NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 31, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 31, 2024
Milestone games for Anze Kopitar and Kyle Connor, the latest valuations of the league’s 32 teams, an update on Connor McDavid’s injury status, the Leafs trade Timothy Liljegren, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists (including his 800th career assist) to lead his club to a 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke picked up three assists and Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch from the Kings’ previous game. Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice for the Golden Knights, who remain winless on the road (0-3-1).
Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar (NHL Images).
Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor also had a goal and two assists (including his 500th career assist) as his club defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-2. Neal Pionk tallied twice for the league-leading Jets (9-1-0, 18 points). Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond each collected two assists for the Red Wings.
New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 20 shots to shut out the Vancouver Canucks 6-0. Devils captain Nico Hischier scored his league-leading 10th goal and picked up two assists as his team moved atop the Eastern Conference standings (7-4-2, 16 points). Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs was in net for all six Devils goals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Not to take anything away from the Devils’ dominant performance but the Canucks made it easy for them. They were a listless bunch in this game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning got a goal and two assists from Nikita Kucherov to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Jake Guentzel scored twice and Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 33 shots for the Lightning. Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each collected two points to extend their season-opening points streaks to 11 games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The injury-battered Avalanche played without forwards Ross Colton (broken foot, out six to eight weeks) and Miles Wood (upper-body injury, out seven to 10 days). They did get some good news as sidelined forward Artturi Lehkonen is expected to return to action next Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. He’s been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
Another player with a goal and two assists was Mikhail Sergachev, leading the Utah Hockey Club to a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Connor Ingram made 30 saves for the win while Nick Schmaltz and Dylan Guenther each collected two assists. Anthony Mantha scored for the Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Calgary captain Mikael Backlund played in his 1,000th career regular-season game.
Since winning five of their first six games, the fizzling Flames have dropped four straight.
Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzlikins turned in a 26-save shutout to blank the New York Islanders 2-0, handing the latter their fourth loss in their last five games. Damon Severson and Justin Danforth were the goal scorers as the Blue Jackets end their October schedule with a record of 5-3-1.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s a testament to the Blue Jackets’ character that they’ve played as well as they have considering everything they’ve endured since late August.
Meanwhile, the Islanders have been shut out in four of their first 10 games. As of Oct. 30, their goals per game average (2.10) is last in the league.
HEADLINES
SPORTICO: released their annual evaluation of all 32 NHL franchises. All of them saw significant increases in their value since last year, with the average being 37 percent.
The top five were the Toronto Maple Leafs ($3.66 billion), New York Rangers ($3.25 billion), Montreal Canadiens ($2.93 billion), Boston Bruins ($2.67 billion) and Los Angeles Kings ($2.5 billion).
The Utah Hockey Club ($1.2 billion), Ottawa Senators ($1.14 billion), Buffalo Sabres ($1.13 billion), Winnipeg Jets ($1.1 billion) and Columbus Blue Jackets ($1.06 billion) made up the bottom five. Utah HC saw the biggest increase (78 percent) because of its relocation from Arizona.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Athletic’s James Mirtle explained the reasons behind these significant increases. The current CBA with its hard salary cap, robust revenue sharing with smaller markets, and the expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle are among the notable factors.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers captain Connor McDavid will be sidelined with an injured ankle for two to three weeks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid could miss up to 12 games during that period. Nevertheless, the Oilers are probably breathing a sigh of relief that he’ll only miss at most three weeks.
TORONTO SUN/NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: The Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenseman Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks for blueliner Matt Benning, a conditional third-round pick in 2025 and a sixth-rounder in 2026.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Liljegren is signed through next season with an average annual value of $3 million. Benning’s contract also runs through 2025-26 and has an AAV of $1.25 million. The move frees up $1.75 million in much-needed salary-cap space for the Leafs. It also clears room for Jani Hakanpaa’s impending debut with the Leafs.
Liljegren struggled to establish himself as a top-four puck-moving defenseman with the Leafs. He’ll get a better opportunity to do so with the rebuilding Sharks, away from Toronto’s harsh spotlight.
DAILY FACEOFF: Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
RG.ORG: An in-depth analysis of the relationship between faster players and elite offensive production in the NHL. Unlike the past where size and shot mechanics were determining factors, faster players in today’s NHL are more likely to become elite stars, though it is no guarantee of stardom. The Colorado Avalanche appear to have tapped into that, sitting third over the past three seasons in total points (335) and winning the Stanley Cup in 2021-22.
