NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 22, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 22, 2024
The preseason begins, Jonathan Marchessault’s junior team retires his number, Robin Lehner explains his absence from Golden Knights’ training camp, the Canucks sign Kevin Lankinen, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
PRESEASON SCORES
NHL.COM: Preseason play began with three games on Sept. 21.

Buffalo Sabres center JJ Peterka (NHL Images).
The Buffalo Sabres thumped the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-3. JJ Peterka led the Sabres with a hat trick while Jesse Puljujarvi tallied all three goals for the Penguins.
Minnesota Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt kicked out 35 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 23 shots for the Jets.
The Dallas Stars nipped the St. Louis Blues 2-1. Casey DeSmith stopped all 14 shots he faced through two periods while Kyle Capobianco and Colin Blackwell scored for the Stars. Kasperi Kapanen replied for the Blues as Jordan Binnington saved all 10 shots he faced in the first period.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Preseason play runs through Oct. 5. Ten games are on tap for Sunday including the Ottawa Senators meeting the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers facing off against the Boston Bruins, and split-squad games between the Nashville Predators and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
RDS.CA: The QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts retired Jonathan Marchessault’s No. 18 jersey at the Videotron Centre. The Nashville Predators winger played for the Remparts from 2007-08 to 2010-11.
It was an emotional ceremony for Marchessault. During his remarks, he revealed that his mother had recently passed away.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Marchessault for his loss.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner released a statement explaining why he didn’t report for his training camp medical. He’s been sidelined since April 2022 after undergoing shoulder in May 2022 and hip surgery in August and has been on long-term injury reserve ever since.
“All I can say at this time is everyone knows why I couldn’t be there. I was waiting calmly for things to be sorted out.”
All players, including those on LTIR, are supposed to undergo a physical before the start of each season. The Golden Knights are in contact with the league and the NHL Players’ Association about the matter.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lehner has a year remaining on his contract with an annual cap hit of $5 million. However, it could be terminated if the league and PA agree that he violated the terms of the CBA.
THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks signed goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a one-year, $875K contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks had been in talks with Lankinen for several weeks as starter Thatcher Demko continues to rehab a nagging lower-body injury. He’s taking a significant pay cut to join the Canucks after earning $2 million with the Nashville Predators last season.
OTTAWA SUN: Senators center Josh Norris and goaltender Linus Ullmark didn’t participate in the club’s intra-squad game on Saturday. Head coach Travis Green said they’re keeping Norris out of scrimmages over the last two days for precautionary reasons while Ullmark was having a maintenance day.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Norris’ three shoulder surgeries have Senators fans understandably on edge whenever he’s absent from practice.
MAYOR’S MANOR: Los Angeles Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev is expected to miss an extended period after suffering an injury during a scrimmage on Friday.
THE TENNESSEAN: Nashville Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney will be absent from training camp for personal reasons.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers promoted Warren Rychel to pro scouting director and added former Oilers winger Zack Kassian to their pro scouting staff.
THE ATHLETIC: A recent poll of NHL players revealed 62.5 percent don’t want the league to address the advantage teams have in “no-tax” states.
Two players said there are various reasons why their peers might choose to play with a specific team. One player noted there was a time when players wanted to go to cities like Chicago and Pittsburgh with higher taxes. Another observed that teams in higher tax states like Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit were destination cities when they were winning Stanley Cups.
Meanwhile, 71.8 percent of the players believe the league should address LTIR and tweak the rule, perhaps by implementing a playoff salary cap.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly seemed unenthused about the league implementing a cap on teams in no-tax states when the subject was raised to him earlier this month. However, he also admitted that most general managers prefer some sort of adjustment to the LTIR rule.
Based on these results, The Athletic’s Michael Russo predicted the LTIR rule will be adjusted in the next round of collective bargaining.