NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2022

by | Aug 1, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2022

A former NHL scout claims Nazem Kadri is heading to the Islanders, a list of the coming season’s cap-crunched teams, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Adrian Dater cited a tweet by the Barrie Colts director of player personnel claiming free agent center Nazem Kadri is heading to the New York Islanders.

Former Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (NHL Images).

Mark Seidel, a former NHL scout with the Minnesota Wild, tweeted Sunday that he believes Kadri has a deal done with the Islanders. “They have to clear out some cap room & then it’ll be announced,” wrote Seidel. “I’m FAR from an Insider but I’m very confident it’s done.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No confirmation yet of this anywhere else. As Dater observes, Seidel’s an experienced hockey man so I doubt he’s posting this up just for laughs. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has reportedly been in the market for a scoring forward this summer. Nevertheless, this remains speculation until the Isles announce that a deal with Kadri is done.

Cap Friendly shows the Islanders with $11.1 million in cap room with restricted free agents Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov to re-sign. Adding Kadri will drive them over the cap even if Dobson and Romanov get affordable short-term bridge contracts. Lamoriello will have to make a cost-cutting trade to ensure he’s cap compliant when the regular season begins in October.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Ian Kennedy recently listed several NHL teams that are already facing a salary-cap crunch before the season begins in October.

The Vegas Golden Knights are already over the cap with just two-thirds of their roster signed. The Philadelphia Flyers could be forced to move a player such as James van Riemsdyk to get under the cap. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings could bury some of their promising waiver-exempt players in the minors to free up room to sign their remaining restricted free agents.

Other clubs that could face shedding some salary include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Islanders if they add a scorer like Kadri.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kennedy observed that some of the clubs on his list, such as the Edmonton Oilers, could put players on long-term injury reserve to be under the cap when the season begins. Still, we could see some of them attempt to dump some salaries through the trade market by the time October rolls around.

SI.COM: Speaking of the Leafs, David Alter believes they don’t have to make a trade to become cap compliant for 2022-23.

They could decide to carry 20 players on their roster to start the season. A player put on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the minors could be claimed by another club. A player injured in training camp or preseason could be placed on long-term injury reserve if the injury is serious enough to sideline him for a lengthy period of time.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leafs GM Kyle Dubas doesn’t have to rush into anything right now. Teams are allowed to sit above the cap by 10 percent during the offseason but must be under it when the regular season begins in October. That provides him with sufficient time to evaluate his options.

SPORTSNET’s Elliotte Friedman took to Twitter on Sunday to report on the arbitration filings for Nashville Predators forward Yakov Trenin. The team is seeking a two-year deal at $1.35 million annually while the Trenin camp seeks $2.4 million on a one-year deal.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Trenin’s arbitration hearing is slated for Tuesday, Aug. 2.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 25, 2020

by | Sep 25, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 25, 2020

The Penguins trade Patric Hornqvist to the Panthers for Mike Matheson, the latest Stanley Cup Final news and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines

TSN: After a day of uncertainty, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally traded winger Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Mike Matheson. The Panthers also sent winger Colton Sceviour to the Penguins in the deal.

Pittsburgh Penguins trade Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’ S NOTE: This trade was originally reported on Wednesday but was held up due to Hornqvist’s no-trade clause and insurance concerns regarding his contract. It took a day to get those issues sorted.

The Penguins get younger by taking on the 26-year-old Matheson and 31-year-old Sceviour while the Panthers hope to benefit in the short term by the 33-year-old Hornqvist’s playoff experience and gritty style of play. Matheson struggled over the last two years but the Pens have had success taking on blueliners (like Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley) who improved once they came to Pittsburgh.

Hornqvist has three years left on his contract, Matheson six years and Sceviour one year. The Penguins don’t free up much cap space for 2020-21, swapping Hornqvist’s $5.3 million annual average value for Matheson ($4.875 million) and Sceviour ($1.2 million).

The Penguins might not be done dealing. They have a surplus of eight defensemen under NHL contracts and still have to re-sign goaltender Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry. That’s generating speculation one of those blueliners could be shopped in a cost-cutting deal.

NBC SPORTS: Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov’s consistency is among the driving factors in his club’s quest for the Stanley Cup. He’s the playoffs’ leading scorer with 30 points and has had eight multi-point games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov’s performance puts him among the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars face the Lightning tonight in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and Game 5 on Saturday. That could put a considerable burden upon goaltender Anton Khudobin. With Ben Bishop still unfit to play, there are questions over what they’ll do between the pipes during the upcoming back-to-back stretch.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Khudobin normally backs up Bishop, but he’s played in most of the Stars’ games in this postseason. Youngster Jake Oettinger appeared in just over 36 minutes in two games, replacing Khudobin for the third period during the Stars 5-2 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday.

SPORTSNET: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is understandably proud of what the NHL accomplished with its return-to-play plan with two quarantine bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto. “It’s been nothing short of remarkable”, he said yesterday.

Bettman praised NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer and his staff of 150 people for their planning and staging of the event, as well as the governments of Alberta and Ontario and the Canadian government, and the collaborative efforts between the league and the NHLPA.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bettman’s pride is justified. The league silenced its critics by staging a safe environment for 24 teams in two NHL cities to compete for the 2020 Stanley Cup. However, he indicated the league’s intent is not to stage next season in a bubble environment. They hope to have fans in the arenas when it is safe to do so.

WGR 550: The Buffalo Sabres signed center Curtis Lazar to a two-year contract extension worth an annual average value of $800K.

SPORTSNET: The Nashville Predators re-signed forward Yakov Trenin to a two-year, $1.45-million contract.

NHL.COM: The league revealed its offseason protocols for training at team facilities. The plan will be similar to Phase 2 of the NHL’s return-to-play plan.

The teams can open their training facilities if a minimum of five players request it commencing Oct. 15, though they can open them sooner at their discretion following the completion of the Stanley Cup Final. No more than 12 players will be allowed on the ice at one time, though more players may be present in the facility at the same time.

Local public health restrictions will be observed and mandatory testing for COVID-19 is required for players and training staff wishing to use the facility.