NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 8, 2025
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 8, 2025
Oilers winger Zach Hyman could miss the start of this season, the Hurricanes considered an offer sheet for Evan Bouchard, Matias Maccelli hopes to rebound with the Maple Leafs, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
SPORTSNET: Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman is hoping his fractured wrist won’t keep him out of the lineup when the 2025-26 regular season begins in October.
Hyman, 33, suffered the playoff-ending injury during Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. He is still wearing a cast from the surgery on his wrist.

Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman (NHL Images).
The Oilers forward said he doesn’t have a timeline for the completion of his recovery, but didn’t rule out the possibility of missing the start of the regular season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hyman’s absence from the Stanley Cup Final contributed to the Oilers being beaten by the Florida Panthers for the second straight year.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Kurt Leavins cited Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman claiming that the Carolina Hurricanes were a factor in the Oilers signing Evan Bouchard to a four-year, $42-million contract extension last month.
Friedman claimed the threat of an offer sheet from the Hurricanes spurred the Oilers to move quickly on re-signing Bouchard. Leavins sees this as proof of what other teams (especially an elite club like the Hurricanes) think of the puck-moving Edmonton blueliner, who often faces criticism from Oilers fans for his defensive miscues.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Losing Bouchard to the Hurricanes through an offer sheet, nearly a year after the St. Louis Blues signed away Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, would’ve left Oilers management facing a firestorm of criticism. Re-signing him is also critical to their hopes of convincing franchise player Connor McDavid to sign an extension before his free-agent eligibility next July.
TORONTO SUN: Matias Maccelli is hoping to regain his scoring touch with the Maple Leafs. The 24-year-old winger was acquired from the Utah Mammoth last month. Maccelli tallied a career-high 57 points in 2023-24, but his production dropped to 18 points in 55 games last season, making him a frequent healthy scratch over the second half of the schedule.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leafs management is also hoping Maccelli can bounce back. They’re trying to replace the offense of playmaking winger Mitch Marner, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights last week.
DAILY FACEOFF: Speaking of the Mammoth, they signed Jack McBain to a five-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $4.25 million.
McBain is a physical forward who plays center or left wing. In a statement following the signing, Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong praised the 25-year-old forward’s versatility, toughness and competitiveness.
This signing comes a day after the Mammoth had filed to take McBain to salary arbitration.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McBain fills the third-line center position with the Mammoth. His play is comparable to a young Nick Bjugstad.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers signed defenseman Cam York to a five-year contract with an AAV of $5.15 million. Despite some inconsistency in his play, the 25-year-old York plays big minutes skating alongside Travis Sanheim on the Flyers’ top defense pairing. Given the club’s limited depth on the left side of their blueline, re-signing York was critical.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s hoped that the stability of a new long-term contract and the presence of Rick Tocchet as the Flyers’ new head coach can improve York’s performance going forward.
SPORTSNET: Gavin McKenna is reportedly planning to play for Penn State University for the 2025-26 season.
The presumed top prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft, the 17-year-old winger spent last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, netting 129 points in 56 games. The Tigers were the WHL champions, and McKenna was named the CHL’s Player of the Year for 2024-25.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings hired former NHL goaltender Michael Leighton as their new goalie coach. Now 44, Leighton spent 10 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers from 2002-03 to 2016-17. For the past three years, he served as goaltending coach for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.
NHL.COM: The Dallas Stars named Toby Petersen as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. From 2000-01 to 2012-13, Petersen spent nine seasons as an NHL forward with the Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers. Over the past two years, he served as a skills coach for the Colorado Avalanche.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: The Lightning named Jeff Tambellini as their new assistant general manager. He spent the past three seasons as player development director for the Seattle Kraken. Tambellini is also a former NHL player, having spent six seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, and Vancouver Canucks from 2005-06 to 2010-11.
Speaking of the Lightning, two-time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson announced his retirement after 13 NHL seasons. The 35-year-old is calling it a career after battling injuries in recent years.
Johnson began his NHL career with the Lightning, spending nine seasons with them from 2012-13 to 2020-21. He spent three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and played briefly for the Boston Bruins last season. Johnson finishes with 433 points in 747 regular-season games and 65 points in 116 playoff contests.
TSN: NHL journeyman forward Zac Dalpe has retired. From 2010-11 to 2022-23, the 35-year-old spent 12 seasons in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers, mostly spent bouncing between those respective clubs and their AHL affiliates. He had 32 points in 168 regular-season games and one goal in 16 playoff games.