NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 18, 2021

by | Jun 18, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 18, 2021

The Lightning regains the lead in their semifinal series with the Islanders, Rod Brind’Amour wins the Jack Adams Award and re-signs with the Hurricanes, the GM of the Year finalists are revealed, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Brayden Point’s goal late in the second period held up as the winner as the Tampa Bay Lightning nipped the New York Islanders 2-1 to take a two games to one lead in their semifinal series. Point has a six-game point streak and leads all postseason scorers with 11 goals. Yanni Gourde opened the scoring in the first for the Lightning and Cal Clutterbuck tied it in the second. Game 4 is Saturday evening on Long Island.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Lightning caught a break when Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech received a questionable penalty for interfering with Nikita Kucherov. While they killed that off, the Bolts scored four seconds after Pelech left the box.

Despite that call, the Islanders had plenty of time to even the score but couldn’t generate sufficient offense against the Lightning’s close checking. The Bolts beat the Isles at their own game last night.

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour is this year’s winner of the Jack Adams Award. He also signed a three-year contract extension after guiding the Hurricanes to their first division title since 2005-06.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The contract negotiations dragged on for weeks but this had an air of inevitability about it. The delay was due to final details being hashed out for new contracts for Brind’Amour’s coaching staff.

Marc Bergevin of the Montreal Canadiens, Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders, and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are this year’s finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. The award is voted on by the league’s general managers and a panel of NHL executives and media following the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

NHLPA: Toronto’s Auston Matthews was named the NHL’s best goal-scorer, Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman named the best defenseman and his teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy the best goalie in the 2020-21 NHLPA player poll.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Of particular note in this poll was over 68 percent of the players don’t want to see the regional division format carried forward from this season. Over 66 percent, however, would like to see the series-style schedule continue.

We already knew the league will return to its traditional conference and divisional format next season. It’ll be interesting to see if the players’ view on the series-style format carries any weight next season’s schedule is drawn up.

Colorado Avalanche center Carl Soderberg is returning home, signing a two-year contract with the Malmo RedHawks of the Swedish Hockey League. He began his playing career with the RedHawks before embarking on a nine-year NHL career with the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This likely spells the end of the 35-year-old Soderberg’s NHL career. He had 110 goals and 297 points in 597 games.

TSN: Rick Westhead reports Chicago Blackhawks senior management allegedly refused to report allegations of sexual assault of two players by a former video coach to the local police during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: A superb piece of investigative journalism by Westhead. A lawsuit filed by one of the two players against the Blackhawks is ongoing. A club spokesman declined to comment because this is an active litigation matter.

TWINCITIES.COM: The Minnesota Wild signed a new affiliate deal with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 12, 2021

by | Jun 12, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 12, 2021

The Jack Adams Award finalists are announced, the 2021 draft order is set through the first 27 picks, plus the latest on Nikita Kucherov, Tuukka Rask and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes, Dean Evason of the Minnesota Wild, and Joel Quenneville of the Florida Panthers are this year’s finalists for the Jack Adams Award.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Brind’Amour and Evason are first-time finalists. It’s the third time for Quenneville, who took home the award with the St. Louis Blues in 1999-2000.

All but the final four spots in the 2021 NHL Draft have been determined. The first 15 positions were determined by the draft lottery on June 2. The 12 teams eliminated from the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs are slotted into positions 16-27.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Buffalo Sabres hold the first-overall pick. Follow the link above for the full list.

THE ATHLETIC: Owen Power, the top prospect in this year’s draft, said he’s leaning toward returning to the University of Michigan next season. “It’s something I’d like to do just trying to get the true experience of playing college hockey,” said Power. “At the end of the day, it obviously depends on what the team wants and what everyone around me thinks is best.”

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Probably a wise decision on Power’s part. Too many young players have hampered their development making the leap into the NHL before they’re ready.

TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov responded to complaints about his club placing him on long-term injury reserve during the regular season to garner cap relief as he recovered from offseason hip surgery. He said he didn’t make the LTIR rules and spoke about the long recovery process away from the game.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, obviously. I had to do the surgery. I had to go through the whole five months of rehabilitation, and when the time came (when) I was ready to play, it was the playoffs.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was interesting to hear Kucherov’s side of the story. He also spoke about the monotony and frustration he experienced going through the rehab process while his teammates were chasing a playoff spot.

TSN: Montreal Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said he wasn’t very confident in Jeff Petry, Jake Evans or Jon Merrill returning to the lineup in time for Game 1 of their semifinal series with the Vegas Golden Knights. All three are sidelined by various injuries. Ducharme didn’t rule out the possibility of them rejoining their teammates later in the series. Game 1 goes Monday night in Las Vegas.

SPORTSNET: Speaking of the Canadiens, they’ve asked the Quebec government to increase capacity for their home games. They’re currently allowed to have 2,500 fans in attendance.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Can’t say I blame them. The Vegas Golden Knights are now allowed full capacity for their home games. It gives the players a lift hearing more fans cheering them on. Whether the Quebec government agrees to the proposal and how many more fans could be allowed into the Bell Centre remains to be seen.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask will undergo hip surgery in the offseason that will sideline him until January or February of 2022. Fourth-line center Curtis Lazar suffered a sprained knee in their series with the New York Islanders Defenseman Kevan Miller and Brandon Carlo both suffered concussions.

Jeremy Lauzon underwent surgery on his right hand following an injury in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals and returned wearing a splint. Craig Smith suffered a groin injury during the Islanders series.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rask’s surgery and lengthy rehab could have an effect on his contract negotiations with the Bruins. He’s an unrestricted free agent on July 28.










NHL Betting: A Quick Update On The Other NHL Awards

by | Mar 17, 2021

NHL Betting: A Quick Update On The Other NHL Awards

 










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 10, 2020

by | Sep 10, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 10, 2020

Lightning edge Islanders to take 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final, Bruce Cassidy wins the Jack Adams Award, GM of the Year finalists announced, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Nikita Kucherov scored with 8.8 seconds remaining in regulation as the Tampa Bay Lightning edged the New York Islanders 2-1 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final. The Lightning holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Islanders winger Matt Martin opened the scoring in the first period but Victor Hedman tied it before the period was over.

This was a close-checking, physical contest. Lightning winger Alex Killorn was ejected early in the first period for boarding Isles center Brock Nelson, who left the game under concussion protocol but returned to action. Martin and Luke Schenn received fighting majors early in the second period. Martin and Pat Maroon received roughing minors later in the period.

It was a costly victory for the Lightning as first-line center Brayden Point left the game in the second period with an apparent lower-body injury. Head coach Jon Cooper said an update on Point’s condition could be revealed on Thursday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was a heartbreaking loss for the Islanders. They rebounded well from their 8-2 blowout loss in Game 1 and did a good job for the most part shutting down the Lightning’s offense until Kucherov struck in the dying seconds. They outshot the Bolts 13-4 in the first period and 28-21 overall.

However, the Isles couldn’t get more than one puck past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and failed to capitalize on four power-play opportunities. They now find themselves in a deep hole against a very talented club approaching Game 3 on Friday night.

Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins is the 2020 winner of the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year. He guided the Bruins to this season’s best record as they were the only club to reach 100 points, winning the Presidents’ Trophy for their efforts.

Julien BriseBois of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders, and Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars are this year’s finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

TSN: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league is still targeting an 82-games schedule for 2020-21. However, he admitted the projected start date of Dec. 1 appears less likely. They’re also hoping to have fans in the stands when they reopen but can’t guarantee that’ll be the case. Daly also doesn’t think it would be a problem if the league staged games next summer, pointing to how well ice conditions held up in the bubble cities of Edmonton and Toronto.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Barring a miracle, next season won’t open on Dec.1. Or Jan. 1. And I have my doubts it’ll start on Feb. 1. My guess is we’ll see a shortened schedule between 50-60 games starting in mid-February at the earliest, with the playoffs running into late-July.

THE SCORE: NBC hockey analyst Pierre McGuire is no longer in the running for the Arizona Coyotes’ vacant general manager position.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Several folks on Twitter yesterday observed McGuire almost always seems to be in the running for a GM job and always seems to be the first one eliminated from the competition.

Meanwhile, Arizona Coyotes Insider Craig Morgan reports former Coyotes captain Shane Doan isn’t under consideration for the job. He cites several sources suggesting the club believes Doan, who works for the NHL, had a hand in the sanctions the league handed the Coyotes for violating fitness testing rules for draft-eligible players. However, there’s no indication Doan was involved in the league’s decision.

THE ATHLETIC: Dan Hinote is expected to join the Nashville Predators as an assistant coach.










2020 NHL Awards – Calder Trophy, Lindsay and Adams Award Finalists

by | Jul 18, 2020

2020 NHL Awards – Calder Trophy, Lindsay and Adams Award Finalists

 










NHL Unfinished Business: Main Individual Awards

by | Mar 18, 2020

NHL Unfinished Business: Main Individual Awards