being released from his professional tryout offer last week. He could earn a contract with the club with Logan Brown looking like he’ll be headed to injured reserve.

THE PROVINCE: It appears Tucker Poolman could be sidelined longer than anticipated as the Vancouver Canucks recalled Noah Juulsen. Poolman was injured during the Canucks 3-2 loss on Saturday to the Philadelphia Flyers.

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks suggests the NHL and NHLPA should reach an agreement at the end of this season to spread the anticipated $9.5 million increase in the salary cap in 2024-25 and 2025-26 over the next three seasons. It would provide an annual cap increase of $3 million in each season, giving some much-needed cap relief to a number of teams next season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Brooks points to a number of teams forced to ice reduced rosters already this season due to constraints brought about by the flattened salary cap. It will rise by just $1 million for next season before jumping by a projected $4.5 million in 2024-25 and another $4 million in 2025-26.

Cap Friendly indicates 13 teams are at or above this season’s $82.5 million cap with another four clubs carrying under $250K in cap room. That makes it difficult for those clubs to ice full rosters or call up replacements from the minors if injuries strike. It could become a problem over the course of the season and perhaps prompt some team owners to call upon the league for some form of cap relief of the kind suggested by Brooks.

The argument can be made that it’s the fault of those teams for overspending on talent. However, some of those big contracts were signed several years ago before the COVID-19 pandemic flattened hockey-related revenues in 2019-20 and 2020-21, freezing the cap over the past two seasons and leading to marginal increases for this season and the next.

Those contracts were signed with the understanding that the cap would continue rising based on the annual projections from league headquarters. No one expected a global pandemic that led to shortened schedules and significantly reduced revenue nor can they be faulted for that lack of foresight.










Notable NHL Free Agent Signings and Trades – July 13, 2022

by | Jul 13, 2022

Notable NHL Free Agent Signings and Trades – July 13, 2022

The following is a list of notable NHL free-agent signings and trades during the opening day of free agency. This list will be updated throughout the day as details become available. I’ll also be doing live grades of today’s biggest signings on Bleacher Report.

Columbus Blue Jackets sign Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year, $66.5 million contract.

Seattle Kraken sign defenseman Justin Schultz to a two-year, $6 million contract.

Vegas Golden Knights trade winger Max Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for future considerations.

Ottawa Senators trade winger Connor Brown to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a second-round pick in 2024.

San Jose Sharks sign center Nico Sturm to a three-year, $6 million contract.

Detroit Red Wings sign David Perron to a two-year, $9.5 million contract.

Detroit Red Wings sign Dominik Kubalik to a two-year, $5 million contract.

Seattle Kraken sign Andre Burakovsky to a five-year, $27.5 million contract.

Detroit Red Wings sign Ben Chiarot to a four-year, $19 million contract.

Pittsburgh Penguins sign Jan Rutta to a three-year, $8.25 million contract.

Florida Panthers sign Eric and Marc Staal to identical one-year, $750K contracts.

Colorado Avalanche sign winger Artturi Lehkonen to a five-year, $22.5 million contract.

Dallas Stars sign winger Mason Marchment to a four-year, $18 million contract.

Tampa Bay Lightning sign Ian Cole to a one-year, $3 million contract.

Washington Capitals sign Charlie Lindgren to a three-year, $3.3 million contract.

Columbus Blue Jackets sign Erik Gudbranson to a four-year, $16 million contract.

Tampa Bay Lightning sign Mikhail Sergachev to an eight-year, $68 million contract extension effective 2023-24.

The Lightning signed center Anthony Cirelli to an eight-year, $50 million contract extension effective 2023-24.

The Lightning signed defenseman Erik Cernak to an eight-year, $41.6 million contract extension effective 2023-24.

Washington Capitals sign goaltender Darcy Kuemper to a five-year, $26.26 million contract.

San Jose Sharks trade defenseman Brent Burns and center Lane Pederson to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for winger Steven Lorentz, goaltender Eetu Makiniemi and a conditional 2023 third-round pick. The Sharks also retain 33 percent of Burns’ $8 million annual average value through 2024-25.

New York Rangers sign center Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year, $39.38 million contract.

Detroit Red Wings sign forward Andrew Copp to a five-year, $28.13 million contract.

Vancouver Canucks sign winger Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year, $19 million contract.

Chicago Blackhawks sign forwards Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou to one-year contracts worth $3 million apiece.

St. Louis Blues re-sign defenseman Nick Leddy to a four-year, $16 million contract.

Ottawa Senators sign forward Claude Giroux to a three-year contract with an annual cap hit of $6.5 million.

Edmonton Oilers signed goaltender Jack Campbell to a five-year contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $5 million (as per TSN’s Darren Dreger).

Buffalo Sabres re-sign restricted free agent winger Victor Olofsson to a two-year contract with an annual average value of $4.75 million.

Toronto Maple Leafs sign goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $1.8 million deal (as per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli).

New Jersey Devils trade winger Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Erik Haula (as per TSN’s Darren Dreger and Daily Faceoff).

Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Josh Manson to a four-year contract with an annual average value of $4.5 million (as per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun).

St. Louis Blues sign forward Robert Thomas to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension (as per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli).