NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 28, 2024

by | Jul 28, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 28, 2024

Kings GM Rob Blake is on the hot seat, questions linger over Jeff Marek’s departure from Sportsnet, Oilers captain Connor McDavid ties the knot, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau believes Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake is under huge pressure to produce real postseason success for his club. The Kings qualified for the playoffs during the last three seasons but were eliminated from the opening rounds by the Edmonton Oilers.

Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake (NHL Images).

Entering his eighth season as Kings GM, Blake must assemble a roster that can do damage in the playoffs or risk losing his job. He’s brought in good players like Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield. However, the mistakes are piling up, including his ill-fated acquisition last summer of Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was traded in June to Washington.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blake’s recent moves have observers ranking the Kings among this offseason’s losers. The coming season will determine if those assessments are correct, which could spell the end of Blake’s tenure as general manager.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Steve Warne noted the recent confirmation from broadcaster Jeff Marek of his departure from Sportsnet after 13 seasons. However, questions remain as to why he and the network parted ways.

Marek worked the opening day of the 2024 NHL Draft, interviewing the first-rounders after they were selected, then returned home on a red-eye flight, leaving Elliotte Friedman to host their popular “32 Thoughts” solo, which was pre-planned.

Friedman indicated during that episode that he and Marek would do their final episode of the season following the start of the July 1 free-agent market. That episode never occurred and Marek was silent until this past Friday, when he confirmed his departure from Sportsnet.

No one is saying what led to Marek’s departure. An early report claimed the split was due to “unconfirmed draft reasons”, creating speculation that something happened during the draft.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s unusual for a popular broadcaster like Marek to suddenly disappear from the airwaves with no explanation for weeks. Naturally, the speculation was going to grow the longer he was absent. He indicated on Friday that there was more to come about his plans. Maybe then he’ll share details about his departure from Sportsnet.

CTV EDMONTON: Oilers captain Connor McDavid married long-time girlfriend Lauren Kyle on Saturday in Ontario.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the happy couple. May they enjoy a long and joyful life together.

TSN: The Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Kent Johnson to a three-year, $5.4 million contract with an average annual value of $1.8 million. Johnson, 21, was selected fifth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 22 goals and 37 assists in 130 career NHL games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Johnson had a promising rookie season in 2022-23 with 16 goals and 40 points in 79 games. However, he struggled last season under head coach Pascal Vincent and split the season between the Blue Jackets and their AHL affiliate in Cleveland before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in March.

PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov told the club he didn’t want to return to North America after they saddled the Belarussian in a hotel in Allentown, Pennsylvania for a month during his sting with their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley.

Kolosov saw action in only two AHL games. He was otherwise left to himself in the hotel and felt isolated partly because of his limited English. The young netminder was not paired with or surrounded by anyone he could communicate with on a meaningful level.

Flyers GM Daniel Briere acknowledged the issue during an interview last month. He indicated the Flyers had no Russian-speaking players with their AHL affiliate and regretted that the youngster had no friends or loved ones with him.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some observers will probably chide Kolosov over this but put yourself in his shoes. He comes to the United States for the first time, speaks little English and knows no one. The club provides little support and he’s pretty much left to fend for himself when he’s not at the rink. The culture shock can be intimidating for a young person. No wonder he’s having second thoughts about pursuing an NHL career.

The report points out it was an “incredibly short-sighted move” by the Flyers, especially considering how quickly Ivan Fedotov joined the club last April, where he had a couple of Russian teammates to lean on.

Kolosov skipped attending the Flyers’ recent development camp, creating an uncertain situation regarding his status for this season.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 26, 2024

by | Jul 26, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 26, 2024

The Flyers sign Travis Konecny to a long-term deal plus the latest on Leon Draisaitl, Brady Tkachuk, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines

PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers signed winger Travis Konecny to an eight-year, $70-million contract extension. It comes with an average annual value of $8.75 million and a full no-movement clause for the first six years that becomes a limited no-trade clause for the final two years.

Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny (NHL Images)

Sam Carchidi looked at the pros and cons of Konecny’s new contract.

The 28-year-old winger is a hard-working, agitating, offensively consistent leader who’s remained committed to the Flyers during their struggles over the past four seasons.

However, Konecny’s style of play has made him prone to injuries and could slow him down over the term of his contract. He’ll be 36 when this deal expires and this rebuilding club might’ve been better served trading him for picks and prospects.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Reaction to this signing among Flyers fans is mostly positive but some brought up the cons mentioned by Carchidi. In the short term, Konecny will remain a gritty lead-by-example scorer whose presence should benefit the promising youngsters entering the Flyers lineup. However, there’s a risk of his performance dropping significantly over the final half of this contract.

TSN: Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said signing Leon Draisaitl to a contract extension is his priority. Hired by the Oilers earlier this week, Bowman indicated he wants Draisaitl to be an Oiler for life.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Draisaitl becomes eligible for unrestricted free-agent status next July 1. He’ll be an Oiler for life if he believes they’ll be a Stanley Cup contender for a long time and is willing to make him one of the NHL’s highest-paid players. He’s been underpaid for the past four seasons and could seek over $14 million annually on his next contract.

THE SCORE: Brady Tkachuk has a “burning desire” to win the Stanley Cup after seeing his older brother Matthew’s championship run with the Florida Panthers.

The 24-year-old Ottawa Senators captain has yet to appear in the playoffs. He said he’s pleased for the most part with GM Steve Staios’ offseason roster changes.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Another missed postseason by the Senators will start raising serious questions about Tkachuk’s willingness to stay with Ottawa. The 24-year-old left winger is signed through 2027-28 and has worked hard over the past six seasons to make the Senators a playoff club. However, his patience could be tested if they fall short this season.

NYI HOCKEY NOW: The Islanders avoided salary arbitration with Oliver Wahlstrom, signing the 24-year-old forward to a one-year, $1-million contract.

This signing puts the Islanders over the $88 million cap by $950K but they can become cap-compliant by demoting Maxim Tsyplakov. He’s their only waiver-exempt player.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The report indicated Wahlstrom would welcome a trade but nothing materialized. I’ll have more in today’s NHL Rumor update.

THE PROVINCE: Longtime Sportsnet host Jeff Marek has left the network. His last appearance was during their coverage of the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft on June 28. He hasn’t updated his X (formerly Twitter) account since then. A Sportsnet spokesman confirmed Marek no longer works for the network but declined to provide details.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s rumored Marek’s departure was for “unconfirmed draft reasons.” His mysterious absence raised concern and questions on social media. Marek is among the most approachable and helpful personalities in the NHL media. Here’s hoping he’s ok and we hear from him again soon.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: United Center owners plan a massive $7-billion mixed-use campus around the arena. The plans call for a music hall, housing, park, and pedestrian-friendly areas as part of a 10-year development program starting in 2025. United Center is the home arena of the Chicago Blackhawks.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 21, 2020

by | Jul 21, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 21, 2020

​The Norris Trophy & Selke Trophy finalists are revealed, the latest COVID-19 testing results, plus the latest on Max Domi, Charlie McAvoy, Ilya Samsonov, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

2020 NHL AWARDS UPDATE

NHL.COM: John Carlson of the Washington Capitals, Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators are this year’s finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top defenseman as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson is a finalist for the Norris Trophy (Photo via NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hedman is a former Norris winner (2018) and was a finalist last season. This is the first time as finalists for Carlson and Josi. Carlson led all defensemen in scoring, with Josi second and Hedman third.

Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier, and St. Louis Blues center Ryan O’Reilly are the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the league’s top defensive forward as voted by the PHWA.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bergeron could win the Selke for a record-setting fifth time. O’Reilly won the award last season while Couturier was a finalist in 2017-18.

LATEST NHL COVID-19 TESTING RESULTS

The NHL yesterday released the results of their COVID-19 testing from last week, indicating two players tested positive for the coronavirus. Both players are self-isolating and following CDC and Health Canada guidelines. The league administered 2,618 tests to over 800 players from July 13-17.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s a notable improvement over the previous numbers released by the league. At that rate, the league’s chances of staging its playoff tournament in Edmonton and Toronto look very good.

This week, however, will be the crucial period, as the players have been around each other more since Phase 3 of the return-to-play plan began on July 13.

PHASE 3 TRAINING CAMP NOTES

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens forward Max Domi rejoined his teammates yesterday after taking a week to evaluate the risks to his health associated with COVID-19. He’s a type-1 diabetic and also suffers from celiac disease.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Domi will need some time to get up to speed with his teammates. Nevertheless, his return to the lineup should provide a boost to their forward lines entering their best-of-five qualifying-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Charlie McAvoy and Chris Wagner were missing from Bruins practice yesterday, joining wingers David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase on the sidelines.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy couldn’t elaborate as to why McAvoy and Wagner weren’t at practice due to league protocols. However, he seemed to hint at the reason behind their absence, noting that COVID-19 tests results are sometimes delayed or inconclusive. Pastrnak is out for precautionary reasons linked to possible secondary exposure to a person with the coronavirus. As per league rules, the Bruins say Kase remains unfit to participate. 

CBS SPORTS: Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov is the sole member of the roster not to participate in Phase 3 training.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Because of league protocols, we don’t know if Samsonov has tested positive for COVID-19 or is nursing an injury.

TRIBLIVE.COM: Patric Hornqvist was among nine players returning to the ice yesterday after being held out of practice as a precaution for potential secondary exposure to COVID-19. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby missed practice again yesterday after leaving the ice on Saturday.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers winger Brendan Lemieux received a two-game suspension for a hit to the head of Colorado Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi on March 11. He will serve that suspension during the opening two games of his club’s qualifying-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

IN OTHER NEWS…

SPORTSNET: released its broadcast schedule for the qualifying round and round-robin series commencing Aug. 1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Former Sportsnet analyst John Shannon reported hearing the NHL plans to put its World feed on a five-second delay to monitor the players’ language. Expect to hear plenty of bleeps given how salty their on-ice language tends to be and how clearly it will be heard without fan noise to drown it out.

Former NHL winger Alex Kovalev was named head coach of KHL team Kunlun Red Star.

Former NHL defenseman Jack McIlhargey passed away from cancer on Sunday at age 68. McIlhargey spent nine seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and Hartford Whalers from 1974-75 to 1981-82, tallying 47 points and collecting 1,102 PIMs in 393 games. Following his playing career, he served within the Canucks system from 1984 until 2007 as a minor-league head coach and as a scout.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to McIlhargey’s family, friends, and former teammates and associates.