NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 19, 2024

by | Jun 19, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 19, 2024

The Oilers defeat the Panthers to force Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final, the Canucks re-sign Filip Hronek, the Rangers place Barclay Goodrow on waivers, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAP

NHL.COM: The Edmonton Oilers held off the Florida Panthers with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, sending the series back to Edmonton for Game 6.

Edmonton captain Connor McDavid had a four-point performance (two goals, two assists) for the second straight game. He’s the first player in Stanley Cup Final history to have back-to-back four-point performances. One of those points was a highlight-reel assist, beating three Panthers to set up Corey Perry for his first goal of this postseason.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).

Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard collected three assists, joining Hall-of-Famers Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch, and Al MacInnis as the only blueliners to reach the 30-point plateau in a single postseason.

For the second straight game, the Oilers opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal as Connor Brown did the honors.

The Panthers made it interesting as Evan Rodrigues cut the Oilers’ lead to 4-2 in the second period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it 4-3 early in the third. They outshot the Oilers 10-4 in the final frame but couldn’t get the tying goal. McDavid put the game out of reach with an empty-netter in the final seconds of regulation.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid put the Oilers on his back in the last two games. With his team facing elimination, he’s risen to the occasion. Another performance like that in Game 6, and this series will require a seventh and deciding game back in Florida next Monday.

Florida still holds a 3-2 lead in this series and can win the Stanley Cup in Game 6 on Friday. However, the pressure has shifted onto the Panthers as this series returns to Edmonton.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice and forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett claim they’re not feeling deflated by their loss in Game 5. However, general manager Bill Zito didn’t hide his frustration, furiously throwing his water bottle after McDavid iced the game for the Oilers.

Speaking of McDavid, he leads this year’s postseason scorers with 42 points, including a record 34 assists. The Oilers superstar sits five points behind the legendary Wayne Gretzky for the most points in a single postseason.

HEADLINES

THE PROVINCE: Filip Hronek signed an eight-year, $58 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks. The 26-year-old defenseman was slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1.

The average annual value of the contract is $7.25 million. It comes with a full no-movement clause from 2025-26 to 2027-28, dropping to a modified no-trade clause for the remaining years.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hronek was rumored to be seeking $8 million annually. It’s still an expensive deal but the Canucks likely would’ve ended up paying as much or more to replace him with an older blueliner via free agency if they opted to trade him rather than paying him. He has good chemistry with team captain Quinn Hughes, which likely factored into this signing.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin was pleased to get Hronek under contract before his RFA eligibility. Nevertheless, he admits his club won’t be able to retain all their free agents. They included unrestricted free agents such as Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Myers and Dakota Joshua.

NEW YORK POST: The Rangers placed forward Barclay Goodrow on waivers yesterday. If unclaimed, he could be bought out of the remaining three years of his contract when the buyout window opens 48 hours following the completion of the Stanley Cup Final.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Goodrow carries a $3.65 million AAV on his current deal. This decision is a cost-cutting move by the Rangers as they look to free up cap space for when free agency begins on July 1.

The report claims there is a belief that there is a pre-arranged deal with the San Jose Sharks to claim Goodrow. He spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Sharks. We’ll find out soon enough if that’s the case.

STLTODAY.COM: The Blues signed defenseman Scott Perunovich to a one-year, $1.15 million contract. He was a pending restricted free agent and will be eligible for RFA status next summer.

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: The Carolina Hurricanes will hold a press conference on Wednesday to formally introduce Eric Tulsky as their new general manager.

TSN: The Columbus Blue Jackets are making a thorough search for their next head coach. Potential candidates include Todd McLellan, Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft and Jeff Blashill.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 11, 2024

by | Jun 11, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 11, 2024

The Panthers take a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, the Stars’ Jim Nill is GM of the Year, the Hurricanes are poised to name their new general manager, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAP

NHL.COM: The Florida Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final with a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2. Evan Rodrigues scored twice as the Panthers tallied three unanswered third-period goals and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for the win.

Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm opened the scoring in the first period with his club’s first goal of the series. Connor McDavid collected an assist for his first Stanley Cup Final point. However, the Panthers tied it in the second on a goal by Niko Mikkola, setting the stage for Rodrigues’ third-period output. Aaron Ekblad tallied into an empty net late in the third to put it out of reach.

Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues (NHL Images).

The series shifts to Edmonton for the next two games with Game 3 on Thursday, June 13, at 8 pm EDT.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Edmonton outplayed Florida in Game 1 and deserved to win but were shut out by Bobrovsky. They deserved to lose Game 2 as the Panthers’ stingy defense and physical play limited the Oilers to seven shots on goal through the first two periods and no high-danger scoring chances throughout the game. Florida’s penalty-killing snuffed out Edmonton’s vaunted power play in both contests.

The Oilers’ top scorers have yet to find the back of the net in this series. Their frustration was evident in the third period when Leon Draisaitl left his feet to nail Aleksander Barkov with a high hit that forced the Panthers captain from the game and into concussion protocol. Draisaitl received a minor penalty on the play. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had no update on Barkov’s condition following the game.

Edmonton winger Warren Foegele received a major penalty and a game misconduct midway through the first period for kneeing Eetu Luostarinen. The Panthers forward was helped from the ice but later returned to the game. Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse suffered an undisclosed injury and was limited to three shifts over the final two periods. The Oilers also scratched defenseman Cody Ceci, replacing him with Vincent Desharnais.

Some Edmonton observers took issue with some questionable officiating in this game. Nevertheless, the Panthers were the better team in Game 2. Their victory was well-deserved, leaving the Oilers looking for answers as they wing their way home to Edmonton.

IN OTHER NEWS…

NHL.COM: Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars won the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. It’s the second straight year that Nill has won this award. Under his management, the Stars finished first in the Western Conference with 113 points, one point behind the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nill and New York Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello are the only two-time winners of this award. Lamoriello also won it in consecutive years (2020 and 2021).

SPORTSNET: The Carolina Hurricanes will name Eric Tulsky as their new general manager. Tulsky was made interim GM after Don Waddell stepped down on May 24. He’d served as assistant GM since 2020.

TSN: Matt Duchene remains keen to return to Dallas next season. The 33-year-old forward is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after completing a one-year, $3-million contract. As the free-agent market approaches, Duchene said money was not a motivating factor for him.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Duchene will continue to receive $1.55 million annually through 2028-29 from the Nashville Predators after buying out his contract last summer. Nevertheless, he genuinely enjoyed his time in Dallas. The Stars have just over $16 million in cap space for next season but Duchene could accept another cost-effective contract to return next season.

THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks have added Jason Krog as a skills and skating coach. He’ll work with the big club and their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.

CBC.CA: Team Canada star and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Fillier was chosen first overall by New York in the 2024 PWHL Draft. Edmonton’s Danielle Serdachny was taken second overall by Ottawa.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Follow this link for the complete list of picks in the 2024 PWHL Draft.










NHL Rumor Mill – May 20, 2023

by | May 20, 2023

NHL Rumor Mill – May 20, 2023

Who could become the next general manager of the Leafs? Where could former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas end up? Check out the latest in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.

WHO COULD REPLACE DUBAS AS LEAFS GENERAL MANAGER?

SPORTSNET: Sonny Sachdeva looked at potential replacements for former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. He noted that team president Brendan Shanahan indicated that he’ll be open-minded in his search but will put the onus on experience.

Shanahan intends to rely heavily on assistant GM Brandon Pridham as the club conducts its search. He confirmed that Pridham will be in the running for the job.

Former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving (NHL.com)

Sachdeva wondered if Brad Treliving might be among the candidates. He stepped down last month from the Calgary Flames after nearly a decade as their general manager.

TORONTO SUN: Pridham and Treliving are also among Terry Koshan’s list of potential candidates. Former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, Carolina Hurricanes assistant general manager Eric Tulsky, former Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, Tampa Bay Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche, and former Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman were among other notables on his list.

DAILY FACEOFF: Matt Larkin’s list included Detroit Red Wings assistant GM Kris Draper, Edmonton Oilers assistant GM Steve Staios and Ray Whitney, who spent over half a decade as a director for the department of player safety and narrowly lost out to Mike Grier for the role of San Jose Sharks general manager.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It would make sense to promote Pridham given his experience with the Leafs organization. If Shanahan opts for someone else, perhaps Tulsky, Darche, Draper, Staios or Whitney would be better choices to bring a fresh perspective to the job.

Whoever gets the job faces some big questions that must be addressed soon.

Do they replace head coach Sheldon Keefe and his staff?

Do they shake up the “Core Four” (Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander) by trading one of them? Will they re-sign Matthews and Nylander to contract extensions or trade one of them or maybe put both on the block? Will it be Mitch Marner who becomes a trade chip?

Can they make oft-injured goalie Matt Murray’s contract disappear? How will they replace their unrestricted free agents if Ryan O’Reilly and Michael Bunting hit the open market?

Who do you want to see as your club’s new general manager, Leafs fans? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

WHAT NEXT FOR DUBAS?

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Nick Horwat suggests not closing the door on the speculation linking Dubas to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the postseason. While the now-former Leafs GM said earlier this week that he’d step away for a while if he didn’t return with Toronto, his firing by Shanahan could leave the door ajar for the Penguins if he’s interested.

THE ATHLETIC: Kevin Kurz wonders if Dubas might be a match for the New York Islanders given the uncertainty over Lou Lamoriello’s future as their general manager. Dubas and Lamoriello have a good relationship stretching back to their time working together in Toronto.

CALGARY HOCKEY NOW: Steve MacFarlane wonders if Dubas’ availability might affect the Flames’ search for a new general manager.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dubas said that this season was difficult on his family and he wouldn’t put them through a move if he didn’t return with the Leafs. With a bit of time to reflect, however, maybe he’ll change his mind provided his family is fine with it.

We’ll find out soon enough what the immediate future holds for Dubas. Any club that is interested in hiring him will want to do so as soon as possible with the 2023 NHL Draft (June 28-29) and the start of free agency (July 1) on the horizon.