NHL Rumor Mill – June 13, 2022

by | Jun 13, 2022

NHL Rumor Mill – June 13, 2022

More speculation over the Rangers’ free-agent situation plus the latest on the Penguins in today’s NHL rumor mill.

WHICH RANGERS FREE AGENTS WILL BE BACK NEXT SEASON?

NEW YORK POST: Mollie Walker looked at which Rangers’ free agents will be back next season and which ones could be playing elsewhere.

New York Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko (NHL Images).

Kaapo Kakko’s surprising scratch from Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals raises questions about his future with the Rangers. He’s a restricted free agent who would be an affordable fit with a two-year bridge deal between $2 million and $2.5 million. Should the 21-year-old winger entertain offer sheets between $4.2 million and $6.1 million, however, the Rangers wouldn’t be able to match.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Offer sheets are rare but there’s a chance Kakko could sign one. Walker’s colleague Larry Brooks pointed to the Carolina Hurricanes’ successfully signing away Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the Montreal Canadiens last summer. He acknowledged the Hurricanes’ move was based on a certain amount of payback because of the Canadiens’ failed attempt in 2019 to sign away Sebastian Aho.

Kakko could be upset enough over being scratched from Game 6 to perhaps entertain offer sheets from other clubs. However, it’s not a preferred tactic by most general managers. With limited salary-cap space for next season, they’re likely to invest their dollars this summer on more established talent.

Ryan Strome’s lack of production in this year’s postseason combined with the Rangers’ cap situation could see him depart as an unrestricted free agent.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Walker also noted Strome is among the Rangers’ alternate captains and one of his best friends is linemate Artemi Panarin. Those are good reasons for the Blueshirts to retain him, perhaps by freeing up cap space by making a cost-cutting move. If that’s not possible, Strome may have played his final season as a Ranger.

Walker considers Andrew Copp as the priority signing among their trade-deadline acquisitions. He could get more on the open market than the Rangers can afford to pay but perhaps he’ll accept less to remain in New York if he believes they’re close to winning the Stanley Cup.

Fourth-line forward Tyler Motte’s willingness to sign a team-friendly deal could come down to contract term. RFA Sammy Blais played well before suffering a season-ending injury in November. He’ll likely re-sign a deal that works for the Rangers.

UFA winger Frank Vatrano might not be the team’s answer to filling out their top-six. Depth forward Greg McKegg could also return on an affordable contract. Walker wonders if the Rangers can afford to bring back fourth-line Kevin Rooney.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Walker anticipates UFA defenseman Justin Braun and RFAs Alexandar Georgiev and Julien Gauthier will likely be playing elsewhere next season.

LATEST ON THE PENGUINS

THE ATHLETIC: Rob Rossi reports multiple sources said the Pittsburgh Penguins’ priority is getting Kris Letang signed to a new multi-year contract. The 34-year-old defenseman is due to become a UFA on July 13.

Discussions between the team and the representatives of Letang and UFA center Evgeni Malkin are ongoing. However, the club wants to determine the cost of signing Letang before turning their attention more seriously to Malkin.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Letang is coming off a career-best 68-point season. Recent reports suggest he could seek a new deal close to his current annual average value of $7.25 million. Malkin is reportedly willing to accept a pay cut from his current $9.5 million AAV. Whatever Letang wants could determine how much cap room they’ve got left for Malkin.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski recently reported some teams have contacted the Penguins to express interest in Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Sources said the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens were among the clubs that looked into the promising 22-year-old defenseman before the trade deadline.

Kingerski suggested Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry as a potential replacement for Kris Letang if the latter departs via free agency. Petry requested a trade earlier this season but reportedly reconsidered after Martin St. Louis took over a head coach.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens could ask for Joseph as part of the return for Petry if they were to peddle the latter to the Penguins. Whether that happens remains to be seen. The Dallas Stars were also thought to have some interest in Petry.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 21, 2022

by | Mar 21, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 21, 2022

​Recaps of Sunday’s action plus a roundup of overnight moves as the 3 pm ET trade deadline approaches in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: New York Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev turned in a season-high 44-save shutout performance to blank the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Chris Kreider scored his 41st goal of the season while Frank Vatrano tallied his first goal as a Ranger since his acquisition last week from the Florida Panthers. The Hurricanes remain in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 88 points but the second-place Rangers are just three points behind them.

Alex Ovechkin reached the 40-goal plateau for the 12th time in his career but his Washington Capitals fell 3-2 to the Dallas Stars. Roope Hintz scored two goals for the Stars (72 points) as they move within one point of the Vegas Golden Knights for the final Western Conference wild-card berth. With 80 points, the Capitals remain one point behind the Boston Bruins, who hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Capitals defenseman John Carlson was injured in the final minutes of the game when he crashed into the end boards following a cross-check by Stars captain Jamie Benn. No update on his status following the game but Capitals coach Peter Laviolette considered it a dirty hit by Benn. We’ll find out soon enough if the league agrees with him.

Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor scored a goal and collected three assists to lead his club to a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Jansen Harkins scored twice for the Jets as they sit four points out of a Western wild-card spot with 68 points. Taylor Raddysh scored and picked up an assist for his first points with the Blackhawks since his recent acquisition from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

An overtime goal by Rasmus Dahlin lifted the Buffalo Sabres over the Vancouver Canucks 3-2, handing the latter their five loss in their last six games. J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who also sit four points out of the final Western wild-card berth.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks’ recent stumble could prompt management to make a more significant move before today’s trade deadline. They made a couple of minor moves yesterday by shipping Travis Hamonic to the Ottawa Senators and acquiring Travis Dermott from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Philadelphia Flyers center Kevin Hayes tallied two second-period goals in a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders, ending the latter’s points streak at six games. Islanders veterans Cal Clutterbuck and Andy Greene were held out of this game for “maintenance” reasons as both were banged up in recent games.

The San Jose Sharks tallied three unanswered third-period goals to double up the Arizona Coyotes 4-2. Noah Gregor had a goal and an assist while James Reimer made 23 saves for the win. Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes.

HEADLINES

PUCKPEDIA: has the full breakdown of Hampus Lindholm’s eight-year contract extension with the Boston Bruins. He gets an average salary-cap hit of $6.5 million with a full no-movement/no-trade clause in the first five seasons followed by a 15-team no-trade list in the final three.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Panthers placed defenseman Aaron Ekblad on long-term injury reserve. He’s expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with an apparent leg injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This will provide the Panthers with some salary-cap flexibility to add another player before today’s trade deadline if they wish. They acquired Robert Hagg yesterday from the Buffalo Sabres.

NHL.COM: The Ottawa Senators traded forward Nick Paul to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Mathieu Joseph and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Paul had a career-high 11 goals with the low-scoring Senators. Joseph is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights but he likely would’ve become a UFA as the Lightning might not have qualified his rights. He’ll be much more affordable than Paul for the Senators to re-sign. Some observers wonder if the Lightning will put Paul with the recently acquired Brandon Hagel to form a new energy line.

The Los Angeles Kings acquired defenseman Troy Stecher from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft.

The Seattle Kraken traded defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2022 second-rounder.

The Dallas Stars acquired goaltender Scott Wedgewood from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2023.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars made this move because backup Braden Holtby remains sidelined by a lower-body injury and Anton Khudobin recently underwent season-ending hip surgery.

The Winnipeg Jets have brought back forward Mason Appleton by acquiring him from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a 2023 fourth-round pick. The Kraken had selected Appleton during last summer’s expansion draft.

ARIZONA SPORTS: Reports indicated the Coyotes have acquired the rights to college prospect Jack McBain in exchange for a second-round pick in 2022.

NHL.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins signed defenseman Mark Friedman to a two-year, one-way contract extension with an annual average value of $775K.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs placed goaltender Petr Mrazek on waivers and signed Finnish goalie Harri Sateri to a prorated $750K contract for the remainder of the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I guess that means the Leafs won’t be acquiring a goalie in the trade market.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 24, 2020

by | Dec 24, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 24, 2020

​The 2020-21 schedule is released, Nikita Kucherov sidelined for the season, plus a roundup of the latest notable signings and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: The league released the schedule for the 2020-21 season. It begins on Jan. 13 with five games, including the Tampa Bay Lightning raising their 2020 Stanley Cup championship banner before facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amalie Arena.

The other four games see the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Philadelphia Flyers, the Montreal Canadiens face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Vancouver Canucks squaring off against the Edmonton Oilers, and the St. Louis Blues tangling with the Colorado Avalanche.

The league also announced the postponement of the 2021 Stadium Series slated for Feb. 20, 2021, featuring the Carolina Hurricanes.

Hip surgery will sideline Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: All timings for those games have yet to be announced. Those will likely be revealed after the locations for the Canadian games are determined.

TSN reported last night the five Canadian provinces hosting NHL teams released a letter calling for increased testing of players, staff and close contacts as well as enhancing the schedule to group game into blocks to reduce inter-jurisdictional travel. The other option is reinstating a bubble model similar to the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which the league and the NHLPA aren’t keen to implement.

TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov has hip surgery scheduled for next week and is expected to be sidelined for the entire regular season. The club hopes to have him back in time for the 2021 playoffs beginning in May.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is a big blow to the Lightning’s scoring punch but they will receive $9.5 million in salary cap relief by placing the former Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy winner on long-term injury reserve. That should free up sufficient cap space to sign restricted free agent Anthony Cirelli. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t need to make a cost-cutting deal. I’ll have more about that in the Rumors section.

The Lightning also signed forwards Mathieu Joseph and Alex Volkov to short-term, one-way contracts. Joseph inked a two-year deal worth $1.475 million while Volkov inked a one-year, $700K deal.

NJ.COM: The New Jersey Devils signed goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to a three-year, $8.4 million contract. The annual average value is $2.8 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: An affordable deal for the Devils. Blackwood will be their starting goaltender entering this season. A solid performance on his part over the course of this deal will ensure more lucrative terms on his next contract.

SPORTSNET: The Nashville Predators signed forward Erik Haula to a one-year, $1.75 million contract.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This signing comes on the heels of the Predators bringing back winger Mikael Granlund. It’s a good, cost-effective depth addition. Haula has an injury history but when healthy is a speedy, versatile two-way forward with a decent scoring touch who can skate on the wing or at center.

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Goaltender Ryan Miller is returning for another season with the Anaheim Ducks, inking a one-year contract worth $1 million. He’s served as their backup netminder for the past three seasons.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No surprise here. Miller and his family live in the Anaheim area and he doesn’t want to relocate at this stage of his career.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens added more experienced depth to their forward links by signing winger Michael Frolik to a one-year, $750K contract.

WGR 550: The Buffalo Sabres signed center Casey Mittelstadt to a one-year contract worth just over $874K.

SUN-SENTINEL.COM: The Florida Panthers inked goaltender Sam Montembault to a one-year, two-way deal.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach suffered an apparent injury to his right wrist during Canada’s 1-0 win over Russia in a tune-up game for the upcoming 2021 World Junior Championship in Edmonton. Dach left the game, underwent X-rays and is undergoing other tests to determine the severity of the injury.

Meanwhile, Blackhawks forward Alex Nylander recently underwent knee surgery and is expected to be sidelined for four-to-six months.

SPORTSNET: The Vancouver Canucks hired Jason King as their new assistant coach and Chris Higgins as their new skills and development coach.










Notable Former NHL Stars Still Awaiting Induction Into Hockey Hall of Fame

by | Jun 26, 2020

Notable Former NHL Stars Still Awaiting Induction Into Hockey Hall of Fame

 










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 1, 2020

by | Jun 1, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 1, 2020

The league and several teams release statements against racism, Henrik Lundqvist talks about his future, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: The league released a statement sharing the sentiment expressed by their teams and players calling for racial justice and speaking out against “racism, hatred, bigotry and violence.”

 

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs released a statement on Twitter yesterday speaking out against racism. Leafs star Auston Matthews, whose mother is from Mexico, shared his thoughts on Twitter.

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (Photo via NHL Images).

“As a Latino American it is impossible for me to understand and fathom what others endure,” Matthews said. “My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost loved ones and who have endured pain and suffering due to hateful racist attitudes and beliefs. The world must unite not divide. We need to stand together in support of justice, love and peace for all. We need change.”

THE SCORE: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph hopes the protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis will lead to positive societal changes.

“It is not enough to be non-racist and events unfolding today have proven that. But violent protests are not the answers or a good way to be anti-racist … we need to focus on the solution. On making a change in the way we educate children.”

DKPITTSBURGHSPORTS.COM: Thirteen teams joined the league released statements yesterday addressing the nationwide protests and discussions over racial inequality sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. They include the Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, and Seattle’s NHL expansion franchise.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane called upon white athletes last week to take a stand against racial injustice. It looks like his message was heard by the league and individual players, particularly given the protests unfolding across America. Over the weekend, Sharks captain Logan Couture and Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler also spoke out.

I daresay we’ll see more teams and players add their voices to a growing chorus of condemnation against racism, bigotry, and violence in society. Perhaps this also signals a significant step toward addressing those issues within the sport at every level.

NEW YORK POST: Henrik Lundqvist told a Swedish newspaper he believes he can still play a few more years in the NHL. The long-time Rangers starting goalie fell into a third-stringer role this season behind Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev.

Lundqvist, 38, said he understood the situation but intends to fight for his place in the Rangers’ net. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer and there’s speculation the Rangers could buy out his contract. Lundqvist said he’s not thinking about that, focusing instead on his training.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lundqvist will have an opportunity to win back the starter’s job when his Rangers take part in the 24-team playoff tournament set for this summer. A strong performance should put to rest any talk of a contract buyout, perhaps instead sparking talk of Georgiev hitting the trade block.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Terry Jones examines the economic benefits to the city of Edmonton if it’s selected as a host city for the playoff tournament, particularly in the Ice District section around Rogers Place.

TVA SPORTS: A Pittsburgh Penguins conditional first-round draft pick will be affected by the Penguins’ qualifying-series matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. The Penguins included a conditional first in the package they sent to the Minnesota Wild to acquire winger Jason Zucker in February. The Penguins could decide to hold onto their 2020 pick if they’re eliminated by the Canadiens, as it would be part of the eight placeholder picks in the 2020 draft lottery.