NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 18, 2023

by | Apr 18, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 18, 2023

Recaps from the opening night of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Brad Treliving departs as the Flames GM, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Los Angeles Kings overcame 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on an overtime goal by Alex Iafallo. Anze Kopitar scored the game-tying goal in the dying seconds of the third and Adrian Kempe tallied two goals as the Kings take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven first-round series. Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers.

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kopitar finished with a goal and three assists to take the early lead among playoff scorers. Penalties proved costly in the third period for the Oilers. The game-tying and winning goals by the Kings came on the power play.

Minnesota Wild center Ryan Hartman scored in double overtime in a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their first-round series. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson kicked out 52 shots for the win while Sam Steel had a goal and an assist. Jake Oettinger made 45 saves for the Stars.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars also lost winger Joe Pavelski following a late hit from Wild defenseman Matt Dumba in the second period. Pavelski was helped from the ice and Stars coach Pete DeBoer said he wasn’t confident about the winger’s return for Game 2.

Dumba initially received a five-minute major for roughing but it was reduced to a minor penalty. Stars winger Max Domi received two minutes for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct when he confronted Dumba and threw several punches at the Wild blueliner.

The Boston Bruins drew first blood in their series with the Florida Panthers with a 3-1 victory in Game 1. Brad Marchand scored what proved to be the winning goal and Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots for his first NHL playoff win. Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Panthers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins played without captain Patrice Bergeron as he was battling stomach flu. Nick Foligno returned to the Bruins lineup for his first game since being sidelined on Feb. 27.

The Carolina Hurricanes nipped the New York Islanders 2-1 to take Game 1 of their opening-round series. Sebastian Aho and Stefan Noesen scored for the Hurricanes. Ryan Pulock replied for the Islanders, who got a 35-save performance from Ilya Sorokin.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This game wasn’t as close as the score suggests. The Islanders were outplayed by the Hurricanes, whose margin of victory would’ve been wider if not for Sorokin’s solid goaltending.

HEADLINES

CALGARY HOCKEY NOW: The Flames and general manager Brad Treliving announced they have agreed to part ways. He had turned down a contract extension last year. Don Maloney was promoted to president of hockey operations and holds the role of interim general manager until a permanent replacement is found.

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports a deteriorating relationship with head coach Darryl Sutter is believed to have played a role in Treliving’s departure. Sources believe Sutter, who has two years remaining on his contract, will return as head coach.

CALGARY SUN: John Bean, the president and CEO of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp., rejected the notion that there’s something bigger going on behind the scenes that led to three notable names departing the Flames.

Treliving’s announcement comes nine months after winger Johnny Gaudreau’s departure as a free agent and Matthew Tkachuk forcing a trade to Florida when he declined to sign a long-term contract extension. On Friday, centers Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund were non-committal about signing contract extensions before their UFA eligibility next summer.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Those departures may be merely coincidental but that’s not going to dispel speculation of bigger issues going on that are forcing some key people to leave. Lindholm’s and Backlund’s comments only stoke concerns among Flames followers regarding the uncertainty swirling around this team following this season’s disappointing performance.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar participated in full practice yesterday and declared himself ready to go for Game 1 of his club’s first-round series tonight against the Seattle Kraken. Blueliner Josh Manson is also expected to play tonight for the Avs.

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: Golden Knights captain Mark Stone will return to action for his club’s opening-round series tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. He’d been sidelined for the past three months by back surgery.

TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning winger Tanner Jeannot returned to practice yesterday for the first time since suffering a leg injury two weeks ago. He won’t be suiting up for Game 1 of his club’s first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs but is now listed as day-to-day.

THE PROVINCE: Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin is very optimistic about signing Elias Pettersson to a long-term contract extension. Pettersson, 24, has a year remaining on his three-year bridge deal with an average annual value of $7.35 million. He finished 10th among NHL scorers with a career-best 102 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’ll likely cost the Canucks well over $10 million annually to re-sign Pettersson. 100-point forwards entering their playing prime don’t come cheap. And no, he won’t accept a hometown discount.

OTTAWA SUN: Winger Alex DeBrincat will let the Senators know before the NHL Draft in June if he’s willing to sign a long-term extension. If he’s not, it will provide the Senators with time to shop him in the trade market leading up to the opening round of the draft.

The 25-year-old winger is a restricted free agent who’s a year away from UFA status. Senators GM Pierre Dorion has stated his club will make a qualifying offer of $9 million to DeBrincat if there is no contract in place.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Don’t be surprised if Dorion starts quietly laying the groundwork for a potential trade in the coming weeks. He’ll have to work fast to find a suitable trade if DeBrincat declines a long-term extension.

TSN: Speaking of the Senators, Dorion confirmed they won’t offer a new contract to pending UFA goalie Cam Talbot.

NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: There’s mutual interest between Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan and winger Tom Wilson in a long-term extension. Wilson, 29, has a year remaining on his current six-year, $31 million contract. He prefers to spend the remainder of his career with the Capitals.

In other Capitals news, they’ve parted ways with assistant coaches Kevin McCarthy and Blaine Forsythe.

THE BUFFALO NEWS: Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson revealed he played with multiple broken bones in his left hand trying to help his club reach the playoffs. A sprained MCL factored into the decision to end his season when the Sabres were officially eliminated from contention in the 80th game of their schedule.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen is on pace for a full recovery after suffering a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 25.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 27, 2023

by | Feb 27, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 27, 2023

Recaps of Sunday’s games, Barry Trotz to replace David Poile as Predators GM, Tanner Jeannot to the Lightning, Ivan Barbashev to the Golden Knights, Evgenii Dadonov to the Stars, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov tallied a hat trick (including the game-winner in overtime) to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. The win propelled the Wild (33-21-6) into second place in the Central Division with 72 points, one point up on the Colorado Avalanche. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 41 shots as the Blues Jackets fell to 19-35-6 on the season.

Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov (NHL Images).

A five-goal second period lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Brian Dumoulin each had a goal and an assist as the Penguins as they improved to 29-21-9 and hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 67 points. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point also had a goal and an assist each for the 37-18-4 Lightning as they’ve dropped four of their last six and sit in third place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov reached 700 career points and sits fourth all-time among Lightning scorers with 701.

The Buffalo Sabres dumped the Washington Capitals 7-4 as Dylan Cozens tallied his first NHL hat trick while Tage Thompson netted his 40th goal of the season. The Sabres (31-23-4) sit one point back of the Penguins. Dylan Strome collected two points and Alex Ovechin scored his 33rd of the season for the Capitals as they’ve slipped to 29-27-6 and sit three points behind the Penguins and two points behind the Sabres.

New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves to shut out the Winnipeg Jets 4-0. Bo Horvat, Alexander Romanov, Brock Nelson and Adam Pelech were the goal scorers as the Islanders rose to 31-25-7 and hold the first Eastern wild-card spot with 69 points. The Jets (35-24-1) have dropped four straight games and fell into the first Western Conference wild-card berth with 71 points.

The New York Rangers got two goals and an assist from Vincent Trocheck in a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Igor Shesterkin turned aside 26 shots as the Rangers (34-17-9) snapped a four-game losing skid and sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 77 points. Phillip Danault collected two assists for the Kings as they fell to 33-20-8 and remain in second place in the Pacific Division with 74 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller was ejected in the first period for spitting on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. Miller reached out to Doughty following the game claiming it wasn’t on purpose and he felt bad about it.

The Rangers also sat Ryan Carpenter and Braden Schneider for salary-cap purposes as they continue to work toward an expected trade for Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane.

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored two goals to defeat the Seattle Kraken 5-1. Mitch Marner had three assists while Ilya Samsonov kicked out 26 shots as the Leafs improved to 37-15-8 as they moved to within one point of the third overall New Jersey Devils with 82 points. Vince Dunn scored the only goal for the Kraken (32-21-6) as they dropped into the final Western wild-card berth with 70 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kraken were jockeying for first place in the Pacific Division not too long ago. They’ve dropped seven of their last 10 games which could prompt general manager Ron Francis into making a move before the March 3 trade deadline to bolster his roster.

The Nashville Predators got two goals by Roman Josi in a 6-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes. Josi finished with three points as did Matt Duchene and Tommy Novak as the Predators (29-22-6) sit six points behind the Kraken with 64 points. The Coyotes are 20-30-9 on the season.

HEADLINES

THE TENNESSEAN: A source said Nashville Predators general manager David Poile intends to retire at the end of this season. He’s been their GM since the club’s inception in 1997 and sits third all-time in wins (1,519) among NHL general managers. His replacement is expected to be Barry Trotz, who was the club’s first head coach during its first 15 seasons.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It will be the end of an era for the Predators. Poile’s tenure was mostly a successful one, qualifying for the playoffs 15 times since their inaugural season in 1998-99. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 and won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2018. Since then, however, the Predators have been in a slow but steady decline. They risk missing the playoffs this season for the first time since 2014.

THE TENNESSEAN/TAMPA BAY TIMES: Speaking of the Predators, they traded forward Tanner Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a first-round pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2024, a third, fourth and fifth-rounder in 2023 and defenseman Cal Foote.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s one helluva haul for Jeannot, a middle-six power forward who had 24 goals and 41 points as a rookie last season but slumped to five goals and 14 points in 56 games this season. The 25-year-old winger is a restricted free agent this summer.

The Lightning appear to have overpaid for Jeannot. However, Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin points out that they could see something awesome in him just like they did with Brandon Hagel, Nick Paul, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at previous trade deadlines. If he helps the Lightning return to the Stanley Cup Final it will be considered a wise investment, especially if they re-sign him to an affordable extension.

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW/STLTODAY.COM: The Vegas Golden Knights acquired winger Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for prospect Zach Dean.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: A versatile forward who can play center or wing, Barbashev should provide a boost to the Golden Knights’ middle-six lines. Dean, 20, is a 2021 first-round pick who was ranked third among Vegas’ top prospects in The Athletic’s midseason prospect pool rankings.

The Golden Knights might not be done dealing as they still have over $7 million in projected deadline cap space. However, their lack of sufficient draft and prospect capital to use as trade bait could hamper efforts to acquire a more notable talent.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: The Stars traded winger Denis Gurianov to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for winger Evgenii Dadonov. The Canadiens also retain half of Dadonov’s $5 million cap hit.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gurianov is a former 20-goal scorer who struggled over the last two seasons with the Stars. If he regains his form in Montreal, the rebuilding Canadiens could re-sign him or use him as a trade chip in the offseason.

Dadonov has only 18 points in 50 games but enjoyed a 20-goal, 43-point performance last season with Vegas. He could rediscover his scoring touch with the playoff-bound Stars.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW/NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: The Blackhawks traded defenseman Jack Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche for blueliner Andreas Englund. Johnson played for the Avalanche last season and helped them win the Stanley Cup.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen is sidelined indefinitely with an injured kneecap.

TSN: The Vancouver Canucks placed defenseman Ethan Bear (upper body) on injured reserve.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 29, 2022

by | Oct 29, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 29, 2022

The Bruins and Golden Knights get identical shutout victories, Islanders winger Josh Bailey scores in a milestone game, the Hurricanes trade Ethan Bear to the Canucks, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark stopped 30 shots for his first shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, dropping the latter’s record to 3-6-0. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist to move into first place in the NHL scoring race with 17 points while the Bruins lead the league with a record of 8-1-0.

Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Brad Marchand took a scheduled game off from this one after making his season debut on Thursday. He underwent double hip surgery in May.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson made 29 saves for his league-leading second shutout of the season to blank the Anaheim Ducks 4-0. Reilly Smith and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, who are 7-2-1 thus far this season. The Ducks, meanwhile, fell to 1-6-1.

New York Islanders winger Josh Bailey scored in his 1,000th career NHL game in a 6-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brock Nelson tallied twice and Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves for the Islanders, who improved their record to 4-4-0. Brent Burns scored his first goal for the Hurricanes, who are 4-2-1 in their first seven games.

An overtime goal by Blake Wheeler gave the Winnipeg Jets a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, spoiling the latter’s home opener at the 5,000-seat Mullet Arena in Tempe. The Coyotes (2-4-1) opened the scoring on two goals by Christian Fischer but the Jets (5-3-0) rallied on goals by Cole Perfetti and Mark Scheifele to set the stage for Wheeler’s winner.

Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat scored twice to lead his club over the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1. Spencer Martin turned aside 34 shots to give the Canucks their second win of the season (2-5-2) while the Penguins (4-3-1) have dropped three straight games.

The New Jersey Devils got a 24-save shutout from Vitek Vanecek and a goal from Jack Hughes to upset the Colorado Avalanche 1-0. The win moves the Devils to 5-3-0 while the Avs drop to 4-3-1. The Avalanche were without winger Valeri Nichushkin, who is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. 

IN OTHER NEWS…

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: The Carolina Hurricanes traded defenseman Ethan Bear and prospect forward Lane Pederson to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2023. The Hurricanes also retained 18 percent of Bear’s $2.2 million salary for this season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This move wasn’t unexpected. The Hurricanes had been shopping Bear for several weeks as he became the odd man out on their deep defense corps. The Canucks were in the market for a right-side defenseman and were reportedly quite interested in Bear.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The NHL department of player safety suspended Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen for two games for high-sticking Boston Bruins center David Krejci, who is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers center Filip Chytil has resumed practicing with his teammates but is still expected to miss the next two games with what is believed to be a head injury.

OTTAWA SUN: Senators defenseman Artum Zub is out for one-to-two weeks with an upper-body injury.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 7, 2021

by | Oct 7, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 7, 2021

The Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov expected to miss the start of the season, Wild owner discusses his club’s buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Sharks prepare to start the season without Evander Kane, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

THE ATHLETIC: Arthur Staple reports an undisclosed injury could sideline New York Islanders starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov for the upcoming start of the season. It’s uncertain if Varlamov’s condition is tied to a nagging knee injury that hampered him during the 2021 playoffs. His absence would mean Ilya Sorokin becomes the Isles’ start with Cory Schneider as his backup. 

New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Varlamov wouldn’t be the only noteworthy starter expected to miss the start of this season. Montreal’s Carey Price will also reportedly remain sidelined when the schedule begins next week. Speaking of the Canadiens…

TSN: Habs defenseman Joel Edmundson will be sidelined two-to-three weeks with an undisclosed injury. He’s been day-to-day since training camp opened.

NHL.COM: Bad news for Los Angeles Kings’ Quinton Byfield as the 19-year-old center was diagnosed with a fractured left ankle suffered during Tuesday’s preseason loss to the Arizona Coyotes. He’s been placed on injured reserve and sidelined indefinitely.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: An unfortunate setback for Byfield. Selected second overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, he was hoping to garner a full-time roster spot with the Kings this season.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto will miss tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. He could have a concussion after suffering the injury during Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames.

THE SCORE: New York Rangers enforcer Ryan Reaves is day-to-day with an injured left leg after his skate was clipped by New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban as they went into the corner chasing a loose puck. Reaves had to be helped off the ice.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

THE ATHLETIC: Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold told Michael Russo he supported general manager Bill Guerin’s decision to buy out winger Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter this summer. However, he expressed no regrets about signing the duo to their 13-year contracts back in 2012.

“It totally changed our franchise,” said Leipold. “We went from not selling any tickets and having a future that looked bleak to overnight being a sellout team for the next five, six years.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The additions of Parise and Suter didn’t translate into a Stanley Cup for the Wild but Leipold’s right about how much they improved the franchise. Before they joined the Wild, the club reached the playoffs just four times in 11 seasons. With Parise and Suter in the lineup, they qualified for the postseason eight times in nine seasons.

THE MERCURY NEWS: San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said his club is preparing to start the season without Evander Kane in the lineup. The 30-year-old winger has been out of the lineup while under investigation by the league regarding allegations of spousal abuse and using a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.