NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 3, 2023

by | Mar 3, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 3, 2023

On the eve of the March 3 trade deadline, the Bruins become the fastest team in league history to reach 100 points, Senators forward Derick Brassard scores twice in his 1,000th career game, the Blackhawks trade Max Domi to the Stars, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Boston Bruins became the fastest team to reach 100 points in league history (61 games) by thumping the Buffalo Sabres 7-1. Jakub Lauko scored twice and Dmitry Orlov had a goal and two assists for the Bruins (48-8-5) as they sit atop the overall standings with 101 points. The Sabres slipped to 31-25-4 (66 points) and are four points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bruins winger Brad Marchand left the game in the second period after being hit by Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin. Acquired early yesterday from the Red Wings, Tyler Bertuzzi did not appear in this contest.

Before the game, the Bruins placed winger Taylor Hall on long-term injury reserve and forward Nick Foligno on injured reserve. The Sabres placed defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on IR.

An overtime goal by Jason Zucker lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fourth straight win with a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was Zucker’s second goal of the game while Jeff Petry also scored twice for the 31-21-9 Penguins as they vaulted over the idle New York Islanders into the first Eastern wild-card spot with 71 points. Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point each had two points for the Lightning (37-19-5), who have dropped three straight and sit third in the Atlantic Division with 79 points.

Ottawa Senators forward Derick Brassard (NHL Images)

Ottawa Senators forward Derick Brassard scored twice in his 1,000th career NHL game to upset the New York Rangers 5-3. Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists for the Senators (31-26-4) as they sit four points behind the Islanders for the final Eastern playoff spot with 66 points. Mika Zibanejad collected two assists for the 35-18-9 Rangers, who sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 79 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Patrick Kane was held scoreless in his debut with the Rangers as was Jakob Chychrun in his first game with the Senators following their respective trades. Senators forward Austin Watson received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for charging Rangers forward Tyler Motte, who left the game with an upper-body injury.

The Toronto Maple Leafs nipped the Calgary Flames 2-1. Calle Jarnkrok broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period for the 38-16-8 Leafs as they hold second place in the Atlantic Division with 84 points. Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves for the flickering Flames as they slipped to 27-22-13 (67 points) and sit five points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz tallied a hat trick in a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stars (33-16-13) sit in first place in the Central Division with 79 points, three up on the second-place Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks dropped to 21-35-5 on the season.

Speaking of the Wild, Kirill Kaprizov scored twice as they downed the Vancouver Canucks 2-1. With a record of 35-21-6, the Wild (76 points) are three points ahead of the third-place Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division. Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks as they fell to 24-32-5.

Seattle Kraken winger Oliver Bjorkstrand tallied twice, including the winner in overtime, in a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Jared McCann also scored two goals for the Kraken (34-21-6) as they moved into third place in the Pacific Division with 74 points. The Red Wings (28-24-9) dropped their fourth straight game and are five points out of the final Eastern wild-card berth with 65 points.

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar scored the game-winner as his club held off the Montreal Canadiens for a 3-2 win. Gabe Vilardi scored his 20th of the season for the 35-20-8 Kings as they sit in second place in the Pacific Division with 78 points. Denis Gurianov scored his first goal with the Canadiens (26-31-4) since being acquired in a trade earlier this week.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens defenseman Justin Barron left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury.

The Nashville Predators kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the Florida Panthers 2-1. Matt Duchene and John Leonard scored for the Predators while Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots for the 30-23-6 Predators, who are six points out of the final Western wild-card berth with 66 points. Brandon Montour replied for the Panthers (30-27-6) as they are four points out of the Eastern wild-card spot with 66 points.

A four-goal second period lifted the St. Louis Blues to a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Pavel Buchnevich collected four assists for the 27-29-5 Blues while Alexander Barabanov had a goal and an assist for the 18-32-12 Sharks.

HEADLINES

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Following last night’s game, the Stars acquired forward Max Domi and goaltender Dylan Wells from the Blackhawks in exchange for goalie Anton Khudobin and a 2025 second-round pick.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Domi was the Blackhawks’ leading scorer this season with 49 points in 60 games. A versatile forward who can play center or wing, he’ll provide a boost to the Stars’ middle-six down the stretch and into the postseason.

Khudobin was moved solely to make the dollars work for the cap-strapped Stars. He’s spent this season in the minors. Both players are slated to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers acquired center Nick Bjugstad and minor-league defenseman Cam Dineen from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for minor-league defenseman Michael Kesselring and a 2023 third-round pick.

THE BUFFALO NEWS: The Sabres traded forward Ander Bjork to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations.

STLTODAY.COM: The Blues signed winger Sammy Blais to a one-year contract extension worth $1 million.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 25, 2023

by | Feb 25, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 25, 2023

The Sabres move into a wild-card berth, Brad Marchand gets another fine, Erik Cernak gets a suspension, Penguins GM Ron Hextall responds to his critics, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres moved into the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Craig Anderson made 53 saves, Jeff Skinner scored twice to reach 600 career points and Tage Thompson collected three assists as the Sabres improved to 30-23-4 (64 points) to sit ahead of the Detroit Red Wings (28-21-8). Anthony Duclair had an assist in his season debut with the Panthers, who also have 64 points but drop to 29-26-6.

Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The race for the Eastern Conference wild-card berths is heating up. Five points separate the New York Islanders (67 points) and the Washington Capitals (62 points) with the Sabres, Red Wings, Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins (63 points) in between. The Capitals and Penguins, however, are fading while the Sabres, Wings and Panthers are surging.

Earlier in the day, the NHL and NHL Players Association released a joint statement indicating that Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight was taking a personal leave of absence to receive care from the Players’ Assistance Program. Best wishes to Knight as he undergoes treatment.

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta stopped 32 shots to shut out the Ottawa Senators 4-0. Brent Burns, Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas and Brady Skjei scored for the 39-10-8 Hurricanes (86 points) as they sit seven points behind the league-leading Boston Bruins in the overall standings. The Senators slipped to 27-26-4.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Raanta’s record is 9-0-1 at home while the Hurricanes are 14-1-1 in the last 16 contests.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for his sixth straight multi-point game in a 5-1 romp over the Winnipeg Jets. Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Compher also each had a goal and an assist as the 32-19-5 Avalanche (69 points) sit one point behind the Seattle Kraken while opening a three-point lead over the Calgary Flames in the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Mason Appleton scored for the Jets (35-23-1), who’ve dropped four of their last five but remain one point behind the first-place Dallas Stars in the Central Division with 71 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The only reason the Jets are still close behind the Stars is that the latter has won just two of their last 10 games. The news got worse for the Jets as they announced before this game that rookie Cole Perfetti will be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season with an undisclosed injury.

An overtime goal by William Nylander lifted the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Minnesota Wild 2-1. David Kampf also scored for the Leafs and Ilya Samsonov kicked out 24 shots as they improved to 36-15-8 to hold a four-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division with 80 points. Brandon Duhaime replied for the Wild (32-21-6) as they sit in third place in the Central with 70 points, just one back of the second-place Jets.

The Los Angeles Kings scored three goals in the second period as they held off the New York Islanders by a score of 3-2. Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Gabriel Vilardi scored for the 33-19-8 Kings. They hold a two-point lead over the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division with 74 points and sit one point back of the first-place Vegas Golden Knights. Noah Dobson and Adam Pelech replied for the Islanders (30-25-7) as they hold the first wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference with 67 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick picked up his 370th career win to surpass Tom Barrasso for the third-most wins by an American-born NHL goaltender. John Vanbiesbrouck is second with 374 and Ryan Miller holds first place with 391.

Montreal Canadiens winger Jesse Ylonen had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Chris Tierney also scored in his first game with Montreal after being claimed off waivers on Thursday. The Canadiens (25-29-4) have won five of their last seven games while the Flyers (23-27-10) have dropped six of their last seven contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flyers winger Joel Farabee dismissed rumors yesterday claiming his representatives have expressed their displeasure over how their client’s season is going under head coach John Tortorella.

“I think for me right now, I’m 100 percent committed to being a Flyer,” said Farabee. Tortorella, meanwhile, was more blunt, telling reporters that if Farabee’s agent is leaking information he should “just shut up,” adding he “doesn’t give a damn” what he thinks.

HEADLINES

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins winger Brad Marchand was fined $5,000.00 for a dangerous trip on Seattle Kraken winger Oliver Bjorkstrand.

TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak received a two-game suspension for elbowing Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Penguins general manager Ron Hextall downplayed calls from some fans calling for his firing as his club slides in the standings. He said it won’t change how he conducts business, adding that he won’t spend big assets like a first-round pick to add a rental player before the March 3 trade deadline.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hextall didn’t say he wouldn’t trade a first-round pick for a player under contract beyond this season. That’s what he’s likely shopping for if he’s looking for help in the trade market.

Speaking of the Penguins, they place winger Kasperi Kapanen on waivers.

THE SCORE: St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas took offense over head coach Craig Berube accusing his core players of not caring about the team during their loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. “I’ve been a part of this team for a long time,” said Thomas. “What he said couldn’t be further from the truth. I know everyone in that room cares.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Berube doubled down with his comments on Friday, saying he hoped his comments sparked a response from his players. Meanwhile, general manager Doug Armstrong sought to diffuse the situation by saying the club needs to come to grips with the current situation, puts its past behind them and turn the page.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 28, 2022

by | Oct 28, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 28, 2022

Brad Marchand makes a triumphant return to the Bruins lineup, the Canucks finally get their first win of the season, Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun suffers a setback in his recovery from a wrist injury, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Brad Marchand scored twice and collected an assist to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. It was Marchand’s first game since undergoing double hip surgery in May. David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists while Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the Bruins (7-1-0). The Red Wings fall to 3-2-2.

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marchand wasn’t expected to return to action until the American Thanksgiving long weekend so he was well ahead of schedule in his recovery. Meanwhile, Bruins center David Krejci left the game with an apparent arm injury. He’s considered day-to-day and won’t be traveling to Columbus with the club for tonight’s game against the Blue Jackets.

The Vancouver Canucks picked up their first win of the season by holding off the Seattle Kraken 5-4 to give head coach Bruce Boudreau his 600th career NHL victory. Ilya Mikheyev scored twice and Conor Garland tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal as the Canucks record is now 1-5-2. Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist as the Kraken fall to 3-4-2.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Speaking of the Canucks, they acquired center Jack Studnicka in exchange for goaltender Michael DiPietro and prospect Jonathan Myrenberg. Studnicka, 23, will try to get his NHL career on track after struggling to make the cut with the Bruins. The Canucks also placed defenseman Travis Dermott (concussion) on long-term injury reserve.

An overtime breakaway goal by Erik Karlsson lifted the San Jose Sharks over the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. Sharks captain Logan Couture scored twice, including his 300th career NHL goal. Auston Matthews scored the game-tying goal in the third period for the Maple Leafs (4-3-1)while the Sharks are 3-7-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs continue to sleepwalk through October. This is the third time this season they’ve lost to a club that, on paper, they should’ve defeated, dropping games to the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes. The best they can say about this loss is they at least get a loser point out of it.

Leon Draisaitl scored with 38 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Edmonton Oilers a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a goal and two assists while Connor McDavid had a hat trick and chipped in an assist for the Oilers as they improve their record to 5-3-0. Patrick Kane and Max Domi each had a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks (4-3-0).

The Minnesota Wild doubled up the Ottawa Senators 4-2 to snap the latter’s four-game win streak. Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves while Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Frederic Gaudreau each had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who improve their record to 3-3-1. Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who are 4-3-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Senators announced the signing of rookie center Mark Kastelic to a two-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $850K.

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger turned in a 27-save shutout to blank the Washington Capitals 2-0 to improve his club’s record to 5-2-1. Jason Robertson and Joel Kiviranta were the goalscorers. The Capitals are 4-4-0 in their first eight games.

The Winnipeg Jets got third-period goals by Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Blake Wheeler to snap a 4-4 tie in a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck kicked out 40 shots as the Jets improved their record to 4-3-0. Jonathan Quick made just 13 saves for the Kings as they fall to 3-4-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hellebuyck was the difference in this game. The outcome could’ve been very different without him.

Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene each had three points as the Nashville Predators scored five unanswered goals to defeat the St. Louis Blues 6-2. Juuse Saros made 32 stops for the win as the Predators improve to 3-4-1 while the Blues are 3-3-1. Brayden Schenn and Robert Thomas tallied for the Blues.

The Philadelphia Flyers got a 48-save effort from netminder Carter Hart to hold off the Florida Panthers by a score of 4-3. Joel Farabee had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who move to 5-2-0 on the season. Eric Staal was held scoreless in his debut with the Panthers, who drop to 4-3-1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Flyers announced Sean Couturier had suffered a setback in his recovery from an injured back and was no longer skating. Winger Cam Atkinson remains sidelined by an upper-body injury. They also claimed forward Kieffer Bellows off waivers from the New York Islanders.

The Montreal Canadiens nipped the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on a late goal by Josh Anderson. Samuel Montembeault stopped 43 shots while Kaiden Guhle netted his first career NHL goal as the Canadiens improved to 4-4-0. Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens replied for the Sabres, who fall to 4-3-0.

IN OTHER NEWS…

DAILY FACEOFF: Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is still listed as week-to-week in his recovery from off-season wrist surgery. He’s yet to play this season but has been the topic of trade speculation for weeks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: And that speculation will drag on despite this setback in Chychrun’s recovery. However, he’s not going anywhere until he finally returns to action and interested teams can see how well he performs before they make any firm trade offers.

CBS SPORTS: New Jersey Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood has been sidelined by an upper-body injury.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov has been sidelined for the second time this season with another upper-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day.

NHL.COM: The Rangers also signed defenseman Ben Harpur to a one-year contract.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 27, 2022

by | Oct 27, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 27, 2022

The Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin shut out the Rangers, Brad Marchand could return to the Bruins sooner than expected and the Senators’ Josh Norris could be sidelined for the season. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin turned in a 41-save shutout to blank the New York Rangers 3-0. Kyle Palmieri scored two goals and Josh Bailey also tallied for the Islanders, who raise their record to 3-4-0. The Rangers (3-3-2) are winless in their last four games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Islanders placed forward Kieffer Bellows on waivers.

Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (NHL Images).

Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tallied his 200th career goal and Stuart Skinner turned aside 37 shots in a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist for the Oilers as their record improves to 4-3-0. Ryan O’Reilly netted the only goal for the Blues (3-2-0), who’ve lost two straight games.

Tampa Bay Lightning defensemen Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev each had two points as their club doubled up the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Nick Paul also had two points for the Bolts as they improve to 4-4-0. Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry replied for the Ducks, who fall to 1-5-1.

HEADLINES

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: The Bruins could have Brad Marchand back in the lineup sooner than expected. Originally projected to return from double hip surgery by the American Thanksgiving weekend in late November, the 34-year-old winger has been skating regularly in practice with his teammates over the past two weeks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marchand requires medical clearance from team doctors before he can return to action. Given he’s already ahead of schedule in his recovery, he could be back before mid-November.

OTTAWA SUN: Bad news for Senators center Josh Norris as he’s sidelined long-term with an injured left shoulder that could require surgery. It’s possible he could miss the rest of this season but the club will learn more about his condition over the next four or five days.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Losing Norris for a significant period is a big blow for the Senators but not necessarily a fatal one for their season. With Tim Stutzle having moved up to center the first line, veterans Claude Giroux and Derrick Brassard in the lineup and rookie Shane Pinto off to a promising start, they have the depth to offset Norris’ absence.

General manager Pierre Dorion also has the cap space and young assets to draw up if necessary to acquire a center in the trade market. For now, I expect he’ll see how well his club adjusts before going that route.

THE PROVINCE: The bad news keeps coming for the struggling Vancouver Canucks as forwards Brock Boeser and Curtis Lazar head to the injured reserve list, joining Quinn Hughes and Travis Dermott. Tucker Poolman was recently placed on long-term injury reserve.

MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Canadiens rookie winger Juraj Slafkovsky (upper-body injury) still hasn’t been given the green light to resume play but will travel with the club for their upcoming road trip.

Speaking of the Canadiens, they acquired minor-league defenseman Nicolas Beaudin from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for minor-league forward Cam Hillis. Beaudin has 22 games of NHL experience since 2019-20.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets placed defenseman Adam Boqvist on injured reserve and called up 18-year-old David Jiricek, who was their first-round pick (sixth overall) in this year’s NHL Draft. Boqvist will be sidelined for six weeks with a broken foot.

WINNIPEG SUN: Jets head coach Rick Bowness will not be accompanying the team on their three-game road trip. He suffered dizzy spells on Monday that could be related to his recent bout with COVID-19.

TWINCITIES.COM: Former Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, 36, is trying his hand at broadcasting. He’s working as an analyst with NHL Network.










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.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 16, 2022

by | Sep 16, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 16, 2022

Nathan MacKinnon could be getting close to a new contract with the Avalanche, an update on Brad Marchand’s recovery from hip surgery, Canadiens top prospect Juraj Slafkovsky plays well in debut game during Prospects Challenge and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

SPORTSNET: Nathan MacKinnon is hoping to soon have a contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. Speaking with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman on their “32 Thoughts” podcast, the 27-year-old center said he assumed the deal would be in place on July 13, the first day when he was eligible to re-sign.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).

While admitting it’s taken a little longer than he anticipated, MacKinnon believes the extension is “totally” on its way to completion. “It should be done shortly, I’m hoping,” he said. The long-time Avalanche superstar is earning a team-friendly average annual value of $6.3 million entering this season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The report suggests MacKinnon could become not just the highest-paid player in Avalanche history but also the highest-paid in the NHL. That honor is currently held by Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, whose AAV is $12.5 million through 2025-26.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Brad Marchand is hoping to return to action with the Bruins by late November, perhaps by the American Thanksgiving weekend. The 34-year-old winger underwent double hip surgery during the offseason. He’s set to begin skating on Friday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins will also be without defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk to start the season. McAvoy underwent shoulder surgery and is expected to return to the lineup by early December. Grzelcyk also had shoulder surgery and could be back by early November.

NHL.COM: Montreal Canadiens prospect Juraj Slafkovsky collected an assist and was named the second star in a 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in the Prospects Challenge tournament on Thursday. The 18-year-old winger was the first-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He saw playing time at even strength and in special-team situations.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Slafkovsky’s progress will be closely monitored by Montreal fans and pundits. The Canadiens are rebuilding and the young Slovakian winger is expected to be a key part of the process. Whether he starts this season with the Canadiens or their AHL affiliate in Laval depends on his performance during training camp, which opens next week.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said league revenue exceeded $5 billion for the first time despite disruptions earlier in the 2021-22 season due to COVID-19. With the NHL returning to a normal schedule for 2022-23, Daly is optimistic that continued revenue growth will lead to a significant increase in the salary cap sooner instead of later.

The salary cap increased by $1 million to $82.5 million for 2022-23. Daly expects it will rise again by $1 million for 2023-24 but suggested it could increase further if revenues grow enough.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The cap is growing slowly because the players’ share of revenue exceeded the owners’ during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. As a result, the players have to make whole the owners’ share through escrow, which affects the salary cap’s rate of increase.

It’ll be interesting to see how much the cap could rise for next season if revenue increases exceed expectations. Earlier this year, Daly suggested it would take until 2024-25 before we’d see a significant rise in the cap.

TORONTO SUN: Michael Traikos reports Daly also indicated the NHL and NHL Players Association are committed to an international tournament calendar that would see the league participate in the next three Winter Olympics and an additional three World Cup of Hockey tournaments.

The deputy commissioner admitted there are challenges associated with that calendar and no guarantees given Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. However, it’s not necessarily dependent on Russian participation.

TSN: The Los Angeles Kings signed defenseman Sean Durzi to a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.7 million. Durzi, 23, had 27 points in 64 games as a rookie last season. Earlier this week, the Kings also re-signed blueliner Mikey Anderson to a one-year deal.

THE ATHLETIC: Speaking of the Kings, Alex Turcotte won’t participate in the club’s rookie camp and could miss the start of their main training camp next week due to concussion-related symptoms suffered during the 2022 AHL Calder Cup playoffs. The 21-year-old center’s bid to become a full-time NHL player has been hampered by injuries.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Turcotte was the fifth-overall pick in the 2019 Draft and is considered among the Kings’ top prospects. He played eight games last season with the Kings and 27 with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

OTTAWA SUN: The Senators have invited forwards Derick Brassard and Michael Dal Cole to training camp on professional tryout offers.

DAILY FACEOFF: The Edmonton Oilers signed defenseman Jason Demers to a professional tryout offer.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: With goaltender Andrew Hammond deciding not to report to training camp on a PTO, the Panthers have brought in J-F Berube on a professional tryout offer.

WINNIPEG SUN: The Jets will unveil a statue of the late Dale Hawerchuk on Oct. 1 at True North Square. Hawerchuk was selected first overall by the Jets in the 1981 draft and spent nine of his 16 NHL seasons in Winnipeg. He won the Calder Trophy in 1982 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. He passed away at age 57 from stomach cancer in 2020.