NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 7, 2025
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 7, 2025
The Panthers defeat the Oilers to tie the Stanley Cup Final, the Stars fire head coach Pete DeBoer, a plethora of other coaching moves, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines
PANTHERS DEFEAT OILERS IN GAME 2 OF THE STANLEY CUP FINAL
NHL.COM: A double-overtime goal by Brad Marchand lifted the Florida Panthers to a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, tying the series at a game apiece.

Florida Panthers winger Brad Marchand (NHL Images).
The goal was Marchand’s second of the game, making the 37-year-old winger the second-oldest player in Stanley Cup playoff history to score in multiple overtime periods. Hall-of-Famer Igor Larionov was 41 when he tallied for the Detroit Red Wings in triple overtime of Game 3 in the 2002 Stanley Cup Final.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 42 shots, Seth Jones had a goal and an assist, and Nate Schmidt and Anton Lundell each collected two assists for the Panthers. Stuart Skinner made 37 saves, Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid each had three points, and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist for the Oilers.
This contest was a see-saw battle with the Oilers holding a 3-2 lead after the first period, only to see the Panthers dominate the second period to go up 4-3. The Oilers battled back with Corey Perry sending it to overtime with 18 seconds remaining in the third period, but the Panthers maintained their poise and are heading home having earned a split in Edmonton.
Game 3 is Monday in Florida at 8 pm ET.
HEADLINES
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars fired head coach Pete DeBoer on Friday. The move comes just over a week after they were eliminated from the Western Conference Final for the third straight year, and days after team owner Tom Gagliardi shot down reports from Canada that DeBoer was out. He has a year remaining on his contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: DeBoer did a fine job coaching the Stars into a Western Conference powerhouse, but failed to guide them past the Conference Finals. He seemed to lose his cool during the final game against the Oilers, creating confusion among his players after pulling goaltender Jake Oettinger early in the game, and blaming his players afterward for the club’s elimination.
Candidates to replace DeBoer are already being floated by pundits, with the usual suspects (John Tortorella, Peter Laviolette, Gerard Gallant, Jay Woodcroft) popping up. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pursue a former NHL bench boss, hire away an assistant coach from another club, promote from within, or bring in a coach from the minor league or junior ranks.
Speaking of coaching moves…
TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs hired former Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Dan Hinote left the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate to join the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant coach. He was the associate coach of the Colorado Eagles this season. He previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets.
THE SEATTLE TIMES: The Kraken fired assistant coach Dave Lowry and goaltending coach Steve Briere.
THE PROVINCE: On Thursday, the Vancouver Canucks announced the hiring of Kevin Dean, Brett McLean and Scott Young as assistant coaches. They also announced assistant coach Yogi Svejkovsky, defensive development coach Sergei Gonchar, and video coach Dylan Crawford won’t be back.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Svejkovsky is reuniting with former Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet in Philadelphia as part of the Flyers’ coaching staff.
THE DENVER POST: Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor is expected to be sidelined for the next five to six months after undergoing hip surgery for the second time in two years.
SPORTSNET: Ottawa Senators defenseman Nick Jensen also underwent hip surgery. There is no timetable for his recovery.
The Rochester Americans are mourning the death of former AHL and NHL winger Scott Metcalfe, who passed away on Friday at age 58.
Metcalfe spent most of his 15-year professional career in the minor leagues. A first-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 NHL Draft, he played 19 games over three seasons (1987-88 to 1989-90) with the Oilers and Buffalo Sabres. Metcalfe spent nine seasons with the Americans, winning the Calder Cup in 1996. He was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2006.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Metcalfe’s family, friends, former teammates, and the Americans’ organization.