NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 26, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 26, 2024
Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, and Jeremy Roenick are among seven new Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, the Avalanche sign Casey Mittelstadt, the Jets re-up Dylan DeMelo, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber and Jeremy Roenick were the former NHL stars elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Pavel Datsyuk and Shea Weber have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL.com)
Former United States women’s national team forwards Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl were also inducted in the player category.
Former Nashville Predators general manager David Poile and current NHL senior executive vice-president Colin Campbell were elected into the builder category.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the inductees for this well-deserved honor.
Meanwhile, Alexander Mogilny’s ongoing snub by the Hall of Fame is getting ridiculous.
Many of Mogilny’s former Vancouver Canucks teammates have called for his inclusion. He was a five-time All-Star, earning an appearance on all four NHL teams he played for in his career (Buffalo, Vancouver, New Jersey, Toronto). He’s among a handful of players to score over 70 goals in a season.
For whatever reason, Mogilny continues to be passed over. Maybe he’ll get his due next year.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: The Avalanche signed center Casey Mittlestadt to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $5.75 million. Mittestadt, 25, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres before the March trade deadline. He was slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Mittestadt was coming off back-to-back 50-plus point seasons. He quickly fit well within the Avs’ lineup. The young center was coming off a three-year deal with an AAV of $2.5 million.
This is a win for both sides here. Mittelstadt gets a significant raise and an opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at age 28 when he’ll still be in his playing prime. The Avalanche, meanwhile, look up their second-line center at a reasonable rate. They also buy some time to grow more cap room to attempt to re-sign him down the road.
WINNIPEG SUN: The Jets signed Dylan DeMelo to a four-year contract extension with an AAV of $4.9 million. The 31-year-old defenseman was completing a four-year, $12 million contract and was due to become a UFA on July 1.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: DeMelo was a key part of the Jets blueline corps pairing with the puck-moving Josh Morrissey.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: On Tuesday, the Flyers officially announced that top prospect Matvei Michkov had officially terminated his contract with KHL club SKA St. Petersburg. The 19-year-old winger will join the Flyers for the 2024-25 season.
TSN: The Detroit Red Wings traded defenseman Jake Walman and a 2024 second-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for future considerations. Walman, 28, has two seasons remaining on his contract with an AAV of $3.4 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Can you say, “salary dump”, kids? I knew you could!
SPORTSNET: Hockey Canada officially named Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper as head coach of Canada’s team at the NHL’s 4Nations Face-Off next February and of its Men’s Olympic team in 2026.
SPORTICO: Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has told his remaining executives he is dissolving what’s left of the franchise. He will no longer pursue the construction of a new NHL-worthy arena in the Phoenix area. The franchise should be disbanded within a month.
The hockey operations and players were sold to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith in April and moved to Utah, where they will play the 2024-25 season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: And with that, the Coyotes saga comes to a close. Some observers still believe the NHL will one day return to Arizona. That won’t occur until a suitable arena is constructed and that’s not happening in the foreseeable future.
