NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 17, 2026

by | Feb 17, 2026

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 17, 2026

The qualification round of the Olympic Men’s hockey tournament goes on Tuesday, the Hurricanes sign goalie Brandon Bussi to a new contract, the Sharks terminate Jeff Skinner’s contract, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

OLYMPIC MEN’S HOCKEY NEWS

NHL.COM: The qualification round for Olympic Men’s ice hockey goes today. France takes on Germany, Italy faces Switzerland, Denmark meets Czechia, and Latvia faces off against Sweden.

The winners of this round advance to the quarterfinal on Wednesday. France or Germany will go on to face Slovakia, Italy or Switzerland will meet Finland, Denmark or Czechia will play Canada, and Latvia or Sweden will go up against the United States.

Czechia winger David Pastrnak (NHL.com).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Most media predictions have Germany, Switzerland, Czechia, and Sweden advancing to the quarterfinal.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Czechia winger and Bruins star David Pastrnak said he felt that his performance must be better as his club entered the qualification round. Pastrnak had a goal and two assists in the preliminary round as Czechia went 1-0-1-1. Avalanche winger Martin Necas led Czechia with two goals and three assists.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Czechia needs more production from Pastrnak if they hope to win a medal in this tournament.

DAILY FACEOFF: The boards at Santagiulia Arena will be a lighter color when the men’s qualification round begins Tuesday. This color change comes following feedback from teams and national Olympic committees.

The previous darker color of the boards may have contributed to United States goaltender Jeremy Swayman giving up a goal from center ice during his club’s game against Denmark in the preliminary round.

SPORTSNET: The French Ice Hockey Federation suspended defenseman Pierre Crinon of France from further competition in this tournament, citing his “provocative behavior” during France’s 10-2 loss to Canada on Sunday.

Crinon fought Canadian winger Tom Wilson during that game, resulting in both players receiving match penalties. They did not receive supplemental discipline for their actions from the International Ice Hockey Federation.

A statement released by Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, president of the French Ice Hockey Federation, claimed that Crinon’s actions were “a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”

NHL HEADLINES

THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Carolina Hurricanes signed goaltender Brandon Bussi to a three-year, $5.7 million contract extension.

Bussi, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers at the start of this season. He’s become one of the biggest stories of the regular season, sporting a record of 23-3-1 with a .908 save percentage and two shutouts.

To celebrate Bussi’s new contract, the Hurricanes have made a $10,000 donation to the Autism Society of North Carolina. Bussi’s younger brother, Dylan, has autism.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bussi became the fastest goaltender to win 20 games in an NHL season, doing so in 24 games.

The average annual value of his new one-way contract is $1.9 million. That’s an affordable move by the Hurricanes while still giving Bussi a nice raise over the $775,000 cap hit on his current two-way deal. This is also an insurance move, given that oft-injured starter Frederik Andersen is UFA-eligible this summer and questions over Pyotr Kochetkov’s development.

TSN: The San Jose Sharks placed winger Jeff Skinner on unconditional waivers on Monday with the intention of terminating his contract by mutual agreement. Skinner, 33, will become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers on Tuesday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Skinner signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Sharks last summer. He has 13 points in 34 games this season, and has been a healthy scratch since Jan. 15. It will be interesting to see if he lands with another NHL club.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 15, 2026

by | Feb 15, 2026

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 15, 2026

Slovakia clinches first place in Group B, the United States survives a scare against Denmark, Latvia upsets Germany, and more Olympic Men’s hockey coverage in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPPING SATURDAY’S OLYMPIC MEN’S HOCKEY ACTION.

NHL.COM: Slovakia dropped a hard-fought 5-3 decision against Sweden, but a last-minute goal by Dalibor Dvorsky enabled them to clinch first place in Group B based on goal differential. Juraj Slafkovsky and Martin Gernat each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Samuel Hlavaj kicked out 46 of 51 shots for Slovakia (2-0-0-1), who advance to the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Slovakia winger Juraj Slafkovsky (AP.com).

Lucas Raymond had a goal and two assists, Elias Pettersson tallied twice, Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots for Sweden (2-0-0-1), who finished third in the Group and will play in the qualification round on Tuesday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Slovakia has exceeded expectations in this tournament. Despite the loss to Sweden, they were overjoyed when Dvorsky scored what proved to be the clinching goal in Group B. “It’s probably the best loss I ever had,” joked Slafkovsky, who finished Saturday tied with Canada’s Connor McDavid for the tournament scoring lead with six points.

The United States overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Denmark 6-3. Jack Eichel led the way with a goal and an assist. At the same time, Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, and Jake Guentzel also scored for Team USA (2-0-0-2), who can clinch first place in Group C and a bye to the quarterfinals with anything other than a regulation loss to Germany on Sunday. Nick Olesen, Nicholas Jensen, and Phillip Bruggieser scored for Denmark, who are winless through two games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Team USA seemed disjointed in the first period, during which Swayman gave up a 95-foot shot that gave the Danes a 2-1 lead. They may have been guilty of taking the Danes lightly, but they took over the game thanks to Eichel and Tkachuk in the second period.

The Danes made it interesting through two periods, narrowing the Americans’ lead to 4-3 by the end of the second period before Guentzel and Hughes put the game out of reach. Danish goalie Mads Sogaard stopped 32 of 37 shots before leaving the game in the third period with an injury.

Latvia (1-0-0-1) got two goals from Dans Locmelis, Zemgus Girgensons collected two assists, and Arturs Silovs made 26 saves as they held on to upset Germany 4-3, giving their country its first Olympic win in men’s hockey since 2014. Lukas Reichel, Lukas Kalble, and Tim Stutzle replied for Germany, who are also 1-0-0-1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Germany faces the United States on Sunday and could clinch first place in Group C with a regulation win. Latvia will meet Denmark on Sunday.

Finland (2-0-0-1) clinched second place in Group B by crushing Italy 11-0. Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund, Kaapo Kakko, and Joel Kiviranta each scored twice while Juuse Saros had a 15-save shutout. Italy lost all three of its games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Finland played without forwards Anton Lundell and Oliver Kapanen. They were kept out of this game because Lundell was sick and Kapanen is his roommate.

Italian forward Cristiano Digiacinto didn’t play in this game. He was serving a one-game suspension for hitting Slovakia’s Martin Fehervary in the head on Friday.

IN OTHER NEWS…

SPORTSNET: Switzerland’s Kevin Fiala is done for the season after undergoing surgery on Saturday for a leg injury suffered during Friday’s loss to Canada.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It is also a significant loss for the Los Angeles Kings. Fiala is one of their leading scorers, and his absence could affect their efforts to clinch a playoff berth in the Western Conference.

The Kings made a significant addition to bolster their offense by acquiring Artemi Panarin before the Olympic break. Fiala’s injury could send them back into the trade market once the Olympic roster freeze is lifted at midnight on Feb. 22.

TSN: Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey will sit out Sunday’s game against France, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.

Canadian coach Jon Cooper said winger Brad Marchand will be back in the lineup on Sunday. The 37-year-old winger was a healthy scratch during Friday’s game against Switzerland.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 12, 2026

by | Feb 12, 2026

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 12, 2026

Juraj Slafkovsky leads Slovakia to an upset over Finland, Italy throws a scare into Sweden, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky scored two goals and collected an assist as Slovakia upset Finland 4-1 in the opening game of the 2026 Olympic Men’s hockey tournament. St. Louis Blues rookie center Dalibor Dvorsky also scored, and Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Samuel Hlavaj stopped 39 shots for Slovakia. Eeli Tolvanen scored, and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for Finland.

Slovakia winger Juraj Slafkovsky (AP.com).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Slafkovsky picked up from where he left off four years ago when he was named tournament MVP after leading Slovakia to a bronze medal, the country’s first in Olympic Men’s ice hockey. He silenced the critics who felt he would struggle against deeper clubs in these Olympics, as they overlooked the fact that Slafkovsky has four NHL seasons under his belt and is becoming a scoring star with the Canadiens.

Hlavaj was outstanding for Slovakia between the pipes. He tended to slide around a bit in his crease, but his acrobatic style and quick glove hand made the difference, making him the star of this game.

The questions that dogged Finnish goalie Juuse Saros since last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off persist. He looked shaky at times in this contest and could be replaced in the next game by Vancouver Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen. However, Saros didn’t get much help from his teammates, who managed to get only one shot past Hlavaj.

IIHF.COM: Third-period goals by Mika Zibanejad and Victor Hedman lifted Sweden over Italy 5-2. Rasmus Dahlin collected three assists while Zibanejad and Gustav Forsling each had a goal and an assist for Sweden, who outshot Italy 60-22 in this contest.

Italian goalie and Anaheim Ducks prospect Damien Clara was outstanding for Italy, making 46 saves before leaving with an injury with 14 minutes remaining in the third period. Luca Frigo and former Canadiens prospect Matt Bradley scored for the Italians.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Thanks to Clara’s heroics, the gritty Italians threw a scare into the heavily favored Swedes in this game. They opened the scoring, tied the game at 2 in the second period, and hung tough in this one until Zibanejad made it 4-2.

Boston Bruins center Elias Lindholm came off injured reserve, enabling him to play for Sweden in this game.

NHL.COM: Switzerland officially named Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi as their team captain for this tournament. New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier, Los Angeles Kings winger Kevin Fiala, and Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter were named alternate captains.

THE ATHLETIC: Arpon Basu believes the Olympic neck guard mandate is a major opportunity for NHL adoption. He interviewed several NHL players in this tournament who had different opinions on the subject, but it could be a matter of time before they’re worn more frequently.

CHL.CA: The Canadian Hockey League announced its top-50 players of the past 50 years. Fans can vote from Feb. 10 to March 10 to determine the final ranking of these players.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The list includes current NHL stars such as Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor Bedard, and Hall of Famers like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Patrick Roy. Follow the link above for the full list and details on how you can vote to determine the final ranking.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The postponed Jan. 26 game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Blue Jackets is scheduled for Monday, March 9, at 4 pm ET.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That start time isn’t sitting well with some Blue Jackets fans, who pointed out they’ll be at work when that game begins.