NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 17, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 17, 2024
Stars winger Joe Pavelski retires, Blues defenseman Torey Krug faces a potentially season-ending injury, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Joe Pavelski officially announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars.

Dallas Stars winger Joe Pavelski (NHL Images).
The 40-year-old winger netted 476 goals and 592 assists for 1,068 points in 1,332 regular-season games, sitting sixth all-time among American-born players. He also tallied 74 goals and 69 assists for 143 points in 201 playoff contests.
Pavelski appeared in seven Conference Finals and two Stanley Cup Finals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Most of Pavelski’s stats were accumulated during his 13 seasons with the Sharks. He’s second among their all-time leaders with 355 goals, third in points with 761, and fourth in games played with 963. Pavelski played a significant role in the Sharks’ rise as a Western Conference powerhouse from 2007-08 to 2010-11 and their run to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
The Sharks reportedly looked into bringing Pavelski back next season but he’d made up his mind that it was time to retire. He was a model of consistency throughout his career, exceeding the 60-point plateau 11 times, including a 67-point performance last season.
Pavelski will be remembered among the best American-born players in NHL history. One day soon, he will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
STLTODAY.COM: Blues defenseman Torey Krug was diagnosed with pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle and will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks. The injury is a cumulative result of a bone fracture earlier in Krug’s playing career.
If Krug requires surgery, he will be sidelined for the 2024-25 season. That would enable left-shot defenseman Scott Perunovich to receive more playing time.
Krug carries an average annual value of $6.5 million. He would be eligible to be placed on long-term injury reserve if he’s sidelined for the season. However, the Blues currently have more than $7 million in salary-cap space, meaning they would only place him on LTIR to free up more cap room.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford indicated Krug was being mentioned in trade rumors after the Blues signed Ryan Suter last week to a one-year contract. That created a logjam of nine defensemen on one-way contracts. Rutherford points out there won’t be a trade market for Krug even if he agrees to waive his no-trade clause.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars will induct Brenden Morrow and Jim Lites into their Hall of Fame in October.
Morrow spent 13 of his 15 NHL seasons with the Stars, seven as team captain. Lites was president and CEO of the Sharks from 2011 until 2020 when he was named team chairman.
The Stars also signed 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming to a three-year entry-level contract. Hemming was selected 29th overall by the Stars.
NYI HOCKEY NOW: The Islanders signed forward Simon Holmstrom to a one-year, $850K contract.
THE GAZETTE: The Montreal Canadiens hired former Columbus Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent as the new bench boss of their AHL affiliate in Laval.
THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks signed goaltender Arturs Silovs to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $850K. Silovs, 23, stepped in during the first round of the Canucks series against the Nashville Predators after Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith were sidelined, backstopping them to a six-game series victory.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov didn’t appear in the club’s recent prospect development camp and is reportedly attempting to get out of his NHL contract.