NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 26, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 26, 2024
Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, and Jeremy Roenick are among seven new Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, the Avalanche sign Casey Mittelstadt, the Jets re-up Dylan DeMelo, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber and Jeremy Roenick were the former NHL stars elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
![](https://www.spectorshockey.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024HallOfFame-300x169.jpg)
Pavel Datsyuk and Shea Weber have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL.com)
Former United States women’s national team forwards Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl were also inducted in the player category.
Former Nashville Predators general manager David Poile and current NHL senior executive vice-president Colin Campbell were elected into the builder category.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the inductees for this well-deserved honor.
Meanwhile, Alexander Mogilny’s ongoing snub by the Hall of Fame is getting ridiculous.
Many of Mogilny’s former Vancouver Canucks teammates have called for his inclusion. He was a five-time All-Star, earning an appearance on all four NHL teams he played for in his career (Buffalo, Vancouver, New Jersey, Toronto). He’s among a handful of players to score over 70 goals in a season.
For whatever reason, Mogilny continues to be passed over. Maybe he’ll get his due next year.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: The Avalanche signed center Casey Mittlestadt to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $5.75 million. Mittestadt, 25, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres before the March trade deadline. He was slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Mittestadt was coming off back-to-back 50-plus point seasons. He quickly fit well within the Avs’ lineup. The young center was coming off a three-year deal with an AAV of $2.5 million.
This is a win for both sides here. Mittelstadt gets a significant raise and an opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at age 28 when he’ll still be in his playing prime. The Avalanche, meanwhile, look up their second-line center at a reasonable rate. They also buy some time to grow more cap room to attempt to re-sign him down the road.
WINNIPEG SUN: The Jets signed Dylan DeMelo to a four-year contract extension with an AAV of $4.9 million. The 31-year-old defenseman was completing a four-year, $12 million contract and was due to become a UFA on July 1.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: DeMelo was a key part of the Jets blueline corps pairing with the puck-moving Josh Morrissey.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: On Tuesday, the Flyers officially announced that top prospect Matvei Michkov had officially terminated his contract with KHL club SKA St. Petersburg. The 19-year-old winger will join the Flyers for the 2024-25 season.
TSN: The Detroit Red Wings traded defenseman Jake Walman and a 2024 second-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for future considerations. Walman, 28, has two seasons remaining on his contract with an AAV of $3.4 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Can you say, “salary dump”, kids? I knew you could!
SPORTSNET: Hockey Canada officially named Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper as head coach of Canada’s team at the NHL’s 4Nations Face-Off next February and of its Men’s Olympic team in 2026.
SPORTICO: Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has told his remaining executives he is dissolving what’s left of the franchise. He will no longer pursue the construction of a new NHL-worthy arena in the Phoenix area. The franchise should be disbanded within a month.
The hockey operations and players were sold to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith in April and moved to Utah, where they will play the 2024-25 season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: And with that, the Coyotes saga comes to a close. Some observers still believe the NHL will one day return to Arizona. That won’t occur until a suitable arena is constructed and that’s not happening in the foreseeable future.