NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 9, 2023

by | Feb 9, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 9, 2023

The Stars tame the Wild, the Rangers down the Canucks and Oilers GM Ken Holland seeks “dollar-in, dollar-out” trades. Details on these and other stories in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: It was a milestone game for Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn as his club tamed the Minnesota Wild by a score of 4-1. Benn opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the season, marking his 10th career 20-goal season. Jake Oettinger made 38 saves and Jason Robertson collected two assists as the Stars (30-13-10) extended their points streak to seven games. Joel Eriksson Ek replied for the Wild as they slipped to 27-19-4 on the season.

Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn (NHL Images)

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars opened a five-point lead over the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Western Conference with 70 points. The Wild, meanwhile, dropped into the final wild-card berth in the West with 58 points.

The New York Rangers held off the Vancouver Canucks 4-3. K’Andre Miller collected three assists while Filip Chytil scored to extend his goal streak to five games as the Rangers improved to 29-14-8. Quinn Hughes collected two assists while J.T. Miller picked up an assist for his 500th career point as the Canucks fell to 20-27-4.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rangers sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 66 points.

HEADLINES

TSN: Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland told the Got Yer Back podcast that he would like to make a move before the March 3 trade deadline to help his roster. However, he indicated it would have to be a “dollar in, dollar out” move.

The Oilers have $1.125 million in cap space with winger Kailer Yamamoto ($3.1 million average annual value) eligible to come off long-term injury reserve on Saturday. Holland explained that will force him to make some difficult decisions regarding his bottom-of-the-roster players. “They can’t all stay,” he said.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Trade rumors link the Oilers to left-shot defensemen such as the Arizona Coyotes Jakob Chychrun, the Columbus Blue Jackets Vladislav Gavrikov and the Montreal Canadiens Joel Edmundson. A dollar-in, dollar-out deal could involve winger Jesse Puljujarvi ($3.5 million AAV) as the Oilers have been trying to move him for months.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau doesn’t expect much to change for the NHL Players Association now that US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is expected to become their new executive director.

Proteau doubts Walsh will make the PA more aggressive in its collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL. He points out that the players have taken the money they’re getting under the current CBA and kept the waters calm. The league, meanwhile, isn’t about to change a system that is working well for the owners of the 32 teams.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I agree with Proteau’s take. He noted the PA could decertify, which would allow all the players to become unrestricted free agents able to negotiate any contract with any team. However, they haven’t shown any inclination to go that route and it’s unlikely they’re going to do so in four years’ time when the current CBA is due to expire.

NEW YORK POST: Ethan Sears reports the Islanders announced they will avoid rainbow jerseys and tape during their Pride Night warmups. They will be making donations to the LGBT Network and the New York Gay Pride Association, as well as carrying out other Pride-based initiatives.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Isles are following the lead of the New York Rangers, which did the same thing during their recent Pride Night. It’ll be interesting to see if any more teams follow suit.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman recently said he doesn’t want the issue of rainbow jerseys overshadowing the league’s support of the game community. Sears points out that may be already happening.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov skipped practice yesterday but head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t consider his injury to be serious. Barkov left Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being struck in the hand by a shot.

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: The Flyers have told their season-ticket holders that if they renew, they’ll refund the price of all their April games and apply the credit toward next season.

TSN: The Nashville Predators re-signed forward Tommy Novak to a one-year, $800K contract extension.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 25, 2022

by | Jun 25, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 25, 2022

The Lightning stay alive with a Game 5 win in the Stanley Cup Final, Barry Trotz is in no hurry to return to coaching, the Blackhawks will name Luke Richardson as their new coach, Chris Kreider and Joel Farabee undergo surgery, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Ondrej Palat’s third-period goal lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ondrej Palat (NHL Images).

Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up the win with a 35-save performance, Jan Rutta and Nikita Kucherov also scored while Corey Perry and Mikhail Sergachev each collected two assists for the Lightning.

Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar replied for the Avalanche, whose lead in the series has been cut to three games to two. Nichushkin tied a franchise record with his fourth goal in a Stanley Cup Final.

The series returns to Tampa Bay on Sunday for Game 6.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: For the third time in this postseason, the Lightning battled back with a hard-fought victory when facing elimination. Once again, Vasilevskiy was stellar in a must-win game. And once again, it was Palat with a clutch goal, giving him a team-leading three game-winners in this postseason and 12 playoff winners for his career, ranking third in that category among active players.

The breaks went the Lightning’s way in this contest. After the Avalanche got lucky in Game 5 with a missed too-many-men call during Nazem Kadri’s game-winner in overtime, they were tagged this time with 2:43 remaining in regulation, all but snuffing out an opportunity to pull their goalie and push for the equalizing goal. The Bolts also benefited when a tripping call on Makar led to Kucherov’s 4-on-3 power-play goal in the second period.

WINNIPEG SUN: Former New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz turned down the opportunity to coach the Jets, basing his decision on spending more time with his family.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The report indicated Trotz was impressed by the Jets’ approach in both their patience as he considered their offer and willingness to accommodate his needs if he accepted the job.

Sources told the Sun that Trotz was reluctant to face the grind of another NHL season after 23 straight years of coaching. The Islanders also owe him another season of salary ($4 million), allowing him time to step back, spend more time with his family and ponder his future.

DAILY FACEOFF: Frank Seravalli reported the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to name Luke Richardson as their new head coach next week. Richardson has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers winger Chris Kreider underwent surgery to remove a small bone fragment from his wrist. His expected timeline of recovery is two-to-four weeks.

PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Flyers forward Joel Farabee could miss the start of the 2022-23 season after undergoing disc-replacement surgery in his cervical area on Friday. He’s expected to make a full recovery in three-to-four months.

VANCOUVER HOCKEY NOW: The Canucks have hired former Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon as a senior advisor.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tallon’s NHL career has now come full circle. He began his playing career with the Canucks in 1970-71.

TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins named Tom Kostopoulos as director of player development. He replaces Scott Young, who was named the Canucks director of player personnel on Friday.

NHL.COM: The Nashville Predators signed forward Cody Glass to a one-year, two-way contract worth over $874K at the NHL level.

TSN: Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak is taking time away from hockey to deal with an oncological disease.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Novak in his treatments. Here’s hoping he makes a full recovery and resumes his playing career.